Best plants for shade vegetable gardening.

Do you only have a shade vegetable gardening area to grow in?  Do not let that stop you from growing some of your own vegetables.  

No matter if you have full sun or mostly shade you still need to have good soil and accessible water so start with those basics.   Often a shady garden area has more rocks or roots in the soil so making raised beds may be a great option for you.  Growing in larger pots could also be a way to be successful.   Having the option to move them around to catch more sunlight throughout the day can help as well.

All plants need sunlight to grow, however some need less that others to grow well so that gives you a some great options.  Choosing the right kind of vegetable will make for greater success with growing your plants to maturity and having a healthy harvest.

List of veggies for shade vegetable gardening:

Some vegetables will grow very well with a little as 2-4 hours of sunlight.  A common list of veggies that I regularly grow in the shady part of my garden are as follows:

Got limited sun? Here are 15 more vegetables needing 4 hours a day of direct light. Utilize them in those shaded areas of the yard, and leave the sun for the tomatoes. :)

Spinach growing in the side yard garden.


1. Kale
2. Scallions
3. Beets
4. Parsley
5. Spinach
6. Carrots
7. Cilantro
8. Turnips
9. Chard
10. Lettuce
11. Arugula
12. Garlic
13. Potatoes
14. Mustard Greens
15. Bok Choy

Growing vegetable in a shady area may produce smaller veggies and they may grow slower.  Making  sure your garden site drains well and provide extra nutrients to your vegetable plants through soil amendments and fertilizers will go a long way to you having a bountiful harvest.  

 Do not let a few failures stop you from experimenting with different varieties and different types of vegetable s.

Some vegetables that will NOT grow in a shady garden area are the heat loving veggies like tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, and zucchini.  Choosing the right vegetables that will give you the best results for your area.   Growing in a shady garden will definitely give you bragging rights as a lot of gardeners don't even try.  Happy shade gardening.

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