What’s a good vegetable that will grow in the shade and produce a decent amount of product in a small space?
Can tomatoes grow decently under those circumstances?
I plant my tomatoes in partial shade. But we have pretty intense heat/sun in the summer. They get early morning and mid day sun only. Last year, they were over 7ft tall and I had plenty of fruit.
Sorry. Food production demands 8-10 hours of sun. Plants won’t flower and fruit without sun. It’s not MY rule; it’s Mother Nature’s.
In the heat of the summer you can grow some herbs (cilantro, chives, parsley), lettuces and peas and other ‘spring’ veggies in PARTIAL shade...if it’s not real humid where you live and not above 80 degrees for long stretches of time.
I know. Everyone wants flowers and food in the shade. It can’t be done with much, if any success.
I advise my customers who have very shady yards to ‘plant’ some pea gravel, a nice bench, a bird feeder and a bird bath. ;) You can have color and texture in a shady spot...hydrangea, hosta, astilbe, tiarella, huchera, etc. and it can be quite stunning...but veggies? Nope. :(
Or, move. Or go to the local Farmers Market each Saturday morning to buy produce. Or cut down your mature trees, or talk your neighbors into cutting down their mature trees that are blocking your sunlight!
Funny. Those never seem to be an option, LOL!
(And after years of full sun and endless food production for my family and for profit...I ENVY your shade!)
Oh, and tell me where you live (just the state and which part) or what USDA Growing Zone you are in...maybe, just MAYBE there will be something that will work. I’m so used to gardening in the Midwest, that maybe there’s something I’ve overlooked for your situation. :)