veg plot in the shade? am I wasting my time?

[virgiltracey]

DH has a number of things he wants to do around the house this year and one of them is planting up a vegetable garden. The problem is that we live in the middle of a wood. The only real area that might be suitable is a rectangular lawn outside the kitchen. It is about 5 metres by 12 metres. It gets some sunshine in the morning and also in the late evening but the rest of the time (unless mid summer) the light is just dappled sunlight since we are surrounded by 150 foot oak and birch trees.

Would it be a waste of time to even try?

Apparently people have had quite a bit of success with veg in the shade. Look up 'Forest Gardening'... that might be the way to go... www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_gardening

The following crops can be grown with three to six hours of sun, or fairly constant dappled shade, per day.

1. Salad Greens, such as leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, and cress.
2. Broccoli
3. Cauliflower
4. Peas
5. Beets
6. Brussels Sprouts
7. Radishes
8. Swiss Chard
9. Leafy Greens, such as collards, mustard greens, spinach, and kale
10. Beans

I'm really sorry to say this, but personally, I would think that yes, you probably are wasting your time.

As eatweeds says, salads will do ok, in summer, with some shade, swiss chard & leaf beet ditto. Brassicas (kale, broccoli, caulis & the like) will hang in there but not do much.

I've grown in open spaces surrounded by trees, and generally I'd say you need a good 50 foot between the trees (particularly to the South, of course) and your growing plot to get decent results.

You might find the best bet to see whether it is worth your while would be to try growing in containers in that spot before you start digging up your lawn?

We got our allotment because we weren't having any joy in the dappled shade of our garden.

Thanks everyone that's helpful. I thought it might be a waste of effort (and lawn!) The pot idea is a good one though and I will have a look at the forest gardening stuff too.

Some nice advice from eatweeds. I would definately have a go: try small scale rather than investing lots of time and effort first. Then review.

Good luck.

Part of my veg plot is near tall trees and all summer their roots suck up the moisture in the soil. Cobnuts, bay and plums plus oregano, chives seem to do well though. Having said that, I think you could easily raise leafy salad greens, lambs lettuce, chard and spinach in a raised bed, or large pots where you can keep them moist. You could probably grow beans and peas in a grow bag arrangement. As culinaryqueen says try small first.

Gooseberries would probably work.