Shady bed??

[Gro-Bag]

I have one bed on my plot that is pretty shady most of the time, but the soil is rich as it is where I used to stand my compost. I tried potatoes (pink firkins) this year but the plants were leggy and the yield really poor. Does anyone know of plants - pref veg, or else fruit or something beneficial to a veg plot - that don't mind shade? I need to make better use of it next year.

[bazzaboy]

A regular FAQ, Gro-Bag, so worth doing a Search on "Shade" as many suggestions scattered throughout earlier discussions. In general, crops that you're growing for leaves are likely to fare best in shade (so salad stuff, spinach, kale, chard etc) but as this particular patch seems to receive some sun the range could be wider than that. It's also worth checking how much variation there is in different seasons as the pattern in "high summer" might be quite different to March and September... b.

[Two_Sheds]

I tried potatoes (pink firkins) this year but the plants were leggy ... Does anyone know of plants -... beneficial to a veg plot - that don't mind shade?

Pink Fir Apple?

I would make it into a comfrey bed: Bocking 14, so it stays in the bed. If you do a search, there are loads and loads of threads on it.

[Gro-Bag]

"Pink Fir Apple? "

Well that must have been a Freudian slip - They were a Firkin poor crop anyway!

Thanks for the replies. I shall try lettuces there next year and see how that goes.

[Gro-Bag]

Or maybe comfrey - that is nice stuff...

[Storming Norman]

I have a small raised bed directly under an apple tree. It grew a reasonable crop of charlottes for me [with the addition of a bit of fuss]. Yes they were leggy but still good tubers. If you try pots again go for ones that are know to be prolific as that might help. I thinned the tree out a bit then second cropped with a few of leek, lettuce, peas and carrots - it seems to be working OK. Someone suggested tom thumb lettuce between leeks and that is very successful.

I have a bed at my allotment with french beans growing over on an arch - the leeks underneath the beans seem to be doing OK there as well.

[Jillyreeves]

Land Cress or Swiss Chard :-)

[Gro-Bag]

Well there's a few things to think about for next year - thanks folks!

[Gorgey Girl]

I'm no expert, but have a couple of shadier beds myself (do get limited sun for part of the day) and I use them for climbing beans (always started off in pots) as they seem to like the idea of climbing to get the sun.