Forest fruit and shady vegetables

It is a common fallacy that you need a sunny garden to grow fruit and vegetables, says Alan Titchmarsh…but you need to choose the right ones

Tools for the job

It is true that most fruit and vegetables produce bigger harvests and more reliable crops if grown in an open, sunny plot. However, it is quite possible to get decent results in shadier locations provided you choose the right crops and grow them in the right way. A compromise has to be found in most gardens, in any case, since space is limited and the prime sunny spot is usually reserved for the family patio with the surrounding areas laid out to decorative flowerbeds and lawns. So, any productive growing space has to be squeezed into the remaining areas and has to cope with shade for at least part of the day. If your garden faces north, or you are surrounded by trees or tall buildings, the shade maybe deeper and longer lasting. But even here, you can grow decent crops by choosing carefully.

Fruits for dappled shade

• Alpine strawberry
• Apple ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ (cooking), 'Discovery' (dessert)
• Blackberry ‘Loch Ness’
• Cherry ‘Morello’, ‘Stella’ (sweet)
• Raspberry ‘Autumn Bliss’
• Redcurrant 'Laxton's Number One'
• Rhubarb 'Timperley Early'
• Strawberry ‘Cambridge Favourite’
• Whitecurrant 'Versailles Blanche'

Choosing the right crops If you are planning a shady productive area, first eliminate the crops that will not thrive. Vegetables, such as asparagus, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, garlic, most onions, shallots, tomatoes and sweetcorn, as well as sun-loving fruit such as figs, grapes, nectarines and peaches are a non-starter. Then make your selection according to the depth of shade and how much of the day it lasts (this will partly depend on the direction the plot is facing). For example, in a north-facing garden, with continuous shade for over half of the day in summer, you’ll be restricted to forest fruits, including raspberries and blackberries as well as vigorous rhubarb and Morello cherries. Shade-tolerant vegetables, such as beetroot, kale, spinach and fast-growing salad crops, like lettuce and radish, are also worth a try. If the shade is dappled then you can add blackcurrants, apples, redcurrants and whitecurrants to the plan as well as early carrots and potatoes, leeks, cabbages and even courgettes. Growing crops in shade effectively transports your garden north. In shade, the soil takes longer to warm in spring, and does not retain the warmth for so long into autumn - so you have a shorter growing season. The sun is also weaker, so crops don’t grow as fast or ripen as quickly. The canny gardener chooses quick-maturing varieties that have a better chance of producing a decent crop. Early carrots (e.g. ‘Amsterdam Forcing’) and potatoes (e.g. ‘Swift’), for example, will perform a lot better than maincrop varieties. With vegetables, you can overcome the shorter season, to some extent, by raising them in pots in a coldframe or greenhouse and planting out vigorous young plants, rather than waiting to sow seeds direct outside in the garden. You can also help warm the soil by covering it with polythene, before planting, and keep it warm with cloches afterwards.

How to improve your chances Where practicable, take steps to reduce shade by thinning out overhead canopies of trees, cutting back surrounding shrubs and planting taller crops to the north of shorter ones, so they don’t cast further shade and exacerbate your problems. You could even cover surrounding walls and fences with a pale, light-reflecting paint and use pale paving and mulch whenever possible. Rows of crops of similar height should run from north to south across the plot to help maximise light penetration further. Wider spacing of crops between rows and within the row will also help.

However, bear in mind that poorly cropping fruit and vegetables in a shady garden, may not be due to the lack of light. Since most shady areas are associated with impoverished soil conditions, it pays to take a close look at the earth beneath your feet first. The soil under trees is often dry, lacking in nutrients and full of competing roots, while the ground near tall buildings can be a churned-up mix of subsoil and rubble. You can improve these conditions by digging thoroughly to remove roots, rocks and other debris, then mixing in lashings of well-rotted organic matter. Invasive roots can be kept at bay by slotting in a vertical barrier of paving slabs at the edge of a plot. Another issue to consider in built-up areas is the damaging effect of turbulent gusts of wind. Strong gusts can physically damage and even topple tall crops as well as scatter fruit, but it is the unseen damage caused by light winds that cause most losses. In a wind tunnel, the constant breeze will reduce vegetable yields by slowing growth and buffeting eddies will prevent a good set on both fruit and vegetables by disrupting pollinating insects. Reduce the impact of wind on your crops by putting up windbreaks and make sure taller crops are well supported.