Gardening In the Shade

Now that all the trees are fully leafed out, I am faced once again with my other yearly gardening battle (besides the squirrels) - how to grow vegetables in the shade. About half of my small garden space gets a couple of hours of sun per day. The rest gets more - probably 6 or 7 - in mid-summer, and 4-5 depending on the season the rest of the time. My sister sent me a link to this excellent article on what vegetables grow well in the shade - actually most of these are the kinds of things I grow already, so I guess I figured a lot of it out by trial and error.

Anyway, I thought some of you other sustainable gardeners might be facing the same challenge, so here are some helpful resources for gardening in the shade - whether you grow vegetables, or more of an ornamental type of garden.

The one my sister sent me - there is an article attached to it, but here is the list of shade-tolerant veggies, which I found very helpful: http://www.motherearthnews.com/shade-tolerant-vegetables-zm0z11zsto.aspx

Some other good articles to check out:

Cover of The Complete Shade Gardener

Connecticut NOFA: Gardening in the Shade
When CT NOFA tables at farmers markets and other environmental events, a lot of people drop by the table and ask questions about gardening. The complaint we hear so often is about gardening in the shade. At-home food ...
Publish Date: 05/18/2012 10:09
http://ctnofa1982.blogspot.com/2012/05/gardening-in-shade.html

That Bloomin' Garden: Planting Vegetables in the Shade
When growing vegetables in partial shade to full shade let them have a bit more room as in low light they will tend to sprawl a bit. What I like about growing leafy vegetables in the shade is that they don't bolt as quickly and the ...
Publish Date: 04/23/2012 12:33
http://thatbloomingarden.blogspot.com/2012/04/planting-vegetables-in-shade.html

The best plants for shade
Having a shady yard doesn't mean that you have to give up on your garden all together; you just have to know what to plant!
Publish Date: 05/18/2012 12:35
http://www.sheknows.com/home-and-gardening/articles/960009/the-best-plants-for-shade

Year-round Beauty in a Shade Garden - BLOGS - The Morning Call
“Almost universally, gardeners think of shade as a problem.” (George Schenk, The Complete Shade Gardener, 1st Edition) In reality, shade in the ornamental garden is more an opportunity than a problem. Pick the right plants ...
Publish Date: 04/23/2012 13:41
http://blogs.mcall.com/master_gardeners/2012/04/year-round-beauty-in-a-shade-garden.html

Little Homestead in Boise: Ten Vegetables You Can Grow in Shade ...
Ten Vegetables You Can Grow in Shade- I found this today, great timing since we've been building our new raised bed, which is part shade- 10 Veggies for Shade Good to know! New Raised Bed- Dave and I finally got the ...
Publish Date: 05/06/2012 20:15
http://littlehomesteadinboise.blogspot.com/2012/05/ten-vegetables-you-can-grow-in-shade.html

Best Container Vegetables to Grow in the Shade | Urban Organic ...
You've scoped out your garden space… …and determined how much direct sunlight it gets. Your garden gets less than 6 hours and you feel hopeless. Sorry to break it to you, but that means you can't grow tomatoes.
Publish Date: 03/26/2012 4:37
http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2012/03/best-container-vegetables-to-grow-in-the-shade/

Here are a few more resources you may want to look at. And check back Friday for a helpful video on this topic as well.