What to grow in tricky spot

[annie8]

Am enjoying thinking ahead to what I should grow over winter / next year. I grow mostly in raised beds that we built and filled with top soil, but I have one wee area that I struggle to know what to put in. It’s not raised and is at the side of the house so gets little sun. Maybe a couple of hours in summer. It is also the worst area of the garden for slugs and snails. The soil is also less good as it didn’t get topsoil although I did add some mushroom compost earlier this year. I originally tried herbs because it is near the kitchen but they struggled and even the bay tree get chewed. This year I put a rhubarb there and it’s done pretty well but I still have space. It’s not a big area but I hate to see areas not being filled. Any ideas what I could grow that could cope with less sun and that the slugs/snails wouldn’t target?

[Small pumpkin]

Only thing that I can think of is a different variety of rhubarb. Earlier or later variety to extend your season. It depends how much you like rhubarb .
Other than that, I'm no help at all

[veggiechicken]

What about fruit bushes like blackcurrants or raspberries. They're reasonably shade tolerant and the fruit would be above slug level.

[HoneyChild]

I have a very shady corner where I put a gooseberry plant (whinham's industry) it hasn't exactly grown very much over the last few years but I do get some berries from it. Underneath I put some chive plants that grow nice leaves but no flowers.

[Tripmeup]

Slugs don't seem to bother or cause as much harm to alliums for me..
So what about some garlic or elephant garlic??

[chillithyme]

I have raspberries and tayberries growing under heavy shading from a wall and tree branches, they are in bottomless buckets, filled with used compost and soil.It is shady for most of the day except for early evening time. I get a decent amount of fruit considering it's not in full sun, not a huge crop but enough considering the growing conditions.

[Miss Mousetrousers]

I'm wondering about leeks, spring onions, parsley, mint (make sure it's well-contained in a big pot), or chives, beetroots, radish and baby carrots.

[Jungle Jane]

Ive got a couple of gooseberries growing in my shadiest spot & lettuce with a beer trap or copper tape surround to stop the slugs.

[Kirk]

As you have a rhubarb there then maybe another but how much rhubarb do you want/need?
I would suggest that you add a couple of bags of manure not compost, the rhubarb will be grateful for it as it seems to munch it's way through the stuff.

Try a black currant and a red currant. I say "a" as they are easy to take a small cutting off and get it to root. If you bought one of each then take 2 cutting off each I would say at least one cutting would take and you then have 2 of each.

Suppose the other fruit would be a gooseberry or two.

So that is my input.

[annie8]

Thanks for all the ideas. Am leaning towards trying blackcurrants. Could I have two bushes 4 foot x 4.5 foot space or just one and then I could move the gooseberry bush into that area.

[nickdub]

O'd recommend at least 1 gooseberry, if you like them - as others have said they would probably be the best bet for a reliable crop in the sort of place you describe. You can train them as double or triple cordons if you don't want them to take up too much room.

[Two_Sheds]

I have the same, a shady side return, which I don’t much water. Thriving: bamboo, Jap Anemone, hardy geranium, passiflora (the top’s in the sun)

Red currant grows well and fruits, but gets smothered in scale insect.
Gooseberry has done surprisingly well, I got a litre of them this year, from a 2ft x 2ft plant

[Bad Boy Club]

I planted a rosemary sapling just outside my kitchen door that gets no direct sun at all & in quite poor soil. I've added nothing to the soil & apart from watering it in 3 years ago, have given it no water at all, even during this years prolonged heatwave & it's my strongest rosemary plant by far in my entire garden.