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On the basis of this description of my garden, where should I plant some veg?

5 replies

Littleredsquirrel · 31/10/2013 09:17

We have a lot of "garden", over five acres of it, but most of it is wooded.

The bit that isn't wooded is still home to lots of trees. I went self employed this year and work from hime which give me more time to think about the garden. I'd like to have a veg patch and also grow rhubarb, berries etc. Which of these would be the best spot?

  1. area near the back of the house. Flat and currently grass (and the kids football pitch). Its south facing but has tall trees to the south and gets a couple of hours of sun a day


  1. woodland area, dappled shade all day


  1. area away from the house, gets shade in the morning but sun during the late afternoon and evening. less likely to get attention though since its a bit of a trek.


is the massive amount of shade likely to mean I can't get anything to grow properly? Is there anything that will grow well despite the shade?
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dreamingofsun · 31/10/2013 09:28

i spent the summer learning on a small plot which was pretty shaded - some more than other bits. the advice is that you can grow stuff but yields are less and some things struggle more than others - fruits are the worst.

late morning/afternoon sun is the most important.

i struggled with the bit under the trees which had a little bit of dappled sun. couldn't get anything to grow there. i think it was also too acidic. i gave up on that bit.

do you get rabbits/deer as you also need to think about them and how to stop them eating your crop. see what the soil is like - thin and stony or deep and earthy?

seems a shame to dig up the kids football pitch.

if you google for shade loving veg you will get lists of things that grow more easily in shade. raspberries and salad from what i remember.

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Littleredsquirrel · 31/10/2013 09:53

Yes we do get deer and some rabbits, although the cats have scared the rabbits off a bit. Sounds like maybe the area further from the house might be the best contender.

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dreamingofsun · 31/10/2013 10:18

is there a stream there? what will you do about water?

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Littleredsquirrel · 31/10/2013 10:26

probably a couple of waterbutts down there but its not that far that we couldn't get water down there in the wheelbarrow.

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Talkinpeace · 31/10/2013 22:14

veg grows best in full sun - shade for more than a short part of the day will cripple your crops.

TBH if you have plenty of space, make a low scale "walled garden"
fence off an area : panels or wire and posts
and mark out a couple of raised beds
put a shed there so that you can sit and have a cuppa admiring your work
and do a series of 8x4 raised beds so that you can start small and expand

and put another bench at each corner as seats are what make veg gardens welcoming places to pass the time
and thus stay maintained

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