If you had a decent sized raised bed in a shadyish setting what veg would you grow?

[doradoo]

I've spent the winter clearing out a raised bed which sits on the eastern side of my house - it's fairly shady but gets some direct sun. It was completely covered in a rich green ground covering plant which I've painstakingly removed.....

I'm now left with a good sized - 3x5m appx raised bed - what/how would you plant it?

I think I need to put some planks/boards down to be able to reach the middle so that would split it nicely and was erring on the side of roots and brassicas but not sure if I should be going in another direction.....

That's a good area! I would definitely put in some 'path' bits so you can get in to sow, harvest and weed. My allotment beds are about 1.2m across and it's about right to get to the middle from either side.

I think I would then be tempted to divide it up into rectangles with a kind of cross in the middle to walk on and do a kind of mini-rotation, so roots in one square, beans and peas in another (these may do well in your conditions), brassicas and then heavy feeders (one courgette plant produces a lot of courgettes - or marrows if you blink!). Then you could put quick-growing 'catch crops' inbetween while your plants bulk up - things like fast-growing turnips, beetroot, kohl rabi and definitely salad leaves - these produce an amazing amount of salad and work out so much cheaper than in shops. In a raised bed you can plant more closely than directly into the ground so I see no reason why you couldn't cram in a hell of a lot of veg.

The soil will want different things for each crop! For example, the roots shouldn't be manured, while courgettes want buckets of the stuff.

If the rich green ground cover plant was ground elder, you might want to plant some marigolds to knock it back. It's a nasty beast!

(Sorry, should have said my allotment beds are 3m x 1.2m)

I was going to suggest climbing beans for a shady site but east isn't too bad and I don't think I could better the response above anyway!

I'd do exactly the same - divide up your plot and plant each section up with legumes (beans and peas), another for roots (parsnips, celeriac) etc etc. When I started, I was recommended this book - its very good, and handy to have around when you need help or inspiration

Grow Your Own Vegetables

Some great ideas - thanks!

I didn't realise I could do beans and courgettes too - thought they needed fuller sun.

Don't think it was ground elder - the leaves were thicker and glossier than that. The parts of the bed I cleared last autumn (been going at it a long time!) haven't grown back so am hoping I've done a good enough job on clearing it.

I would give courgettes a bit of a go. A couple of plants are probably a quid each, so it's worth a punt - and if they do work, two will produce plenty! They can manage in part-shade, though they probably won't be as productive as in sun.

I am finding that it really, really matters what variety you choose. For example, there are some varieties of a lot of veg that are earlier maturing, or do better on heavier/lighter soil. I have started to put in a little bit of research before I buy the seed rather than going mental with the credit card in the garden centre on the basis of nice pictures on the front of seed packets, and it seems to be paying off .

I think the soil is quite heavy- certainly clay-y about a foot down - there is a marked change in colour - would that affect your planting?

I would think you'll be fine with that type of soil for most plants, but if you want to give carrots a go, or parsnips, then you may have to dig in something to change that. Mind you, I can't grow carrots for toffee!

Get stuck in. You'll figure out by the end of summer what worked, and what didn't. Keep a note of what you've planted and where, so that next year you can make the appropriate changes. A lot of this is trial and error...

Oh, and have lots of fun! It's quite addictive...