Growing Vegetables in a Shade Garden

Posted by Christine Eirschele Sep 24, 2009

Of course, do I really mean pure shade? As in woodland shade, that moist smelling garden where gnomes really live! No, not quite.

But even shade gardens do have spaces that will grow some edibles like vegetables that grow underground anyways; think mushrooms, or radishes. Some herbs prefer part shade, especially if you live where summers are real hot.

Small Garden Strageties

I would first consider, do I need a massive garden or is one flower box worth enough? An excellent book, I just read, is called Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square Inch Gardener’s Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting and Sprouting by R. J. Ruppenthal. A big title for a small book but it is worth a read even if you are like me and try real hard not to let things ferment in my refrig. Even if you have lots and lots of garden space, this garden book is worth checking out, especially if your “lots of garden” is mostly shade.

Gardeners like myself who have grown plants in small gardens, urban spaces or indoors learned all about finding that nook or cranny, finding just enough sunlight to successfully grow one pot. That’s real gardening! So if you want parsley, thyme, oregano, bay laurel or borage, consider indoors. Or sprouts, because these plants that will give you a harvest in as little as a few days, for salads or sandwiches.

Look for vegetable garden locations on the fringes of shady spots, just beyond the tree canopy. This strategy requires you to have patience and a lawn chair, and bring a good book too. As a gardener you already know the differences between full sun- 6 – 8 hours of direct sunlight, part sun or part shade, depending on your optimism- 4 – 5 hours of sunlight and shade gardens- 2 – 3 of dappled sunlight, if that. So, find that 4 – 6 hours of sun where you can turn a plot into a garden. And don’t forget to look up and away from the tree canopy. Balconies and rooftops make excellent gardens locations.

Vegetable Plants Growing in Shade

Garlic and shallots can be planted late in the season, when deciduous trees are dropping their leaves, then vegetables can be harvested in spring as the trees leaf out. But watch out for tree roots, trees are valuable plants too. I would be remiss in not suggesting containers for under tree canopies, just look for veggie seeds with a short number of growing days to harvest.

Check out the list of cool season vegetables for edible plants to grow in shady gardens. Leafy greens, some called Asian greens, and microgreens are good choices. Again, these make excellent flower box gardens on window ledges, indoors or outside.

Those vegetable plants touted as end-of-the-season ideas are worth your time too. Yeah, I know, they are usually called cool season vegetables but sometimes you just have to reword something to grab someone’s attention.

Flowers in a Veggie Garden

I hate leaving out flowers, even when we are talking veggies. We need to satisfy our eyes too, which is where the potager kitchen garden idea comes in. What can I say; I keep saying container gardening is the way to go. So remember Muscari and Narcissus can tolerate part shade gardens very well, and take up little space. Now is the time to plant fall bulbs with all those fall vegetable plant ideas.