Before you know about the vegetables that can grow in shade, understand well that all vegetables need at least 3 to 4 hours of sunlight. However, it does not mean that a vegetable garden needs to bake in the sun for days on end. You can create a patch where you can arrange for dappled shade and then grow vegetables there.
Vegetables that Grow Mostly in Shade
Some of the vegetables that can grow in partial shade are:
- Beets
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Garlic
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Chard
Techniques Helpful to Grow these Vegetables
- If you are starting with seedlings make sure that you grow them in the shade. Once they have become small nourished plants, move them to the sunlight. You should never deprive the seedlings from sunlight as this goes a long way in ensuring its health.
- Shade and moisture attract snails and slugs. That is why you need to keep a close eye at the plants. The snails and slugs can damage the plants and you need to trap them by using beer-baited traps.
- It is imperative that you keep these plants in shade apart from each other. This will increase air circulation and the light (less than direct sunlight) will penetrate well into the plats and roots.
- Since the plants in shades grow at a slower pace than the ones in direct sunlight, therefore you need to tend to them regularly. In a normal vegetable bed that is open to direct sun, you can grow one vegetable in summer and another in fall. But in the shade you will be able to grow just one and for that also you need to give a lot of attention to the plants.
Advantages of Growing Vegetables in Shade
- Too much sun can make leafy vegetables bitter and sometimes render them dry. They are fresh and succulent in the shade.
- The hot summer sun can sometimes be very harsh and kill tender plants especially the herbs. The shade acts as a protective cover.
- You do not need to water the plants in shade as regularly as you need to do with the plants that are in the direct sun.
- If you grow plants in shade, the cool season crops get a better environment to grow. The dappled canopy gives them a cozy ambience.
Photo Credit By: yearroundharvest.com
