shady veg patch

[ilovearnold]

Hi - we have a small veg patch 12 ft by 12 and its surrounded by neigbouring trees- we cany move it any were else in garden.We managed to grow pots and peas last year - nothing else thrived.Any idea s re any other stuff we could grow? IF NOT VEG THEN MAYBE A CUTTING GARDEN AND IF THAT OPTION - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEST FLOWERS..OOOP S SORRY WENT INTO CAPS !!!

We have one shady one. Has leeks at the moment. Done celeriac, herbs, peas last year that were ok.

We had a bad year for loads of stuff though.

Does the patch get any sun at all? I would try courgettes or butternut squash, salad stuff in the height of summer works well in my shady area - rocket, salad, spinach. Landcress, mizuna (or any other oriental salad leaves), perpetual spinach seem to grow anywhere in my experience. How dry is the soil as that could be one of the problems.
Cutting flowers usually need full sun so don't think thats the solution.

I've got a shady patch on my allotment and I've managed to grow peas, cabbage, kale and lettuce there. Slower than the rest of the garden so ready later in the year.

Peas are great in a shady area -- much better, much less prone to mildew than in full sun.
You could try french beans which are very accomodating, they grew very well when I had a shady veg patch in my garden.
Salad of all kinds will be fine, chard/perpetual spinach is good.
What I would also have in your situation is raspberries, which are naturally a woodland plant.

Make sure you feed the soil well too - the tree roots will be taking all the moisture and nutrients.