Gardening in full shade

[WildBird]

I have an unused area in my yard with great soil and lots of room, but it is shaded. I think it is full shade. Does anybody know of veggies that will grow in full shade? I've heard that lettuce does well.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Stick with leafy greens. Lettuce, spinach, kale, etc. It will be hard to get any vegetables to grow in complete shade though. I think rhubarb and mint will grow a little better. Things will grow much more slowly though and may end up leggy.
Could you do some pruning to let a little more light in the spot?
You could also do a non edible shade garden with plants like hosta and lily of The Valley.

 

[Zeedman]

Agree, leafy greens. Some varieties (such as bok choi) might actually benefit from the shade in Summer, where protected from the hot sun, they might not bolt as quickly. Bush beans & peppers would not produce heavily, but would still give you something... I grew bush beans under a latticed porch in my youth.

Capsicum frutescens peppers are more shade tolerant; most of those are hot (such as habanero) but there are some non- or low-heat varieties ("Aji Dulce" and "Trinidad Perfume"). Those are attractive plants too, with glossy foliage and bright orange or red peppers.

 

[flowerbug]

hostas are supposedly edible. i've not tried them to know...

we don't really have those sort of conditions here and i'd get rid of trees and shrubs to get more light as i like garden plants that require more light.

rhubarb can tolerate a little shading but not much. full shade, i'd not bother.

go with the greens you can sprout and harvest quickly.

 

[digitS']

I once had a garden area that received no direct sunlight until sometime in April. The sun had lifted high enough above a hill by that time and the sun would shine onto the ground for several hours each morning. So, this wasn't total shade, however, it was "dry shade" because of the trees.

By noon, there were only a few moments of dappled sunlight for the remainder of the day as there were 5 nearby evergreen trees. It was my best place to grow spinach, which still tended to bolt with hot, dry summer weather. My leeks were there every season. They did well. Lettuce did okay altho I could grow plenty in another area that had only a little shade through the middle part of the day - 2 young, skinny spruce trees.

Some bok choy but the Senposai that I planted there did poorly. The next year, I had the Senposai near those skinny spruce trees - another poor location. Senposai is a cross between komatsuna and cabbage. Komatsuna is much like bok choy. (Three seasons, 1 good location with 2 that put it in too much shade. This year, I'll try Senposai, again.)

Herbs: Parsley, Cilantro and Basil were there year after year. Here at home, chives grow in nearly total shade and do just fine.

Steve
WildBird, we are not having a false spring but the season seems to be be coming early. the first afternoon over 60°f was March 5th. Since then, and counting today, we have had 2 more. usually, our first day above 60° is March 21st. the '20-'21 winter was mild one.

 

[WildBird]

Stick with leafy greens. Lettuce, spinach, kale, etc. It will be hard to get any vegetables to grow in complete shade though. I think rhubarb and mint will grow a little better. Things will grow much more slowly though and may end up leggy.
Could you do some pruning to let a little more light in the spot?
You could also do a non edible shade garden with plants like hosta and lily of The Valley.

Agree, leafy greens. Some varieties (such as bok choi) might actually benefit from the shade in Summer, where protected from the hot sun, they might not bolt as quickly. Bush beans & peppers would not produce heavily, but would still give you something... I grew bush beans under a latticed porch in my youth.

Capsicum frutescens peppers are more shade tolerant; most of those are hot (such as habanero) but there are some non- or low-heat varieties ("Aji Dulce" and "Trinidad Perfume"). Those are attractive plants too, with glossy foliage and bright orange or red peppers.

hostas are supposedly edible. i've not tried them to know...

we don't really have those sort of conditions here and i'd get rid of trees and shrubs to get more light as i like garden plants that require more light.

rhubarb can tolerate a little shading but not much. full shade, i'd not bother.

go with the greens you can sprout and harvest quickly.

It's good to hear that leafy greens will grow well there, thank you!

I once had a garden area that received no direct sunlight until sometime in April. The sun had lifted high enough above a hill by that time and the sun would shine onto the ground for several hours each morning. So, this wasn't total shade, however, it was "dry shade" because of the trees.

By noon, there were only a few moments of dappled sunlight for the remainder of the day as there were 5 nearby evergreen trees. It was my best place to grow spinach, which still tended to bolt with hot, dry summer weather. My leeks were there every season. They did well. Lettuce did okay altho I could grow plenty in another area that had only a little shade through the middle part of the day - 2 young, skinny spruce trees.

Some bok choy but the Senposai that I planted there did poorly. The next year, I had the Senposai near those skinny spruce trees - another poor location. Senposai is a cross between komatsuna and cabbage. Komatsuna is much like bok choy. (Three seasons, 1 good location with 2 that put it in too much shade. This year, I'll try Senposai, again.)

Herbs: Parsley, Cilantro and Basil were there year after year. Here at home, chives grow in nearly total shade and do just fine.

Steve
WildBird, we are not having a false spring but the season seems to be be coming early. the first afternoon over 60°f was March 5th. Since then, and counting today, we have had 2 more. usually, our first day above 60° is March 21st. the '20-'21 winter was mild one.

This is super helpful, thank you! I love how much you tested and experienced new things!

Have fun with your early spring! Our false spring ended with snow, but now real spring has come and we are ready to plant!