Knowing where to plant your vegetable garden is as important as knowing what you want to grow in the first place.  Can you grow tomatoes in the shade?  What about iceberg lettuce?  Peas?  As you begin your gardening journey this season, take the time to know which vegetables need full sun to produce, and which can tolerate shadier conditions.  Otherwise, you may find yourself frustrated when you harvest a single tiny jalapeno pepper from the first plant you try to grow… 

Depending on the size of your yard and the exposure it receives, you might have space for both sun and shade-tolerant vegetables.  If you can, that’s amazing!  But if you have a space that sees more shade than sun, don’t worry.  There are still vegetables you can grow, allowing you to reap the rewards of your own home garden.  As more experienced veggie gardeners know, there is nothing better tasting than a vegetable you grow with your own hands!

Let’s dive in to the interesting topic of sun exposure and discover the types of vegetables that produce well in the shadier areas of our gardens.

Defining Sun Exposure

Understanding sun exposure is one of the most important things you can do as a gardener.  I sheepishly admit that, when I planted my first vegetables, it didn’t occur to me that different plants had different sunlight requirements.  I simply threw purchased plants from the garden center into pots and hoped for the best.  Unsurprisingly, I was very frustrated in that first season and harvested a grand total of one jalapeno and three strawberries.  Not my finest gardening moment…

Now that you understand the difference between full sun, partial sun/shade, and full shade, it’s time to measure how much direct sun your own garden receives.  Keep in mind that sun exposure changes throughout the seasons, so ensure you measure this during the growing season you are focused on.

First, identify where you want to plant your vegetable garden.  This can include areas where you plant directly in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers on your deck.  You’ll want to check these spots every hour or two from sunrise to sunset.  Take note of when the sun first hits the area, when the sun may be blocked for a short time, and when it is fully shaded.  This will allow you to be confident that you are planting your garden in the correct place!

Keep in mind that if you live in an urban area or a suburban neighborhood, this process can be a little more complex.  I live in a townhouse with a western-facing deck and backyard.  With other homes and trees to account for, different parts of my yard and deck get very different amounts of sunlight.  I’m sure my neighbors think it’s fairly entertaining to see how I arrange my own vegetable garden to optimize the light needs of my plants!

Pro Tip:

You don’t necessarily have to keep your shade-loving vegetables in their own segregated areas.  You can also plant them under taller plants.  For example, lettuces, basil, chives, and radishes can tuck easily under tall tomato plants.  This not only shields them from the heat and too much sun, it can offer unique companion planting benefits!

Shade-Friendly Vegetables

Root vegetables such as beets, carrots, and onions, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale, can grow well in partial shade conditions where they see closer to 6 hours of direct sun.  Leafy vegetables like salad greens, on the other hand, thrive in areas with dappled light throughout the day.  Knowing what particular type of shady area your vegetables prefer will go a long way towards strong production!

Root Vegetables

Rooting vegetables are plants that grow under the soil. While many of these plants do need light, there are some that can require a bit less. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the top root vegetables that make perfect companions for shade gardens.

Beets

Beets are grown for both their greens and roots and are used in a variety of cooking preparations.  Greens can be prepared just like spinach and enjoyed raw, sauteed, and in soups.  The roots are most commonly roasted or pickled and have a delightful earthy flavor.  While most are familiar with red beets, golden beets are also quite delicious and have a more mild flavor.

Carrots

Carrots are one of my favorite things to grow because they’re largely hands off after you thin young seedlings.  This sweet root vegetable is a staple in our house and we enjoy many colored varieties throughout the year. 

You can find carrots that are short and stubby to long and slender.  And colors range from traditional orange to white, red, purple and light yellow.  Like most root vegetables, carrots will grow a bit smaller in areas with partial shade, but they are just as sweet!

Garlic

Garlic has long been a staple in our home and is popular in many different cuisines. It is best known for creating a base of flavor in soups, sauces, and meat preparations.  When roasted, it develops a sweet, caramelized flavor that adds exceptional depth to food. 

Interestingly, garlic is grown from cloves rather than seeds, is planted in the fall, overwinters, and is harvested in the summer.  This long season crop does take a bit of preparation, but fresh garlic is well worth the wait.  The scent and flavor of fresh garlic will make you scoff at those you find at the grocery store!

Leeks

“There’s a leek in the boat! Ahhhhh!”  My son was a huge fan of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs when he was younger.  In the movie, there is ‘living food’ including a leek who jumps in a boat, and well… you get it!  In real life, leeks are a wonderfully easy vegetable to grow and eat.  They are similar in taste to onions, but tend to be a bit sweeter.  Prepare and enjoy leeks as you would an onion.

Parsnip

Parsnips look quite a lot like large white carrots, but they have a softer, nutty flavor.  I love using them in soups and fritters, roasted with other root vegetables, and shaved in salads.  Unlike carrots, parsnips are a long season crop.  Aim to harvest after your first frost for a slightly sweeter bite.

Potatoes

Potatoes are a wonderful crop to grow at home.  They’re incredibly easy to grow and the flavor is amazing.  While you can always plant potatoes directly in the ground or in raised beds, they do really well in grow-bags too. 

This gives you a lot of flexibility when deciding where to plant.  Harvesting your garden grown potatoes is quite fun and the kids love helping.  After you dump the dirt out of your grow-bag, it’s almost like an easter egg hunt to find all the potatoes!  There are quite a few varieties of potatoes, of course, but will typically fall within white, red, or sweet categories.

Radish

Radishes are a perfect choice for new gardeners. Radishes are easy to grow, and they are great for beginners. They also grow quickly, which means after planting, you’ll soon feel like you have hundreds of radishes sprouting up in your garden! 

Just like with beets, you can enjoy both the greens and the roots of the radish plant.  The root is most commonly eaten raw in salads, but they can also be enjoyed roasted or sauteed.  Greens can be used similarly to spinach and can be an excellent addition to a spicy pesto.

Turnips

Turnips are fairly easy to grow, and are also quite resilient crops. Though they are most commonly cooked, turnips can be enjoyed raw as well.  Just make sure you peel them first!  Last year, I discovered that turnip chips are quite delicious as well.  Simply slice them thinly with a mandolin, roast and season.  So much better than a greasy potato chip!  Like radishes, you can also enjoy turnip greens in soups or salads.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables are a big group that’s composed of veggies mainly from the Brassicaceae family. This includes cabbage, lettuce, kale, bok choy, and broccoli. Many of these veggies are shade friendly. Let’s take a deeper look!

Arugula

While I always considered arugula to be a leafy green, it’s actually part of the cruciferous family and more closely related to broccoli.  Grown and used since ancient Roman times, arugula was first used as a medicinal herb.  Today, we typically enjoy the bright, peppery flavor raw in salads, or sauteed light in pastas and soups.

Bok Choi

Also known as pak choi or pok choi, this is a type of chinese cabbage.  Unlike heading varieties of cabbage, bok choi forms a small cluster of leaves with a bulbous bottom.  It has a flavor similar to spinach with a mildly peppery undertone. 

Bok choi is incredibly popular in asian cuisine and is slowly finding its way onto western dinner tables.  I receive both baby and full size bok choi from our local CSA and enjoy it roasted, lightly grilled, stir-fried, and braised.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a slow-growing, cool season plant that appreciates some shade once days get warm. Plants typically create large leaves surrounding a central flowering head, which is harvested upon maturity.  Broccoli is delicious raw, steamed, sauteed, or roasted and is a vegetable staple in my house! 

If the long maturation process puts you off from growing broccoli, try a variety of broccolini instead.  You can harvest its small shoots much earlier and enjoy them throughout the growing season.

Brussels Sprouts

Another interesting veggie for shade areas: Brussel sprouts.  Even though the sprouts look like small cabbages, they certainly do not grow like them.  Instead, the plant forms multiple bulbs on a single, large stalk. 

While this is a long-season plant that takes 26-31 weeks to reach maturity, the sprouts can be harvested for many months – from September through February depending on where you live.

Make sure to keep Brussel sprouts away from tomatoes or other plants in the nightshade family. Veggies from the brassica family don’t do well with nightshade family vegetables if planted nearby.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower has gained a resurgence in popularity in recent years due to its inclusion in health foods such as cauliflower rice and pizza doughs.  More traditionally, you can enjoy it raw, steamed, and roasted.  Like broccoli, cauliflower is slow to mature and is grown for its flowering head.  Most often seen in white, you can also find cauliflower varieties sporting orange, purple, and green heads. 

Cauliflower grown in partial shade conditions will grow more slowly and produce smaller heads than those grown in full sun.  But, the shade will also prevent the heads from flowering prematurely and discoloring in the sun.

Cabbage

Cabbage develops a round head of leaves that wrap around each other tightly.  There are over 400 different varieties of cabbage, giving you plenty to choose from! These plants produce large leaves and require a lot of room to grow, so ensure adequate spacing when you plant. 

Cabbage grows well in partial shade conditions, but may take a little longer to reach maturity.  I enjoy cabbage shredded in salads and tacos, blanched and rolled as stuffed cabbage leaves, fermented into sauerkraut, roasted with root vegetables, and sauteed in soups. Cabbage also makes a great companion plant for shady garden areas.

Chinese (Napa) Cabbage

Napa Cabbage has a milder flavor than regular cabbage and is often used in asian cuisines for its versatility.  It can be eaten raw, quickly sauteed in a stir fry, or cooked for a long time in a soup.  Interestingly, Napa cabbage is similar to tofu in that it absorbs the flavors of the foods around it. 

Collard Greens

Best known in southern cuisine, collard greens are a delicious addition to your garden. They can be eaten raw, sauteed, or in soups.  The most popular preparation is in southern collard greens and there are as many variations on that staple as there are people who cook it!

Kale

Kale became known several years ago as a superfood and gained a lot of popularity with home gardeners.  I plant kale every year. Kale is incredibly easy to grow, there are only a few pests you have to watch out for, and the flavor is incredible.  Tuscan kale is my favorite, but you can also enjoy common curly kale, Siberian kale, or Chinese Kale.  Kale is commonly used raw in salads, or sauteed in pastas or soups.

Kohlrabi

A uniqe vegetable, kohlrabi is a vegetable I was first exposed to through my CSA and is commonly seen at farmer’s markets.  The bulb looks a bit like a small, hard cabbage and tastes like a delicious combination of cabbage and spicy radish.  I really enjoy it shaved in a salad and coleslaw, but we have also appreciated it roasted with garlic and parmesan and added to soups.  You can also eat the stems raw in salads or as a spinach substitute.

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens are known for their peppery, pungent, mustard-like flavor.  The flavor is quite similar to mustard, which makes sense since mustard seeds come from this plant!  Cook mustard greens like you would spinach, but be prepared for the much stronger flavor.

Legumes

Legumes are plants that come from the family Fabaceae. They are basically the fruit, or the seed of that type of plant. Peas are the primary shade-friendly legume, and there are many different types of peas that you can consider for shadier areas of your garden.

Peas

Peas are always one of the first things I plant in my garden in each spring.  There are many different pea types, giving you plenty of garden flexibility. Seeing the young shoots pop up after a long winter is incredibly satisfying and incredibly tasty!  Snow and snap peas can be picked and eaten right off the vine or sauteed in stir fries. 

English or sweet peas are a shelled variety that are removed from the pod prior to eating.  Shelling peas is a pretty quick process and the fresh peas that result are so delicious!

Greens

There are some great shade-friendly veggies that are greens. Lettuce and swiss chard are two of the most popular, but there are several other options to consider. Let’s take a look at the most popular greens to plant in shady areas of your veggie garden this season.

Lettuce

Along with peas, leaf and heading lettuces are among the first things I plant every year!  After you taste the very rich flavor of lettuce from your garden, you will have a hard time enjoying what comes out of the plastic containers at your local grocery store. 

Lettuces come in so many different varieties that the sky is truly the limit.  The great news is that lettuce is incredibly easy to grow from seed, so you can try multiple varieties this season!

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a plant known for its vibrant pink edible stalk and very sour taste. It’s most commonly used in pies or paired with sweet fruits like strawberry. You can also dip the raw stalk in sugar or honey to help mellow the tart taste. This is a true perennial and, once planted, you can enjoy a beautiful harvest year after year.

Spinach

Spinach is probably one of the most known and best loved greens to cook with in western culture. This is why so many preparation tips of other vegetables reference spinach! While spinach is a little finicky to grow, but it will definitely thrive in shady, cooler conditions. Enjoy spinach raw, sauteed, or cooked in soups and stews.

Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is a wonderful leafy green that can be enjoyed in so many ways. I have used the leaves raw – in salads, smoothies, and juiced – and cooked in every way you would use spinach. Chard is beautiful to look at while planted as well. The rainbow variety is stunning with shades of orange, pink, purple, and red stalks and vibrant green leaves.

Herbs

Herbs can make great shade-friendly plants. They are a subset of vegetables, but many of them have specific qualities that make them great companion plants to others in your garden. Chives, for example will ward of many different types of pests, and can make great companion plants for many different types of vegetables. Let’s look at some of the top shade-friendly herbs.

Rosemary

One of my favorite smelling herbs, rosemary is a wonderful plant that is incredibly easy to grow.  It tolerates shady areas well, is drought tolerant, and overwinters beautifully. Continually harvesting stems will encourage continued growth of production of this aromatic plant.

Parsley

Parsley is another herb staple in many gardens, and does quite well in partial shade. A true biennial, parsley produces only foliage in its first season. It overwinters beautifully in all but the coldest climates, and will then flower in its second year. Once the plant has set seed, the leaves will become bitter, so be sure to harvest before this happens!

Chives

Chives may be the easiest of all herbs to grow in the shade. I have always planted chives under tomato plants, peppers, and fruit trees as they really thrive in dappled light. This is a perennial herb that will come back year after year and is incredibly low maintenance. Chives have a delicate onion flavor that can be harvested and used in the kitchen simply by snipping off a handful of stems whenever you desire.