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What to grow in a area of poor light on my Allottment?

MoominMamaMoominMama Posts: 36
in Fruit & veg
Can anyone suggest what I might grow at one end of my allotment where light levels are restricted by trees, garden shed, etc?
I have had poor results from my small raised beds here and think it may be lack of light. Think I'll have to move them. I've tried salad leaves, beetroot, radish, celery, turnips spinach - all sorts really.
Maybe I'll move my horseradish & Comfrey etc to here and grow my salads etc further down. Any ideas?
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Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Gooseberries are quite happy in semi-shade  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    We have a patch in our veg patch which is in the shadow of sycamore trees.  According to a site I googled I could grow 10 varieties of veg and 10 of fruit in this dappled shade.
    So we started this year with strawberries, rhubarb, blackcurrants and beetroot.  Only the beetroot did moderately well - we got just a dozen or so strawberries off 20 new plants, the blackcurrant bushes ended up bent as they grew towards the light and the rhubarb hasn't produced any usable sticks yet .  We are planning on moving the blackc's and the strawbs to a sunnier spot during the next month or so.  It would be worth trying Dove's suggestion.
  • MoominMamaMoominMama Posts: 36
    Thanks, but weve got gooseberries galore behind the shed !!
  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    Big Ben blackcurrants are thriving in shade in my garden. The fruits are twice the size of common varieties
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Sweet cicely - a very useful herb - is happy in shade. Mint will grow in shade as well (but if you go for that, be sure to restrict its roots). 
    Autumn raspberries. 
    You could build a small lean-to or cold frame - most cuttings and a lot of seedlings do better out of direct sunlight to get them going. I start most of my brassica and peas/beans in modules on a shelf on the side of my shed which has a wide roof overhang to keep both frost and sun off them. I move them out into better light once they are pricked out, to stop them getting leggy, but they germinate better in the shade.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
    If they are your trees then you could reduce their size so you remove the problem and not the just effect
    Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923
    most soft fruits will grow in shade, so currants, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries and all the various cross breeds like jostaberries, loganberries, tayberries etc.
  • MoominMamaMoominMama Posts: 36
    I think soft fruit is the answer. I'll move the raised beds and extend my fruit garden. They're not my trees unfortunately; the allotment is rented and the trees are just the other side of the fence.
  • BobFlannigonBobFlannigon Posts: 619
    If you had something with some height would the top of it get sunlight?  For example, a fruit tree?
  • MoominMamaMoominMama Posts: 36
    Possibly, however I think that would just extend the problem further down the garden. 
    Thanks for all your ideas tho' folks. I've decided to do some moving around this winter and accept that this area is not brilliant for growing other than currants etc. It'll become more of a utility area close by the shed.
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