Vegetables to Grow in Shade
If you’re not blessed with a sunny garden space, see our list of vegetables (and fruit) that will grow in partial shade, as well as vegetables that will NOT grow in shade. Plus, see our tips and design ideas for a partial-shade vegetable garden.
Although fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash need at least 6 hours of full sun daily to give you a good harvest, most crops can “get by” with part sun or part shade (3 to 6 hours of direct sunlight).
Before you even think about what to plant, make note of just how much sun your site actually receives; you might be surprised! There are different levels of shade and it will often change with the seasons. Here are the common terms associated with light levels in the garden:
Full sun is considered to be 6–8 hours (or more) of direct sunlight per day. Peak sunlight hours are between 10 am and 2 pm.
Partial sun is 3–6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Partial shade is about 3 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Full shade is less than 3 hours of sun and dappled light for the rest of the day.
Light shade or dappled shade is bright sun filtered through the leaves of trees overhead.
Deep shade gets no sun at all. You won’t be growing any vegetables here.
Which Types of Vegetables Do Well in Shade?
Cole crops are tolerant of partial sun or partial shade. Broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, turnips, kale, and rutabagas will grow well with less than a full day of sun, but may take longer to mature. Cabbage will also grow in shade, but they may not form tight heads.
Root crops such as radishes, carrots, potatoes, and beets can grow in as little as 3-4 hours of direct sun with light or dappled shade for the rest of the day.
Leafy greens such as lettuce, arugula, kale, bok choy, and chard are happy with just a few hours of sunshine each day. In fact, keeping them out of midday sun can prevent their tender leaves from wilting.
Climbing vegetables do well in areas that are shaded in the morning but sunny by afternoon. Cucumbers and pole beans will clamber up supports into the sunshine.
Perennial vegetables such as rhubarb, asparagus, and Jerusalem artichokes can be grown in partial sun or partial shade.
Vegetables that are susceptible to bolting, like broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach, can benefit from being grown in partial sun, particularly in hotter climates.
For areas that receive morning sun then afternoon shade, try vegetables such as celery, carrots, and bush beans.
Continued at link with Growing Guides for specific shade-tolerant vegetables:
https://www.almanac.com/vegetables-grow-shade
Good morning and thank you Diana for always being here Sat a.m.! I am going to try to grow shade veggies in our “forest” this year. This is great info.
Meanwhile, the rest of the garden is in bloom (before the heat sets in).
Hibiscus:
Roses, "Scentsational" and "French Lace":
And these volunteers: Sticky Monkey Flower, Verbena and giant Hollyhocks:
CLICK THIS PICTURE TO TAKE A SHADED WALK BACK TO THE MAY 27 - JUNE 2 2023 WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD!
Diana, do you have your mower back?
Clyde & I just spent about 3 hours of quality time together, mowing what should have been done last weekend, but wasn’t because we were getting just over an inch of rain. I was mowing “in style” (LOL) because I braved the maddening crowds this morning & found 4 tank tops at Goodwill for mowing & gardening. The 4 oldies I’ve had for about 20 years (seriously) are going straight in the trash! One of the new ones is Land’s End & two are White Stag which are very good quality. The 4th is a nice one, but an unfamiar brand. $5.25 each, 2 for $6.25, prices I can live with.
On the herbal scene, I planted a borage this year - haven’t had one in the garden for a long time. It’s blooming & I’ve been smiling about it all day - I love the little blue flowers & the pollinators love it too. Sage is still blooming. Between the sage & borage, which are crowding out my African Blue basil plus the oregano & one of the thymes, I need a bigger herb garden ... adding this to the “project” list for next year.
Critterville news ... haven’t managed to trap the big groundhog under the barn yet. I have had good success with the squirrels who were beginning to frolic in my garden walkways. There was a big ‘ol Eastern Rat Snake crawling across the front sidewalk this morning - disappeared under the ramp that goes up the front steps & was no where to be found when I went out looking for it about 10 minutes later. A doe has found mom’s hostas the last couple of days & munched away on a few of them.
The radishes have all been harvested - need to replant. Cukes & spaghetti squash are growing like crazy, onions are coming along. I believe I saw sugar snap peas to harvest as I zoomed by on the mower & will be taking a closer look at them & the tomatoes this evening.
It was pretty hot & somewhat humid mid-day, but some cooler weather was to filter in this evening. It actually started arriving while on the mower which made the temps very pleasant. Tonight is going to be a full moon - gorgeous evening coming up!
Just ordered the little drip irrigation kit that will run off of the little pump on the little tank sprayer I just bought to water my little garden and the tank also fits perfect on my little tractor for other little uses.
Thinkin’ about naming this place Little Bitty Acres
It was another mostly hot-n-dry week here in Central Missouri. Lots of pop-up storms around the midwest last week, but none of them did more than knock down the dust here.
I spent a good bit of time last week doing some deep watering in the victory garden so I’d be able to run off to the racetrack without having to worry about things getting wilty while I was gone. Buying all of those soaker hoses was a good move.
Spuds, tomatoes, eggplants, gourds are all blooming now. Garlic crop is about a month away from harvest. Sweet corn is responding well to the urea I gave it last week. Pole beans are up ~6”. Cukes aren’t climbing the fence yet but they’re gaining on it. Stonehead and Kaitlin are starting to make heads.
I failed to collect all of the necessary ingredients for a proper kimchi in time to use the napa cabbages that I had going in the hoop house. One day they were perfect, the next day they were bolted. So I fed em to the chickens and will try again in the fall when the weather is a bit cooler.
The Dunstan Chestnut trees that I planted earlier this spring are doing very well. Getting hose water out there was a brilliant move on my part, and placing 20-gallon watering bags around the grow tubes made it even better. I’m spending less time, using less water and what I do use is soaking in where it needs to go.
Any propagation gurus here? I want to propagate my trumpet vine this year. I have successfully propagated a Niagara grapevine and a Thunbergia grandiflora Blue Sky Vine, but so far, no luck with the trumpet vine seeds. I want to try cuttings propagation of the trumpet vine this year. Any tips would be appreciated.
Really busy day today ... “best laid plans” going awry & all that stuff.
We have had the smoke from the Canadian wildfires yesterday & today. Yesterday, it was a high haze that made it seem like a cloudy day with weak sun filtering through. This morning, the haze was hanging in the trees & you could smell the smoke. The haze lifted by noon, but is still there in the upper atmosphere & keeping the sunshine very filtered.
I started in the garden early, but quickly found myself cutting down/trimming all the tree branches that pi$$ me off by swacking me in the head while I am mowing. All 5 redbuds were majorly trimmed back as were three holly trees (I hate hollies) & a couple of cedars.
Next project I worked on was finding materials to make supports for the pickup cap that I am taking off. I have figured a way to do it MYSELF since I can’t seem to get any help from larger, stronger members of the family🤬. I think I have it figured so I won’t hurt myself.
On a less ‘grumpy’ note, while scrounging for what I needed for the truck project, I do believe I found the lumber for making a new herb garden or enlarging what I have - yay!