Edible for shady area

I have an area of the garden decided for some kind of vegetable patch (when I finally finish clearing the rubbish out of my garden), the only problem is most of my garden is in shade most of the time as we have a huge willow tree just outside of our boundary line.

Any thoughts on what I could grow there? I'm pretty much a newbie at growing veg but I don't mind a challenge

 

Hi,

There are a few veg that they say will possibly manage to grow in shady areas, but think you will get poor return for you effects.

Most veg and fruit need a good bit if direct sunshine to grow well ,eg at least half the day, so better if you can find a more suitable area for them and fill your shady area into a nice flowers etc where you have a much wider selection that will enjoy the shade.

What size area are you talking about ?

 

Unfortunately, it's the only place it can go as I only have a small garden, the husband wants to keep as much of the grass as possible and the only really sunny parts are concrete.I a space of about 4 foot square. We aren't looking to grow lots, just a project for the kid and me to do together as she loves both food and being in the garden. If it's not going to be worth it, I'll probably just scrap the idea.

Alternatively, I suppose it there is anything that grows well in pots as I have two concreted areas I could utilise that way.

 

Hi,

Not something I have tried in shade, plus you are talking a smallish area but think these will give a decent easy to grow crop that should keep the young one interested as some are fast growers, but do not get too big to over power the whole area, partic if picked samll and young.

Beetroot, Radish, small Carrots, Lettuce - loose Salad Leaves types that can be picked young.
Alpine strawberries and some herbs like Chives and Parsley ( use /split the cheap growing pot ones from the supermarkets).

Yes , pots on your patio as another good way, almost spoilt for choice but Strawberries would be our first on our list followed by the small, sweet but managable Tumbling Tom tomatoes.

 

I have found chives, rhubarb and tarragon have grown OK in shade. Reading about what to grow in shade for food before I found that as a general rule crops that are harvested as leaves or roots can do OK as it is more the plants that need a longer growing season and more light to produce fruit that might fail to get to the point of harvest when grown with too much shade. Was looking into it for a friend with a garden with high walls on all sides and he has improved the light levels in his garden by painting the walls white to allow them reflect more light back into the garden. There are loads of fruit, vegetables and herbs available that will do well in containers when they get enough attention. They will need regular watering in dry weather and after some time in the container some sort of liquid nutrient feed as well. The crops from warmer climates would probably be the ones that will do better in the sunny position in containers and if you can get larger containers you may not need to water them as often.