Plants for Shady Spaces

[Smurfy]

I have a dark corner of the garden which gets no sunlight at all but it's one of the few places i can have a raised bed. Are there any vegetables / herbs which will do well in this type of environment?

[WestHamRon]

As I understand it, anything you grow for "leaf" rather than "root" or fruit", will do fine in shady areas.

[AnneThomas]

Hi Smurfy

Is the corner very dark, or is it just that it doesn't get any sun?

Any of the mints would probably grow well as they prefer damp, shady places. Obviously be wary of spreading roots so contain them somehow. I have a very healthy bay tree growing in a pot against a north facing wall - it doesn't get any sunshine at all. You might also get away with growing your comfrey there - I grow mine tucked in a west corner of my garden under an oak tree, so they get very little sun. They do tend to grow leggy as they try and reach for the sun - but they are still healthy enough to be cut back 3-4 times a year.

Again depending how dark - lettuces etc don't actually like too much sun. When the summer is hot here (when???) I often grow lettuce in troughs against the north facing wall once it is past the seedling stage. It doesn't bolt and go to seed so fast.

[Smurfy]

It's quite dark really, i grew runner beans against the fence next to the dark spot last year and they did reasonably well but the spot of ground only gets a little bit of sun (when we have it) just before it sets.

The bed there is 1 metre by 1 meter so that might be too much comfrey for a tiny garden like mine. I like the idea of lettuces etc and will try them this year. What do i do about crop rotation then?

[AnneThomas]

Hi Smurfy

Glad to hear someone-else has a tiny plot!

I do think some of the salads and lettuces will probably do quite well there - the size will probably make a good salad bed, but not sure about the crop rotation issue. I had thought about that.

If the bed is raised and only quite small, could you replace the top soil - a bit like you would with a tomato bed in a greenhouse - not that I have ever done that as I don't have a greenhouse. Well not a proper one. Seems like a bit of work though.

There are many others far more experienced who I am sure will come up with some wise advice.

[freddy]

Hi smurfy. I have several raised beds, a few of which are in quite a shaded area. I grew onions, potatoes and cabbages in these. The only relative failures were the onions that got mildew. I'm no expert but I reckon the mildew was as much to do with the wet weather as anything else. Hope this helps. Cheers...freddy.

[Primrose]

I've previously grown spinach and Swiss Chard in a heavily shaded location and found it did quite well. Also had a big clump of rhubarb there that cropped satisfactorily.

[garden_serf]

Garlic Chives do well in a shaded area of my garden.