Shady garden area :(

18 years ago

How heartbreaking. This house has a PERFECT spot for a garden that's on the SE corner of the house... but they are all concerned about the lawn there and she seemed surprised that I even asked to put in raised beds there. As if it's really a lawn, it's just a bunch of weeds anyway.

*cry*

So she did say I could have a garden behind the garage. Without measuring I'd have to estimate I've got about a 20x30 area but really only about 20X10 of it has any sort of consistent sunlight. The rest of it is really shady from a large maple tree. So... I'll try to maximize my growing area for the spot that gets sun (even though it's pretty much just GRAVEL and WEEDS... yuck!). The garage is to the south of it, but it has direct eastern sun.

So basically here's my main question - for a family that doesn't really do much salads & greens, what are some veggie crops we can grow in a shady area?

I'll try and watch the area this weekend to get a true idea of the sun exposure... I am just so heartbroken. This landlord is really bothering me... she mentioned something about the weeds that are tall on the outside of our fence and I'm thinking... well they were tall when we moved in a few weeks ago! And they didn't provide any yardcare equipment, it isn't like we have the dough to buy all new equipment right away. THe place was a mess when we moved in, trash in the basement, trash behind the garage, etc. I understand wanting to make the place look neat, but geez! Plus the lawn is half dead because we had a heat wave for a couple weeks before we moved in and the previous tenant (who also happens to be an employee at the management co, go figure) didn't water the lawn - neighbor said she didn't even OWN a hose. We've been watering it every single day just trying to get it to recover but if they try and make us pay for reseeding the lawn next year in the spots that aren't coming back I'm gonna throw a real fit. It's just weird, like they have these expectations of us but the condition of the house when we moved in belies that. For instance, they were very specific on no nails in the walls. We move in and there are nails in every single wall in every single room already. Huh? But I digress...

I already bought all the wood for my beds... though I suppose this way I can build them up a bit taller since my original plan was for 12" deep beds and I am using 6" wide boards, so now I can do 18" beds probably since I won't have as much growing space, but man... it's really sad for me :( I was really hoping to be able to have enough space to fill our produce needs and also do some preserving and freezing but that's not going to happen.

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Comments (5)

carolynp
18 years ago
Oooh! Not to worry! I have a box in a VERY shady area of my yard and I have already harvested peas (since March, btw...), lettuce (I know, not your favorite), and carrots there. I have spinach, green beans, and more peas coming in there. I was pretty worried about the lack of sunlight, but it's really doing ok.
I also notice you're in WA. They have some pretty solid tenant law there, you should research it. If your landlord won't let you put a garden in the sunny spot, why not try a couple of those handmade earthboxes? Some of the folks on the tomato forum have some AMAZING yields from those little boxes. They said they use homemade potting mix made out of 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 peat, ROFL. And, ummm..., I'd probably go on the easier to ask forgiveness than permission assumption, were it I. Especially if it's just dead weeds. They'll be just as dead before and after...
engineeredgarden
18 years ago
I agree with carolyn....The homemade earthtainers by Raybo - over at the containers or tomato forums is one option. You could even put wheels on them, and move the "garden" every other day - just to mess with the landlord. Before I did anything, I would check the sun exposure like you are planning on doing. I located my corn box right at the edge of the tree line, and checked the sun exposure to be 5 1/2 hrs direct sunlight per day - and it is growing fine.

EG
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socalgirl-10
18 years ago
TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING!!! If you are concerned with them charging you for things that you did not do, start taking pics now!!!! You will need them later for "evidence". As far as your shade, you can grow cabbage, brussels, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, eggplant, and even tomatoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shady Veggies
medontdo
18 years ago
oh ya, even tomatoes, AND bell peppers!! i have them in shade. and so far i have one. it was a last minute ditch effort to get rid of all the winter sown containers that i had planted (very bored and tootooooo many seeds) and i didn't want the quack grass getting to them, i have tons of it up front. so i planted it out back in the shade, NOT THINKING of course. LOL and its growing. i'm still getting tomatoes, tiny but getting them. LOL i figure i'll have them for a bit!! LOL so shade is not a problem!! and i agree, been down the landlord road, ALWAYS take MANY pics, with the date!!! and MANY angles too!! (they always say pics would have been nice!!!) :') ~Medo
betho
Original Author
18 years ago
Oh thanks for the helpful advice :) Especially on the taking pictures... didn't think about that. Probably a good idea though. There are definitely some spots in the lawn that will need to be reseeded, though by the time we move out they will probably be overtaken with weeds. I've even got a nice patch of purslane in the lawn :)

I measured my area yesterday that has lots of sun and then the part that has partial shade and I think I'll be OK, I just won't be able to grow as much as I wanted. No sweet corn :( But I guess I didn't realize there really are a lot of veggies I can grow in the shade...it's cool.