I have a 16 x 11 vegetable garden. I plan on planting tomatoes, green peppers, zucchini, cantelope, cucumbers, and green beans.
the problem I have is that part of my garden gets a lot of shade. It will all receive some direct sunlight at some point during the day, mostly morning. the view in the photo is from the west end of the garden.
There are three trees growing along the south side of the garden. Removing them or the garden is not an option.
My question is, from the veggies that I have listed, which one if any, will do alright getting more shade or indiirect sunlight that the other part of the garden that will get more sunlight. I plan to plant 4 tomato plants along the north side of the garden. They will receive lots of sunlight there.
[img]https://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/d3inks/garden.jpg[/img][/img]
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opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
In my opinion the only vegetables that you have listed that will fair okay in shade would be the zucchini.
Plant the beans with your tomatoes as the beans will feed the tomatoe plants with Nitrates synthesized by bacteria that harbour in the beans roots. This will give your tomatoe plants a boost.
Peppers need a lot of sunlight so give them their own little spot. The Zucchini will need a fair amount of space, don't plant a lot of seeds as one or two plants will give you plenty of fruit.
Try planting some root vegetables with your cukes and cateloupe so as to maximize gardening space. But, don't plant the two plants together as they use the same space in the garden.
You've invested a lot of time and work into your little garden and I agree removing the trees shouldn't be an option, good for you but, is there another spot in your yard that gets more sun? Perhaps plant some fruit bearing, shade tollerant shrubs in the shady side of your garden? That might be an option.
What do others think?
Plant the beans with your tomatoes as the beans will feed the tomatoe plants with Nitrates synthesized by bacteria that harbour in the beans roots. This will give your tomatoe plants a boost.
Peppers need a lot of sunlight so give them their own little spot. The Zucchini will need a fair amount of space, don't plant a lot of seeds as one or two plants will give you plenty of fruit.
Try planting some root vegetables with your cukes and cateloupe so as to maximize gardening space. But, don't plant the two plants together as they use the same space in the garden.
You've invested a lot of time and work into your little garden and I agree removing the trees shouldn't be an option, good for you but, is there another spot in your yard that gets more sun? Perhaps plant some fruit bearing, shade tollerant shrubs in the shady side of your garden? That might be an option.
What do others think?
I was looking at the trees this evening and I *think* I can do a little pruning on the side that is near the garden. That may help a little.
Opabinia....what do you mean by 'plant the beans with your tomatoes"? My tomatoes will be in cages to keep the birds from getting them. Should I plant the beans in between the cages?
Opabinia....what do you mean by 'plant the beans with your tomatoes"? My tomatoes will be in cages to keep the birds from getting them. Should I plant the beans in between the cages?
About plants in a more shaded garden: something to remember is they can be vulnerable to molds, mildews and fungus. If the garden won't get full day-long sunlight, you will need to pay a little more attention to prevent damp conditions in the garden in which fungus and the like could thrive. If the garden spot has a relatively good air flow through it [you can generally feel a bit of a breeze in the garden regularly] it will help, but it is still something you will need to be aware of. The cantelope and cucumbers in particular can be fairly vulnerable to fungus and mildews.
It may not even become a problem, depending on how wet the season is and the average humidity where you are - but it is still something to be aware of. Good Luck with your garden and I hope it does well!
It may not even become a problem, depending on how wet the season is and the average humidity where you are - but it is still something to be aware of. Good Luck with your garden and I hope it does well!
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Grandad
- Full Member
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:53 pm
- Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Zone 9a, Sunset Zone 28
Daphne,
You may want to consider trying a mixed approach in your planting. A gardening friend of mine does quite well with peppers in an area that get only gets a half day of sun. You may try a few pepper plants on the north and some on the south. Perhaps this dual planting might also work for some of the other vegetables that you'd plant. This "experiment" would give you useful info for next year... (I'd suggest tomatoes would not do well in the shade of the tree so I would not include this in the dual planting.)
Looking at your picture it seems that you have a small amount of space which would allow you to move your area to the garden area to the north and out from under the shade of the trees. I realize this might be somewhat of a "project".... moving the border, moving the dirt, etc. But if this is an option, it would move you further away from not only the shade but also the tree roots.
You may want to consider trying a mixed approach in your planting. A gardening friend of mine does quite well with peppers in an area that get only gets a half day of sun. You may try a few pepper plants on the north and some on the south. Perhaps this dual planting might also work for some of the other vegetables that you'd plant. This "experiment" would give you useful info for next year... (I'd suggest tomatoes would not do well in the shade of the tree so I would not include this in the dual planting.)
Looking at your picture it seems that you have a small amount of space which would allow you to move your area to the garden area to the north and out from under the shade of the trees. I realize this might be somewhat of a "project".... moving the border, moving the dirt, etc. But if this is an option, it would move you further away from not only the shade but also the tree roots.