I have a 20ft elderberry tree at the top of a sloping vegetable plot. The plot faces east so there is a certain amount of sunlight that reaches beneath the tree especially in the early months of the year when the sun is lower in the sky. Last year I raised the bed a little bit around the tree and put in plenty of compost as the area is very dry. I then planted some courgettes. They didn't do very well though I did get some fruit from them. :D
Has anyone any suggestions as to what vegetables would fare best given the conditions? :-\ I have some onions, garlic and shallots to put in shortly. Are any of them likely to do better than the courgettes?
Your help in this matter is much appreciated. ;D
I find that the best vegetables for more shaded areas are spinach and beetroot. In my opinion onions and garlic need as much sun as you can give them.
Hi Pauline I fear it would be very hard to grow anything under a tree, the trees roots will suck the moisture out the ground, block most of the sunlight and shelter most of the rain, but good luck there most be a veggie out there that doesn't like sun or rain.
May the corn be with you.
Veg won't be much good, I'd put flowers under it or use the space for storage or compost. Where there's only light shade you could try raspberries.
agree with previous, blackberries like partial shade though ::)
pleased i read this bit. gonna get some apple trees. will now put my path between the trees and rest of the veg! Pleased I aint done that bit yet. Last bit too. :o
Spinach and parsley have done well under my overgrown old apple tree, and I have recently put the compost bin there too. I moved the rhubarb there last year to free up a sunnier bit, and it did all right - I like to slow it down a bit, and there was as much as I wanted even in its first year after moving.
I grew a pumpkin (medium sized green, strongly ribbed) right up into the tree via some old trellis leaning against it, and had more fruit than I can use, though maybe I would have had more if it hadn't been in the shade. My climbing french beans were partially in its shade, but seemed OK.
I do plan, if ONLY things would go dormant at last, to prune this tree fairly drastically so that it casts less shade. Lovely cox apples, but many more than I and friends can eat and freeze, so I don't mind a smaller crop. Can you prune your tree?
Two plots away, a neighbour has planted gooseberries, apples, raspberries, blackcurrants in the shade of a huge mature ash tree, and although they lean desperately towards the light, they do seem to crop and grow, if not fantastically well.
I heeled some raspberries in under a tall hedge for someone who never took them, and they have fruited surprisingly well considering they spent a few weeks in a plastic sack, then were impatiently stamped into the ground so that at least they didn't dry out. I have read that a lot of these soft fruits originally grew on the margins of woods, which explains their tolerance of shade.
As long as you can water well I agree with spinach and you might get away with growing other leafy salads.
Jerusalem artichokes can deal with shade as well. Elder is as tough as an old boot so if you wanted to prune it with a chain saw :) it will grow back to a size easier to pick from.
Thank you everyone for your replies with helpful suggestions. :D
We are not lovers of beetroot so I don't really want to grow it. I have two huge fruit cages and hedges with blackberries so wouldn't want anymore fruit. The three compost areas are huge and in the paddock so it would seem a waste of growing space were I to have another one in my veggie area.
I can prune the tree and will be doing so this week. I prune as much as I can off the side facing the vegetable bed but just a light trim on the other side so the chickens can have some shade. I also have sprinklers so I can keep things watered during the summer. ;)
Pumpkins would probably take over a lot of the bed if they are anything like the ones I grew this year. They completely smothered my potatoes and grew up the fences putting a lot of strain on the wire netting! I have been thinking of growing them in one of the compost heaps next year where they can roam wherever they want to. The only problem is that the chickens may eat them. One grew outside the fence this year and once it had turned orange, they ate it.
Spinach, salad leaves or sqashes are all good suggestions and we have been thinking of growing some Jerusalem artichokes for some time now. If the latter, would I have to fence off the area temporarily when I let the chickens in the run at this time of year? Are J.artichokes kept in the ground permanently rather than the whole lot being dug up and does anyone know the best time to plant them please?
Thank you.
P
If you dont want more fruit and veg - maybe some house flowers or house plants could be grown there. Dont know what though as I aint too good on flower types but there must be some.
Tubers are planted in spring. If they are in the ground already, they are best left there and dug up as you need them, or they wither. Those that are left until spring then start to grow.
I like JAs as a hedge, screen, or windbreak (I keep them cut down to the required height) so I would see it as a waste of their potential to put them under a tree, but maybe you don't need a hedge.
Can't comment on hens apart from the fact that my daughter's hens eat everything they can get their beaks and claws into except slugs, and slugs eat anything the hens leave.
One of my raised beds is under an old apple tree & I usually grow salad stuff thee, lettuce & come & cut again type also raddish, spinach & chard plus parsley & mint, all seem to do well in fact most of the above seem to do better there than elsewhere.
My tree is so full of birds that I have decided not to grow leaves that we eat literally under the branches because I have to wash them to destruction! So lettuce and spinach and parsley is now out, though I used to grow them there.
I would grow passion fruit, hops or other climbers through the tree.
Quote from: artichoke on November 13, 2006, 22:04:02
My tree is so full of birds that I have decided not to grow leaves that we eat literally under the branches because I have to wash them to destruction! So lettuce and spinach and parsley is now out, though I used to grow them there.
Artichoke, my tree is full of birds too, especially when the elderberries are ripe. Looks like it will have to be squash then unless I put a glass frames there to prevent the bird poo reaching lettuces etc. I would have to lay seep hoses in the frame or it would be much too dry. I might do that on one side of the tree and try a few artichokes on the other side.
The veggie area in question is that behind the white markers on the picture below. You can just about make out the elder.
Quote from: ktlawson on November 12, 2006, 23:27:14
If you dont want more fruit and veg - maybe some house flowers or house plants could be grown there. Dont know what though as I aint too good on flower types but there must be some.
ktlawson, it's veggies that I want to grow there as I want to be self sufficient and not have to buy greengrocery anymore. I would rather have flowers where they are in full view of the house.
Quote from: Si on November 13, 2006, 22:16:50
I would grow passion fruit, hops or other climbers through the tree.
Si, I don't really want anything climbing through the tree as it would add to the shade and make it very difficult to trim back to size.
Anymore vegetable suggestions please?