What we're harvesting in the July garden

July garden at sunset

Sunday, July 19, 2025

This July's garden is a bit behind for some summer vegetables.  We had a typical spring with cool days into May.  I planted most of the veggies in late April.  I had to resow beans and squash so they are behind.  Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and okra are about normal.

We are harvesting eggplant, cucumbers, hot peppers, sweet peppers, sprouting broccoli, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, dill, summer greens, herbs, garlic, onions, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, aronia berries and tomatoes.  The flowers are very happy, too!  

We are getting rain a few times a week even into July.  The grass is green and growing like crazy.  If I don't get at least 1" of rain during the week, I do a deep watering with a drip hose.  I have only had to water the garden beds once this season.  Summer garden tips

I need to dig the garlic.  Garlic harvest is here!  I'll pickle the smaller cloves and save the larger cloves for fall planting.  Have garlic any time you need it, just pickle some!  I've found this is the best way to preserve garlic for using year round.  I tried keeping the whole cloves, but most would disintegrate by early winter.

I just started getting ripe tomatoes at the end of June.  Most look good, but a Cherokee Purple produced a prolific flush of tomatoes and then died.  The production is really slowing down right now.  We are back into the 90's.  Tomatoes will drop flowers when it gets too hot.  For what we can't eat, I freeze to save for making soups, sauces, roasts, and salsa all winter.  Preserving your extra tomatoes

Cucumbers started producing at the end of last month.  I had to do a second planting this year as one variety didn't make it from the seeds sown in late April.  I just direct sowed seed in the garden in mid-June and it is doing well now.  I planted Bush Champion and Beit Alpha.  The Bush Champion are ready for picking.  The Beit Alpha is blooming so won't be long!  

If you have more cucumbers than you can eat, make pickles!  Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix

I planted a Trombetta zucchini in our new berry bed and it hasn't grown more than 6".  I started another that I will transplant into an existing bed in the next couple of days.  I'll need to add a good layer of compost on the berry bed to make it more productive next season.  Everything you need to know to grow squash 

 Only the Turkish Orange eggplant has produced so far.  The other varieties I planted, Bianca Rosa and Amadeo are large, but have not started blooming.  I have been using diatomaceous earth on the eggplant and orach greenery to keep the flea beetle population in check on the eggplants.  They just decimate the leaves in our garden.  All my eggplant are grown in pots.  I tried letting them "come in balance" for the last 5 years, but no luck.  Just be sure to not put de powder on the flowers.  Even though de is an organic use, it does not differentiate between good and bad insects.  We don't typically have many extra eggplant to preserve.  I have tried the freezing route in the past, but have not been impressed with the taste.  The best preservation method I have found is to make baba ganoush. Everything you need to know to grow eggplant, in a pot or garden bed

  I freeze the extra strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, blanching is not needed for these fruits to preserve the flavor.  I dry the goji berries.  

I am using purple and green orach, Hilton Chinese cabbage, kale, sprouting broccoli, New Zealand spinach, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, herbs, chijimisai and cultivated dandelions for salads.   For kale, sprouting broccoli, mustard and other summer greens extras, I will blanch and freeze them.  Freezing the extras for winter

For hot peppers, I am harvesting Jigsaw, Chiltepin, and Tunisian Baklouti.  The Poblano plants have many peppers but are not turning yet.  For sweet peppers, so far on the Tricked You Jalapeño has ripened.  The chocolate sweet pepper and Habanada have lots of peppers but are not turning yet.  Everything you need to know to grow peppers, in a pot or garden  

For all my herbs, there is plenty to use fresh with extras to harvest.  I will dry them. I have thyme, basil, oregano, winter savory, tarragon, rosemary, sage, and lavender to preserve.   Harvest and preserve your herbs  This year, I don't need to preserve basil as I have lots of pesto left from the last couple of years in the freezer.  Pesto is my favorite way of preserving basil.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil  

Oregano, basil, thyme, and lavender is in full bloom.  The bees love the flowers!  It could be cut and dried now, but I love the flowers and will wait until fall.

We are harvesting the vegetables and fruits that are synonymous with a backyard garden.  Soon it will be time to plant for continuing the harvest into fall and winter.  The garden keeps me busy year round.  It is so nice to be able to watch things grow and have fresh produce all year.

Preserving your extra tomatoes

Saturday, July 19, 2025

In July, we go from famine to feast in the tomato department.  At the beginning of the month, we are searching for our first ripe tomato.  Two weeks later, we have a bounty of them!  The tomato plants are producing faster than we can eat them right now.  There are so many recipes that fresh tomatoes can be used in-salsa, salads, bruschetta, cucumber/tomato/onion salad, on burgers, on sandwiches, on pasta, the list goes on.  So, what to do when you are eating tomatoes at every meal and still have them coming?  It is time to preserve them!

 

I freeze, dry and can my excess tomatoes.  Mainly freeze and can.  This year, I may get extra productive and dry some in the oven.  They do take a while to dry but the intensification of flavor really makes a dish.  

 

Be sure to put the date and description on each freezer bag and jar that you put up.  You may think you will remember the date they were frozen or canned, but to be on the safe side write the type and date you processed them.  For frozen and dried, use the oldest first and all within a year for optimal flavor.

Tomatoes sliced and in quart freezer bag

During peak season for any produce, you can get the lowest prices at your neighborhood farm or farmers market for fresh tomatoes, too.  In many cases you can get a huge discount for any bruised or blemished tomatoes.  These are great to use for preserving, just be sure to remove any soft spots.

Right now, I prefer to freeze because it is so hot that I don’t want to turn on any heat generators inside the house.  For cherry type tomatoes, I just half them and throw them in a quart freezer bag and put in the freezer.  For larger tomatoes, I slice then put them in freezer bags.  They thaw much quicker this way.  They will have a fresh taste when thawed and used for salsa, sauces, soups or chili.  Freezing the extras for winter

When it cools, I start drying and canning.  I take all the tomatoes still left from last year and can those in the fall.  I dry fresh ones on the patio when it gets cool, too.

I just love “sun dried” tomatoes right out of my own dehydrator.  You can dry them in the oven too if your oven temp goes down low enough. 150-200 degrees F is recommended and the lower the temp, the redder the dried tomato.  The higher temps will cause the dried fruit to darken.  It will take 6-10 hours for the tomato to dry.  You want to make sure they are completely dry or they will mold in the jar.  Store your dried tomatoes in a quart jar or ziplock to use until next year.  Dehydrate or sun dry your extra veggies

Chocolate and black tomatoes oven dried

Only a water bath is needed for canning tomatoes because they are acidic.  Make sure you follow a sauce recipe exactly as it is critical for keeping to the right acid level.  I use Weck's canning jars and antique canning jars with glass lids.  They are all glass, including the lid, so no worries about what is in the lining of the lids.  Weck's are a really pretty shape and stack wonderfully if you want to store the most in your space.  They are made in Germany.  I haven't found any all glass canning jars made in the USA, unless you purchase antique jars.  

All you need to can tomato sauce is a large pot, canning jars, a metal funnel, and tongs.  A pressure canner is not needed for acidic foods like tomatoes.  Always follow the recipe as written to insure food safety.  For more on canning, see  Water bath canning versus pressure canning

I throw the entire tomato (without the stem) into the food processor.  Most recipes say to remove the peel and seeds because they can impart a bitter taste.  I have not had any bitterness in my sauces and there are lots of nutrition in the seeds and peels so I make use of the entire fruit.  I also use all types of tomatoes and not just the paste tomatoes.  You will likely have more juice in non-paste tomatoes so cooking them down will take a bit longer to get a thick sauce.

 

Paste tomatoes are meatier and make a silkier sauce which is nice for soups.  I always have a paste tomato in my garden and try to have one per bag when I freeze them.  My favorite paste is the heirloom Italian Pear Paste.  It provides lots of huge, red tomatoes.

This is a good time to save the seeds from the best, biggest, tastiest tomatoes for your garden next year.  Only save seeds from plants that do not have a disease.  I take the seeds and put them in water to let them ferment.  Those that float are not viable.  I remove these, lay the good seeds on a paper towel to dry thoroughly, then place in a zip lock bag with the date and variety to use in next year's garden.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Sauce in Weck canning jars

Here is the recipe from Ball’s “Complete Book of Home Preserving” for tomato paste:

9 cups of pureed tomatoes, 1½ cups of chopped sweet bell peppers, 2 bay leaves, 1 teas salt, 1 clove of garlic.  I'll also toss in some of my dried mixed herbs for flavor.  About a tablespoon or two per batch.

 

I put it all into a large pot and let simmer until it is the consistency and taste I like, about 2.5 hours.  Remove the bay leaves and garlic.  Boil the jars, lids, and seals as the sauce is close to done.

 

Add 3 teas of lemon juice to each hot pint jar, fill with the hot tomato sauce to within ½ inch of the top, and seal the lid, following the instructions for the type of jar you are using.  Place all the filled jars in a large pot, insuring they are fully covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 45 minutes.  Remove from canner.  Let cool.  Follow the instructions for the type of jar and lid you are using on how to test the seal without breaking the seal.  For any that the seal did not hold, you can put in the fridge and use in the next week or so.  That’s it!  

I will can any frozen tomatoes I have left over from last season in the fall when it is cooler.  It takes about 12 quarts of frozen tomatoes yesterday to make 1 gallon (4 liters) of sauce.  I use the half liter Weck's tulip jars which is almost the exact size of a pint jar and are pretty to boot.

 

Other high acid foods you can use a water bath for canning are jams, jellies, condiments, salsas (Quick, homemade salsa), pickles (Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix), and relishes.  Consult with a canning book for more tips and always be sure to follow the recipe exactly to ensure they safely keep.

Time to harvest garlic, shallots and onions

Garlic in foreground, starting to die back

Monday, July 14, 2025

Garlic is rich in lore.  This allium has been around for thousands of years.  It originated in Asia, was cultivated in Egypt and has been a Mediterranean cooking staple for centuries. Over the ages, garlic has been reputed to repel vampires, clear the blood, cure baldness, aid digestion.  Onions and shallots also have a long history of health and a staple in cooking.  

Today’s studies have shown garlic has antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral properties. And, it tastes great!  It is easy to grow and has little pest issues.  All you do is put them in the ground in the fall and by early to mid summer, they are ready to harvest.

Most onions are planted in the spring.  Potato onions and shallots I planted in the fall.

Garlic puts out roots in the fall.  Depending on how warm the winter is, there can be green shoots showing through the cold months.  Garlic will be some of the first greenery to start growing in early spring.  The stems resemble onion greens.  The hard neck garlic flower, or scape, has a cute little curl in it.  They are great in salads.  Harvesting them also gives you bigger bulbs.

For more on fall planting and growing garlic, Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

Soft neck and hard neck garlic are slightly different in telling you when to harvest.  For soft neck garlic, you wait until the tops fall over and die off.  Onions are the same.  They are ready to harvest about a week later.  Typically this is mid-summer.  Hard neck garlic is ready to harvest when about half of their lower leaves have turned brown.  Try digging one up and see if the bulb is large and firm.  If it's not ready, just wait another week or two.

                                               Garlic ready to harvest           Freshly harvested garlic

It is best to dig your garlic, onions or shallots when the ground is dry.  When you go to dig up your garlic, proceed carefully.  If you cut the bulb, it will not keep and needs to eaten soon.  Alliums should be left in dry shade for 2-3 weeks or brought inside and stored in a cool, dry location with good air circulation.  They can be hung or placed in a perforated bin or paper bag to dry and store.  I keep mine in a paper bag on the covered deck.

After they are hardened, I will cut off the dry stalks above the clove/bulb and trim the roots.  Onions and shallots I put in the basement in a cardboard box in a dark area.  Garlic I'll keep them in a bag with good air circulation indoors until I am ready to peel them.

If you planted a combo of elephant garlic (which is actually a type of leek), hard neck and soft neck garlic and are wondering how to tell them apart now.

Leek flower

Garlic scape

You can tell the difference in the two by looking at the flowers.  Leeks have a onion type flower while hard neck garlic has a curly scape flower.

Your soft neck garlic will have a much smaller stem than the elephant garlic does.

For the longest storage, soft neck garlic is the ticket.  It is also the strongest flavored.  Hard necked is milder and easier to peel.  I like elephant garlic because you get so much from each plant.

My garlic and shallots did well this year.  I put in many different types of onions this spring and they did not do that great.  The bulbs stayed small.  Most of my potato onions that I planted last fall disappeared.  I'll dig where they were at to confirm if I lost them or they have just gone dormant.

Onions-everything you need to know to grow 'em

For onions, make sure you are getting the right type of onion based on the amount of daylight you get.  Long day onions are for northern states, short day onions for southern states and intermediate onions for the center of the country where I live.  I only did one long day onion and the rest were intermediate.  

What's up with long day/short day onions?

To preserve my garlic, I peel them and put them in apple cider vinegar with a few hot peppers for pickled garlic.  A trick I saw recently for quick peeling is to just stab the clove with a paring knife and pull out of the skin.  I keep my pickled garlic in the frig and they have stayed firm for me for two years.  I had tried keeping the dried, fresh cloves in years past, but always lost some.  This way, I don't lose a single clove!

I use my garlic for garlic cheese bread, cooking, and salsa.  Quick, homemade salsa

Everyone knows of garlic in sauces and on cheese bread.  A few years back, we tried roasted garlic.  It dramatically mellows the flavor.  I just put a few heads in a small baking dish, add chicken stock to just about level to the cut heads, and let bake covered at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until soft.  It is a great spread on french bread!

For those on keto diets or have gluten issues, I found a recipe for bread that takes about 3 minutes to make with almond flour.  I mix in a small pyrex storage bowl, 3 tablespoons of almond flour, 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1 egg.  Microwave for 90 seconds and you have instant, hot bread!  You can use butter or coconut oil as a substitute for olive oil.  I also add about a teaspoon of dried herbs and mix in with the other ingredients for a more savory bread.

What's happening in the mid July edible garden

Butterfly on zinnias in the garden

Sunday, July 13, 2025

We are harvesting eggplants, peppers, sprouting broccoli, herbs, okra, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, summer greens, fruits and tomatoes.   We are getting steady amounts of rainfall on most weeks so only the pots are needing water consistently.  Have had to water the beds twice so far this summer.  The flowers are very happy, too! 

We started getting tomatoes, cucumbers, husk cherries, Aronia berries, raspberries, blackberries, and overwintered hot peppers at the end of June.  Lettuce bolted at the end of May and there are new volunteers up here and there to harvest from. Okra, some more peppers and one eggplant started producing this month.  I am getting most of my salads from summer greens. 

Both the hot and sweet pepper plants have been producing for a few weeks.  The Ancho peppers, chocolate sweet peppers, and sweet banana peppers have not started ripening yet.  Surprisingly the sweet banana pepper doesn't even have flowers yet.  It is in a pot that is pretty shady.  I may need to move it to more sun.  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Tomatoes are producing decent this year.  We have gotten more rain and heat than usual this year.  Our grass is still green in late July!  The small tomatoes have produced quite a few.  The larger tomatoes are not breaking records but are getting a couple a week from each plant.  The Cherokee Purple in the garden bed has died back. 

Herbs are doing great.  Thyme, oregano, and basil are covered in tiny flowers.  The bumblebees love the herb flowers!  They are alive with buzzing with lots of bees every morning.

I have an apple tree, raspberries, blackberries, Aronia berries, Goji berries, husk cherries, blackberries and a tamarillo for fruit this year.  I have gotten fruit off all but the Goji berry and tamarillo so far this season.  The Goji berry bush just started flowering so it shouldn't be long now for it.  The tamarillo started flowering a couple of weeks ago and has green fruits on it so it should be soon for it as well.  I'm trying to grow enough fruits that I can eat in my homemade cereal in the morning year round.  The husk cherries and tamarillo plants are both annuals.  I may be able to overwinter the tamarillo so it produces earlier next year.  The blackberry, raspberry and blueberry bushes were all transplanted last year so it will be a couple of years before I get much production off of them.

I am getting about 2 cucumbers every 3-4 days which is plenty for me to eat fresh and make pickles for my husband.  I am only getting Turkish Orange eggplant.  So far the other three varieties AO Daimaru, Amadeo, and Listada de Gandia have not fruited.  All do well in our heat and humidity and don't turn bitter like other varieties do.  I have 4 plants so getting 2 per week when they all start producing.  I have them growing in partial shade in pots.  I could likely double the production if I sat them out in full sun.   

I planted two okra, Red Burgundy, this year as I am the only one that eats it and two plants are all I need to put up enough okra for me for the year.  It has beautiful burgundy stems and fruits and large, creamy hibiscus looking flowers.  It is a beautiful plant but very short this year.  Not sure why.  It is producing on both 2' tall plants.

Oregano in bloo

For basil, they are bushy and I can take my first harvest anytime.  You should take no more than a third of the plant at a time.  It will regrow to give me at least one more good harvest before fall.  If you wait to harvest, if you pinch the flowers off, it will keep the stems from getting woody.  Cardinal basil seems to not have this woody habit and it has a strong flavor to boot.  I grow the sweet basil and let it flower because the bees love it and harvest the Cardinal basil for pesto.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

I think the garlic and shallots are close to ready to be harvested.  It doesn't look like the onions have bulbed, but I need to brush back the dirt and verify.  After harvesting, I will harden in the shade on our outdoor, covered deck for a couple of weeks before bringing indoors and putting it in a dry, dark place to store until I am ready to pickle it and take cloves to replant in the fall.  Garlic harvest time is near!

Oregano is in full bloom.  The bees love the purple flowers!  It could be cut and dried now, but I love the flowers and will wait until fall.  Harvest and preserve your herbs

Lettuce gone to seed

I fertilized all the pots again as well as some of the veggies in the garden.  It is good to fertilize pots biweekly and garden plants monthly during the growing season to give them the nutrition they need to produce well. Summer garden tips

  

Most of my typical lettuce has gone to seed.  When you see the white fuzzies, they are ready to remove the seeds.  I just pull the seed heads, break apart, put in a ziplock freezer bag, label with type and date, and store in the refrigerator.  It is time to get more seedlings going for the fall harvests.  Never ending salad from one packet of seeds  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

In the greens department, summer is a hard time for most greens.  Sprouting broccoli, different types of sorrel, arugula, dandelion greens, orach, amaranth, chard and herbs are all available.  The heat increases the sharpness of most greens.  Succession planting of lettuce and planting types that are resistant to bolting can keep your lettuce crop going.  Plant them in the coolest part of the yard where they are not in full sun all day and get shade in the afternoon.  Pots are a good option to be able to move them to the cooler part of the yard.  The greens that do not get bitter that I grow for summer salads are sprouting broccoli, New Zealand spinach, Red Malabar spinach, orach and amaranth.  Giant Blue Feather lettuce is not too sharp in taste and is a prolific self-seeder.  Growing summer salads  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

I am not growing zucchini this year.  They produce more than we can eat at once.  You can use it as a substitute for pasta or lasagna to use up the extras.  You can also dry them to use in soups or roasts over the winter.  What to do with all that zucchini?!

I am growing Trombetta squash which can be used either as a summer or winter squash.  It is much less susceptible to diseases and it does not over produce.  It's the summer squash I am growing every year now.  I put it in a new bed and it hasn't grown over 6".  I have started another one that I will put in an existing bed.  The pole beans that I started in this new bed have not grown much either.  I'll need to add compost to this new bed this fall to get it up to snuff for next year.  

I have a butternut squash that did well last year in an existing bed, but seems to be struggling this year which is a bummer because I love using them for pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie!

The annual flowers are really rocking in the garden right now.  The daylilies, marigolds, zinnias, and celosias are doing extremely well this summer.  They attract all kinds of beautiful butterflies and moths as well as bees.  I love watching all the bees and butterflies that are visiting the garden.  

Summer garden is in full swing!

Get growing in July!

Onion, oregano, lemon balm and zinnia in July garden

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

You can still plant for summer harvests and July is also the month to start planting for fall harvests.  It may seem crazy to be sowing seeds in July for your fall and winter garden, but it is the time to do so.  Everything you can grow for spring, you can grow for fall.  For winter harvests, look for cold hardy varieties.  

You can plant a second crop of summer veggies and herbs early in the month to keep the harvests strong through October.  Look for varieties that have short "days to harvest" or purchase transplants.  Summer lovers with quick harvest times include basil, beans, corn, tomatoes, and zucchini. 

Summer seedlings

You can also continue succession planting of lettuce.  You may get better germination indoors for lettuce as the temps are a little on the hot side for them this time of year.  

The trick to harvesting all fall and winter is to have your veggies to full size by mid-October.  With the shorter days of late fall and winter, your plants will not grow much after mid-October through mid-February.  This means you start sowing seeds July-August for fall and winter harvests.

The change I make from spring to fall plantings is for spring, I plant those varieties that are heat tolerant.  In the fall, I plant those varieties that are cold tolerant to extend the harvest as long as possible into winter.  Depending on the severity of the winter, many cold tolerant varieties revive in the spring and provide a really early, nice harvest surprise.

Because daylight hours are getting shorter in the fall, you will need to add about 2 weeks to the “Days to Harvest” your seed packet gives as the seed packet dates are based on spring planting.  Plants grow slower in fall because the days are getting shorter instead of longer and steadily cooler.  Frost date look up

Just like in spring, seeds have to be kept moist to sprout.  You can also plant the seeds in peat pots or you can reuse the plastic annual trays you got in the spring.  You can put the plastic trays in a water catch pan, find a shady spot convenient for watering, fill with seed starting mix, sow your seeds and keep moist until sprouted.  When the seedlings get their true leaves on them (second set), they are ready to transplant into the garden or a larger pot.  In hot temperatures, I transplant to a larger pot and let them get to a good size and transplant into the garden bed when it is calling for rain.  I will keep an eye on them after transplanting and water as they need it.  Peat pots require daily watering in summer months because the pots are so porous. 

There are some veggies that the temps are too high outdoors to germinate in our Zone 7, like lettuce.  These you will have to start inside or on the cool side of the house in the shade.  Lettuce has a hard time with germination with soil temps above 70.  

Indoor seed starting tips

Ideal soil temperatures for seed starting

July-Seeds or Transplants

Asian greens (pak choi, tat-soi) Fall and winter greens

Basil  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Beets All about beautiful beets

Broccoli  Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips

Brussel sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts

Bush beans  Growing beans

Cabbage Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Carrots All you need to know about growing carrots

Cauliflower

Celery  Give celery a try, an easy to grow garden staple

Chinese cabbage

Cilantro  Growing cilantro (coriander)

Collard greens Grow a southern favorite-collards 

Corn  Growing corn

Cucumber

Dill

Endive

Escarole

Fava beans Grow a European favorite-the fava or broad bean 

Frisee

Fennel Growing fennel

Kale  Grow one of the super greens this year-kale

Kohlrabi  Another spring veggie-kohlrabi

Leeks
Lettuce, heat tolerant varieties  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Mustard  Mustard greens

Onions  Everything to know about growing onions

Oregano

Parsley

Parsnips

Peas

Rutabagas

Salsify

Scallions

Summer squash

Swiss chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Spinach  Grow spinach-a super nutritious, easy green

Tomatoes  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

Turnips  All about turnips

Zucchini  Growing zucchini and summer squash

If you don’t want to start seeds for fall harvests, some big box stores and local nurseries have begun to have fall planting veggies.   These typically come into stores in late September.  If none in your area do, there are many mail order seed companies that carry fall bedding plants. 

You can grow an edible garden in the shade

Vegetable garden in shade

Sunday, July 6, 2025

You may think that your shady yard can't grow any vegetables or herbs.  You may be surprised to learn that you can grow many veggies and herbs in shade.  They will not be as lush or full, but they will produce and some will appreciate the cool shade on hot summer days.

Veggies you can grow in the shade: greens, chard, kale, lettuce, spinach, celery, peas, beans, beets, radishes, turnips, endive, french sorrel, leeks, radicchio, purslane, pac choi, carrots, potatoes, scallions, mustard greens, cultivated dandelions, corn salad, chickweed   

Herbs for shade: mint, chervil, oregano, chives, cilantro, golden marjoram, lemon balm, parsley

I have grown green beans, snow peas, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplant in a shady part of the garden that gets direct sun just in the afternoon.  They don't produce heavily, but it is enough for us to eat and put away for winter.  We cut the limbs on the trees up about 10 feet to allow dappled sun to come through in the morning.  Any variety that has been bred for greenhouses are great options for trying in the shadier parts of your yard.

My thyme, mint and Egyptian walking onions thrive in our shady garden bed so don't rule out herbs.

Remember that you will have sun in the spring under deciduous trees until they leaf out and in fall after the leaves have fallen.  Cold crops that do well in cool temperatures of spring and fall include lettuce, kale, broccoli, cabbage, radishes, turnips, peas, beets.  Choose crops that have the shortest time to harvest and plant as early as the seed packet instructs to get your crop up and ready to harvest before the shade overtakes the garden spot in the spring.

I always thought you had to have your garden in full sun pretty much all day to be able to grow vegetables.  This isn't the case.  If you can give them some sun or dappled shade, it will be a boost to yields and you can grow almost any vegetable.

Kitchen garden with flowers in front

Watch how the sun travels through your yard and don't forget about your front yard!  You can grow herbs and vegetables interspersed with flowers for a beautiful "flower" bed.  If you have an elevated deck that gets sun, use pots.  There are many varieties today bred specifically to be compact and do well in pots.   Decorative container gardening for edibles

Here is a listing of crops you can grow  in your garden by hours of sunlight:

2-3 hours of sun:  Anise hyssop, Asian greens, chives, cilantro, kale, lemon balm, lettuce, marjoram, mesclun greens, mint, mustard greens, oregano, parsley, scallions, shiso, spicebush, spinach, sweet woodruff, wild ginger
4 hours of sun:  Alpine strawberries, arugula, soybeans, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, beans, peas, rosemary, basil, radishes, Swiss chard, carrots, beets

5 hours of sun:  blueberries, grapes, apple trees, micro greens, potatoes, celery, green onions, turnips

You can get more sun than you think by trimming tree limbs up to allow morning or evening sun in.  You can also use light colored mulch or even the high dollar metallic mulch to have more sunlight reflect up onto the plants.  Another approach would be to spray paint what the plants back up to with metallic paint or place a piece of metallic painted plywood behind your plants.

Another thing to keep in mind is when the leaves are off the trees.  There are many cool season crops that will do great in the chilly seasons like winter, spring and fall.  Overwintering crops are another winner for planting in the shade of late summer that will then have the benefit of late fall, winter and early spring sun.  For more on cool season crops for fall and winter, A fall edible garden and Winter edible garden.  For spring any that are planted before your first frost date are the cold hardy ones Spring edible garden  Indoor sowing/outdoor planting dates.

Crops that thrive in spring will appreciate shade and dappled shade during the heat of summer. These include lettuce, spinach, kale, chard, sprouting broccoli, and cilantro which bolt (go to flower) at the first sign of heat.  It is that bolting time of year.....  If you can plant them in a shady spot or move the pot they are planted in to shade as temperatures rise, you will be able to extend the season of harvest before they go to flower.

Don't let a little shade keep you from trying your hand at an edible garden!  The harvest may not be as much for the summer lovers like tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant, but you can have a nice kitchen garden.