Need tips on growing food in the forest

[livingintheshade]

Greetingsh
I need tips on growing a vegetable garden in the shade. I get about 5 hours sun in the summer (late afternoon) but haven't had much luck in the back terraces. I live on a small mountain with no topsoil and lots of trees. I have read about permaculture, growing food in a forest and am working on remedying the soil. It is hardpack and the topsoil was likely scraped off long ago when they built the house. I have 2 raised beds in the driveway that work fairly well, but I want to do more with the back terraces. I really don't want to cut down any trees as I may not be a competent enough gardener to warrant it.
My real quandry is: am I the problem? Is the soil the problem or is it all the shade? Any suggestions please?

 

[Kassaundra]

from Oklahoma and

I don't have much experience veggie gardening in the shade, but most all food plants need more then 5 hrs of sun to produce. (especially late afternoon sun) If you don't want to make the commitment of cutting the trees down for the garden is there a way you could prune enough of the trees to make a difference? I personally would just jump in eating your own home grown food is very addictive and can't imagine not liking it.
Another observation lots o'trees = lots o'leaves = lots o'mulch = cure to hard packed soil. Just find a source for free poop add it to the leaves and compost away.

 

[livingintheshade]

Pruning may be an option. Thank you.

 

[thistlebloom]

Welcome 'shade! Just curious about what kind of trees you have. You said "forest" and I immediately pictured pines! I guess it is possible to have something other than conifers in other parts of the world .
You can also garden in containers, some of the folks on this forum do that exclusively with much success ( right Garden Toad? )
That would help with the soil quandary, at least it would give you some time to improve your soil and still grow some food.

But probably your biggest issue is hours of sunlight.

 

[Kassaundra]

Welcome 'shade! Just curious about what kind of trees you have. You said "forest" and I immediately pictured pines! I guess it is possible to have something other than conifers in other parts of the world .You can also garden in containers, some of the folks on this forum do that exclusively with much success ( right Garden Toad? )
That would help with the soil quandary, at least it would give you some time to improve your soil and still grow some food.

But probably your biggest issue is hours of sunlight.

Funny how we all imagine our own little parts of the world. I never even considered pines, I did think, oak, hickory and bodark.

 

[livingintheshade]

I have hardwoods, oaks and maples etc. Only a couple of pine trees. I'd really hate to cut any of them down. The one that provides the most shade is my favorite tree. I tried containers on my deck and for some reason they didn't do well although the basil did. I guess that gardening is something that takes years to figure out. I make things harder on myself by experimenting all the time such as growing plants in straw bales --didn't work well. I also bought a heirloom tomato and grew about 100 plants. I started late and they all produced late--probably from lack of sun.
thank you for the input.

 

[thistlebloom]

What were you using for soil in the containers?

 

[livingintheshade]

Inexpensive bagged soil. I also don't think I fertilized enough. Not sure how often I should have done that.

 

[digitS']

Any possibility of getting morning sun instead of afternoon?

I know, you'd have to spin the earth in the opposite direction . Sorry, but my experience has been that morning sun is much more important for plant growth than afternoon.

My "shady corner" has only about 5 hours of sunlight and I grow a lot of spinach, lettuce, onions and leeks there. In the areas with just a little more sun, I have parsley and basil. However, this garden has only filtered light after about 11am. Before that time, the sun shines fully on those plants. In another garden, I just can't get plants too close to the west side of some tall bushes. Everything is in the sun after about 1pm but the difference between that morning shade end of the beds and what is out in full sun is remarkable.

Steve

 

[livingintheshade]

I have the 2 raised beds in the front and they get morning sun. I only have a small amount of space there. I think it is a combination of things. Inexperience, insufficient light and fertilizer and very poor soil. I don't seem able to get a handle on it. This is only my second year. I learn something each year.