need suggestion for some shady areas.

[mopinko]

so, i acquired a new property and put out several things in containers in the spring to test how much sun hits where.
a couple spots that i thought got enough sun showed that things didnt grow all that well there. peppers and tomatoes grew very slowly, so i moved them.
a couple other spots things are doing well, or at least decently.

i intend to plant some fall stuff there. i already seeded some broc and brussel sprouts. if they get past the bunnies, i think they will do well. need to get some more containers for that to circumvent the rabbit explosion, then i will plant that up seriously.
also going to get some lettuce growing over there, where i think the shade will help it not bolt so fast.

but i am thinking about perennial crops that i can grow there.
i have some currants that are overgrown, so i am gonna gamble on those in the sunnier spots.
i can also transfer some raspberries over there. i have to pull them all the time to keep them where they belong, so that i a freebie.

if i can get my hands on some asparagus crown this fall i will try them out in a couple of spots. i had always thought of them as something that does ok in some shade, tho searching around mostly i am reading that they need a good amount of sun.
any advice on varieties? they arent cheap, and i will probably try some seeds, since i do have a long time line for this whole project. is the purple fussier that the jersey or other green varieties?

any good ideas from the brain trust?

[Demit]

1. Chard?

[mopinko]

2. yeah, greens in general are good annual crops for the space.

i do grow chard, but mostly because it is pretty.
i put that in high visibility areas.

unfortunately at this place, the front yard is the sunny part, and the back yard is the shady part. i am pretty free to grow stuff in the front yard, which is almost as big as the back yard.
i had been looking forward to not having that worry with this secluded spot. oh well.

but right now i am trying to lay the groundwork for permanent crops. i am an old lady, and my days of working my butt off every spring are numbered.
i was hoping to do a couple fruit trees, and some grapes in this space. i may still do a couple grapes in the best spot. right now there is a huge patch of hops that does very well. that spot should support at least a couple grape vines.
first i have to eradicate the hops, tho. argh.
i wouldnt mind them if i could sell them. but since i have no idea what variety they are, they are worthless. nasty vines, too.

[zeusdogmom]

3. Asparagus

Go to the Indiana Berry Company web site. They sell year old asparagus root crowns - what you want to plant. The have good information on growing, what works best in what kind of soil, etc. Prices are good -25 crowns for about 25.00. And they will be healthy. However, their shipping season is over until next spring.

FWIW. I work in a very large retail greenhouse which also sells to landscapers, etc.. We buy most of our asparagus, rhubarb, strawberry, etc. bare root stock from Indiana Berry. We pot 'em up in late winter/early spring and let them grow for sale a couple months later. I have personally ordered from Indiana Berry, too, for my own garden. My asparagus bed is almost 25 years old now and quite healthy. It is at the far end of a long flower bed. The ferns are summer backdrop for other flowers, etc.

Prepare your bed for the asparagus this fall - dig deep, good soil amendments, manure if you can get it, and get your order in for spring. You might be able to find some roots potted up in your local greenhouse which have been growing in pots since Feb/Mar. They will be much more expensive than starting from fresh bare root next spring. And yes, asparagus likes as much sun as it can get.

[mopinko]

4. the soil here is super sandy.

in the ancient bed of lake michigan. that's why i have worked very, very hard on soil building.
i have several big hugel piles. and i have other spots where i compost down woodchips, with the help of my chickens.
i added about 4" of this soil, plus another 4" of woodchips this spring. those chips are composting fast as they are mixed w that nice live soil. i will be adding more in the fall.
i will also clean out my chicken coop and move the manure there.

thanks for the tips. i will try to scrape up a few this fall and test them out. have been dying to get some growing, but have been really testing out shadier spots. big fail.
but i will keep trying. i really need that early spring joy!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Since your soil is sandy, have you tried blueberries (at least in sunnier spots)?

Most vegetables don't do well in shade, although lettuce, cabbage, other cruciferous vegetables manage a little better - that's because we eat mostly the leaves of those vegetables and not fruiting bodies (like tomatoes, squash family, etc.) which need the sun's energy to grow. I haven't had any luck with asparagus ever since the trees in my yard got big enough to cast shade on the area for half the day.

[mopinko]

6. i have a dozen dwarf blueberries waiting for me to get their soil ready

i have a few others around the place. they are doing ok, but not gangbusters.
the spot i have picked for them goes from pretty sunny to a kinda short day, but will see. think i need to put the potted plants out there while i wait to get around to it and see what they do.

but yeah, i am figuring this is where i do all the greens and stuff like that, esp those that tend to bolt on me.

have a couple containers w cukes and squash that i put in the sunniest spots. they are doing ok, but not as well as the ones in high sun. just the size of the leaves is telling me what i didnt want to know.

kinda sucks that the tree that gives the most shade is on my neighbors lot line, but almost entirely in my yard. he has a couple big maples that made it reach into my yard. it is def gonna take down the fence one day. his fence, tho. it has some dead wood that i think i am gonna try to get taken down, and maybe take off a couple of the lower limbs whether he likes it or not.
he already is not real fond of me, which is another whole long story.
but i might as well go ahead and write another chapter.