What to grow?

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What to grow?

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Kariana

Joined: 21 Aug 2013
Posts: 122

Posted: Fri Apr 18, 14 9:14 am Post subject: What to grow?

I've not been around for a long time over winter, but with Speing well and truly here I thought I'd pop my head back in for a carch up and hopefully a bit of advice.

I have a very shady, small garden but I really want to grow some vegetables of my own. These would probably have to be in pots so they could sit near the house to get some sun. They couldn't be huge pots either. I already have lots of herbs (though sadly it seems my apple mint is not going to come back) so which veggies are best for growing in lots that I can plant now? Advice would be much appreciated!

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Fri Apr 18, 14 9:46 am Post subject:
Spinach, Lettuce and Rocket are quite happy in partial shade as well as Swiss Chard. Pak Choi, Mizuma and the like too.

chickenlady

Joined: 18 Aug 2013
Posts: 413
Location: Dorset

Posted: Fri Apr 18, 14 9:54 am Post subject:
Rhubarb can be grown in the shade, in a large pot.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4587
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Fri Apr 18, 14 11:12 am Post subject:
General rule of thumb is leafy things can cope with less sun, but anything that produces a big fruit (tomato, squash, etc) needs more sun.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15592

Posted: Sat Apr 19, 14 5:16 am Post subject:
Green plants will also do best with limited sun as the coloured varieties have less chlorophyll. You could try things like tomatoes, beans, peas, courgettes in big pots.

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Sat Apr 19, 14 11:35 am Post subject:
Runner beans might do OK if they can climb up enough to catch a reasonable amount of sun. I used to grow them successfully in a big pot on a NE facing semi-basement patio.

Kariana

Joined: 21 Aug 2013
Posts: 122

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 14 7:44 am Post subject:

Thanks everyone. I've got myself a courgette and a tomato plant to grow in pots on the sunny part of the patio. Also to my joy I've discovered that since the neighbours cut down a tree over the winter half the bed on one side of my garden (which doesn't amount to much, it's very small!) is now bathed in sunlight for most of the day. I've put a few lettuces in there along with some extras in a pot. I'm going to give some further thought to what else might go in. I'm going for planting amongst the flowers rather than having set vegetable patches due to lack of space so it will be interesting to see how it works out.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4587
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 14 10:16 am Post subject:
Sounds great! You may even find that hiding your veg amongst the flowers will confuse pests and things. And you should certainly have plenty of pollinators! I'm guessing you'll want to avoid root crops in that case?

chickenlady

Joined: 18 Aug 2013
Posts: 413
Location: Dorset

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 14 11:13 am Post subject:
Rainbow chard will look absolutely stunning in amongst your flowers.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 14 4:11 pm Post subject:

chickenlady wrote:

Rainbow chard will look absolutely stunning in amongst your flowers.

Later sowings, say end April, will be biennial. They are winter hardy. Just this very minute cut a plant for Sunday dinner. The stalks have been blanched and are in a garlicky, cheesy bechamel sauce, the leaves chopped to be cooked like spinach. Two (pretty) veggies in the space of one!

Kariana

Joined: 21 Aug 2013
Posts: 122

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 14 9:07 pm Post subject:

Hopefully it will confuse them, although some of the leaves of my flowers are looking a little worse for wear already. Something's been having a good old munch!

chickenlady wrote:

Rainbow chard will look absolutely stunning in amongst your flowers.

A very good thought! The recipe above sounds amazing as well.

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