Dull vegetables ?

[Kirk]

Well OK, shady ones.
What vegetables can be grown easily in a patch that basically gets no direct sun?

Have a small area, by chance not design, and I may as well use it usefully. However anything that requires "full sun" is not going to be an option. Anything that hates sun is a possible.

Area is around 1.5mtr by 1.2mtr, so no great size. Expect it is a bit too late this year to consider anything, but open to ideas.

Soil may be a bit too heavy for carrots or parsnip, sort of boarderline I suppose. And a couple of bags of something can be dug in before I do anything specific. Just need an idea or five.

[Chippy Minton]

I may be making this up, and I guess it depends on how much light it is getting, but I was always under the impression that leafy stuff is best for shady areas as they put on leaf in order to maximise photosynthesis.

Or did I make that up / dream it.....

[Penellype]

I have some very shady parts of my garden but still grow some perfectly acceptable crops. My buckets of potatoes stand next to a north facing wall with walls/hedges to the east and west and I get decent yields although not as good as full sun. Brassicas don't like too much hot sun and will grow in shade, so things like cabbage, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, turnips etc will give you a crop. Lettuces are also fine although you may find the red leaved varieties are more green than red. Spinach and beetroot should also be ok. I also grow carrots successfully in very shady areas, and have had reasonable success with parsnips, peas and courgettes in fairly deep shade. You can also grow fruit - strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries and currants will produce a crop in the shade.

Onions and leeks will grow but produce rather small plants, but I wouldn't think beans or tomatoes would be much good.

[Sweet savory]

I would suggest spinach too or chard. Especially if you plant module grown plants to give them a bit of a start.

[ameno]

Leaves and roots generally do okay in the shade. You'll get a smalle crop, but it's definitely better than nothing.
Fruit crops like tomatoes or squash won't give you anything in full shade, and do very poorly even in partial shade.

[Vince G]

if it's just shady at gound level, something tall that tolerates slightly heavy soil might do ok, like Jerusalem artichokes

[happyhumph]

I'm making a mushroom bed in a shady bit - hardwood chippings layered with spawn (ordered online). Bit of a gamble but if it pays off will be active for a good few years.