Shady Vegetable Gardening
Q I am interested in planting vegetables, but the space available is quite shady and cool. What should I do?
Donald S - Avila Beach
A Although experts suggest six to eight hours of summer sun for a vegetable garden, some vegetables will perform well in partial shade (three to six hours of sun). Root crops such as beets, turnips and potatoes will probably do fine, as will rhubarb, many leafy greens and peas. Other vegetables may adapt to shade by giving a smaller harvest. Some herbs, for example mint, borage, dill and chamomile, grow best in shade.
Study the land available. Can you prune back bushes to increase sunlight? Would raised beds or individual containers lift vegetables above other plantings and capture the light? Or is the shade in your garden caused by deciduous trees? If so, especially in South County, cool season vegetables can be planted to take advantage of winter sun after trees have lost their leaves. Another possibility is to make vertical reflectors of aluminum foil or other shiny materials. Reflectors placed on the north side of a row can capture sunlight and focus it on your plants. The south-facing side of a wall will also reflect light and warmth on a garden.
In summer, you might need to move your gardening to containers on a terrace or in sunny parts of the yard. Tomatoes, peppers, squash and melons are real heat lovers, but in hot climates such as North County, many summer vegetables, especially greens, perform better with only half of the six to eight hours that constitute “full sun.”
If cold soil seems a problem, there are ways to warm your beds. Reflectors concentrate heat as well as light. Floating row covers or clear plastic over the soil will help keep in the day’s warmth. Cool coastal winds pull heat from the ground, so a windbreak, perhaps movable, will help keep your garden warmer. None of these options need cost much.
Getting started with a vegetable garden can be inexpensive, as you’ll see next week.
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