Ideas for a shady part of the veg patch please

[Guest]

I am after some ideas please of what I can plant. The area is shaded due to a fence that is s-SW on the back of the patch. I only want to make use of a 2m stretch as I was going to use the rest for nettle+comfrey feed making station, growing rootstocks and a bit of a bits and bobs temporary home kind of affair. All ideas welcome

[KevinM67]

If it's in your veg patch - would it be something you would eventually like to eat that's planted ?

[Yasai]

I'd recommend mustard greens, but then I can't get enough of them.

[Scarlet]

Leafy veg, lettuce, chard etc will do well in a shady spot. Or raspberries?

[Jungle Jane]

If you had a shrub like ceonothus,it fixes nitrogen in the soil like legumes do & can be wall trained. Then plant anything leafy that likes nitrogen. My ceonothus is on my north facing fence,so it's south in my garden I think the same kind of area. The bees love it too.

[jonny the plant pot]

I'm growing kohlrabi in the shadiest part of my plot.

[Guest]

Thank you all. I think raspberries win I just need to figure out how to make the work - stake/restricting/access wise

[Scarlet]

Just grow an autumn variety. They don't require staking and IMO taste better than the summer ones. If you leave some stems unpruned each year you will also get a Summer crop too.

[Nicos]

Might be a good idea to restrict their root growth or they'll be popping up on the other side of the fence...and heading into the garden.

How about some thornless gooseberry bushes? They do OK in shade too

[Nicos]

A few more ideas here....

Top 12 shade tolerant vegetables and herbs for a shady garden | The Self-Sufficient Living

my first thought was also vertical planting- using containers attached to a frame on the fence.
some veg and maybe tumbling nasturtiums?
That would also add a bit of colour seeing as it's always in silhouette ?

[rosiepumpkin]

For anyone else reading thsi who also has shade, Most of my allotment is shade, and potatoes will crop, radishes do well if grow them for the seed pods and one of the plum trees is cropping while mostly under a horse chestnut.

[Scarlet]

Can't you cut it back or chop it down Rosie?

[rosiepumpkin]

They aren't my trees. I'm going to become the queen of shade growing as bordering my plot are 2 mature horse chestnuts, 5 leylandii, a eucalyptus and a big house. I have some sun and 2 greenhouses so it's not as bad as it sounds since I'm not a sun bunny. My friend on the same site who has a plot on the ridge facing south comes to our shady picnic table in the summer for a rest!

[veggiechicken]

A lot of my garden is in shade too as there are so many trees both in it and around it.
Raspberries will grow anywhere though

[Nicos]

NG...not sure how wacky you are...and that's a lovely fence by the way... but had you thought of painting the fence cream...or cream and light green/sage...or something more adventurous like several shades of yellow ?

We used sea grass and country cream on a small shed and it's brightened up the area- and seems to reflect more light ( well- the cream certainly would if it was the main colour)

Search results | DIY at B&Q

just a thought?