Topic: What vegetables and fruit can I grow in shade?

[Karen Atkinson]

Half my allotment will be - for the most of the day - shaded in summer by a very large tree which will never be cut down.
So, can anyone help with advice on what to grow in these conditions?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Raspberries and rhubarb come to mind. There must be other veg that will cope. Plus shed, compost bins, etc, of course.

[kt.]

Can you swap should a plot in a more suited location on the site become available?

[lewic]

Swiss chard and lettuce did well on the mainly-shady side of my plot. It got a wee bit of sun in the afternoon but not a lot. My neighbours negotiated a discount on account of the shade!

[GrannieAnnie]

Purple pole beans grow in part shade and turn green when cooked. They also bear earlier than green pole beans.
Parsley.

Will celery grow in part shade? I don't know but it just came to mind. ::)

[tonybloke]

Half my allotment will be - for the most of the day - shaded in summer by a very large tree which will never be cut down.
So, can anyone help with advice on what to grow in these conditions?

even if the tree is on the south side of your plot, you will have sun for part of the morning, and again part of the afternoon, most plants will grow well in these conditions.

[Chrispy]

Brassicas are meant to like partial shade, I will be growing mine where they are partly shaded by my beans and other climbers.

Jerusalem artichokes tollorate some shade, and like a bit of shelter, by my shed for those.

[Digeroo]

Brassicas are meant to like partial shade

I am not convinced about this I have never grown good brassicas in my garden, they just love my sunny allotment.

[Chrispy]

Brassicas are meant to like partial shade

I am not convinced about this I have never grown good brassicas in my garden, they just love my sunny allotment.

I saw somebodies brassica cage made with that scaffolding netting which made it quite shaded inside the cage. I asked them about this, they said they grew well like that, and I did a bit of googling and others seem to agree (and some disagree).
It will be my 1st attempt growing this way so it will be a while to see if it is a good idea or not.

[Ninnyscrops.]

My best swedes grew under the shadow of my sweetcorn plants in my second year!

Ninny

[tonybloke]

Brassicas are meant to like partial shade

I am not convinced about this I have never grown good brassicas in my garden, they just love my sunny allotment.

are they both of the same soil type?

[Karen Atkinson]

Thanks for all your helpful replies. Will try some of the suggestions.  I think all the soil is the same - very weedy  :). Apparently it's quite free draining but good, albeit stony soil.

[GrannieAnnie]

TWill try some of the suggestions.  I think all the soil is the same - very weedy  :).

Thanks for clarifying soil types. I'd always questioned our soil being clay, but weedy sounds more accurate.

[Mortality]

Garlic and Onions if I remember correctly are tree shade plants.  :)

[detailista]

the blackcurrant and redcurrant bushes I bought last week said they'd tolerate partial shade. haven't tried it yet though.

good luck! 

I seem to have purchased a few too many fruit trees so may be much in need of this thread too!  thanks :)

[Vinlander]

I read somewhere that courgettes actually prefer partial shade (even though pumpkins don't).

I tried it in open ground slightly behind a tree and it worked; then I realised that was about the same shading of nearly all my garden - where I've been growing them for years.

It depends on your definition of partial shade.

Peas are supposed to do OK too.

[Ian Pearson]

What type of tree?  Some are allelopathic (inhibit growth or germination by chemical exudates). If it is a sycamore, it could be worth digging a trench between the tree and your growing area, and put in a vertical barrier of sheet plastic or something to stop the roots regrowing.
One end of my plot grew poor crops for years till I found out about allelopathy, and dug out a large sycamore on the boundary fence. It took two weeks of labour, but now crops are good.
The amount of water they suck out of the ground is another problem.

[Karen Atkinson]

That's interesting. All I know is that it's huge! And it's not a sycamore. Oh, and it's home to large numbers of pigeons  :( It's not actually on my plot but on the next but one so I'm hoping it's not going to affect the ground too much other than shading it.

[sunloving]

I've been reading up about fruit trees and morello cherries can be grown on north facing walls and shady areas (you can buy one from aldi at the moment for 3.99)
Also red currants are shade tolerators to. Ive often grown my raspberries and pink fir apple potatoes in places that are shaded areas to.

I would just try a bit of everything and just see what works becuase you never know until you try.
good luck
x sunloving