SHIFTING ROOTS

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30 Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs You Can Grow in Part Shade

April 1, 2020

You want to grow a vegetable garden, but unfortunately all you have is partial shade, or even worse–full shade. Don’t despair. While you can’t grow everything you might want to, there are lots of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that do well in shade. In fact, I’ve made a list with pictures of 30 edible plants that grow in the shade.

Realistic Expectations for Growing Edible Plants in Shade

Just because a fruit or vegetable is shade tolerant, doesn’t mean that it will grow exactly the same as it would in full sun. Expect your plants to grow slower and produce less of a harvest.

If possible, you can get a bit more sun by trimming trees or removing them altogether. If the area is by a fence, you could always paint it white to help reflect the light, or even set up a mirror if you have a large one.

That said, here are some options for shade tolerant fruit, vegetables, and herbs.

Fruits that Grow in Shade

There are a surprising amount of fruits that will grow well in the shade. In fact, there are at least 10 that I didn’t list, because I live in zone 2/zone 3 in Canada, and I don’t like listing plants that I have no hope of ever growing. Wherever you are, I recommend buying any fruit bushes or trees at a local greenhouse, and asking the staff if the variety you want to buy can be grown in partial shade.

Don’t try and ask the staff at a big box store. Chances are very high that they will not know.

P.S. There’s a surprising amount of fruit you can grow in zone 2 and zone 3. Click here for 28 fruits you can grow!

Lowbush Blueberries

Blueberries fall into two categories: high bush and low bush. Choose the low bush varieties and make sure that your soil is on the acidic side.

Chokecherries

Chokecherries are very hardy and can even be grown in zone 1. If you’ve never tried one before, they are very astringent and don’t taste good raw. They are delicious in jams, jellies, and juices when you add a lot of sugar.

Currants

Elderberries

Raspberries

Raspberry canes have a spreading habit once established. Be a kind neighbour and offer to pull out any canes that stray over the fence line. Fruit does not grow on first year canes, so you will not get any fruit the very first year.

Need recipe ideas? You’ll love these scones, muffins, and no churn ice cream.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a very hardy fruit. The stalks are delicious, but the leaves are poisonous.

Saskatoon Berry

Canadians know these berries as Saskatoon berries, but Americans will likely know them as Serviceberries or Juneberries. Whatever you call them, they’re delicious!!

I’m a wee bit obsessed with Saskatoon berries, and have a lot of recipes on this blog. Click here for a list of all my best Saskatoon berry recipes!

Vegetables that Grow in Partial Shade

What vegetables do well in shade? The ones that like cool weather and tend to be quick growing. In general, most leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables are able to tolerate partial shade.

Arugula

Arugula is one of the quickest growing crops you can grow, with only 20 days to maturity!

Asian Greens: Bok Choi, Pack Choi, etc.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a perennial vegetable, and you can’t harvest anything until the 3rd year. Once the plant is established, it will provide you with fresh spinach every spring without any effort.

Beans

Beans prefer full sun, but if you’re okay with slower growth and a smaller harvest, you can grow delicious bush beans.

Beets

Most root crops are also good candidates for growing in partial shade. Get your seeds in the garden as early as possible, as they will need the whole season to get as large as possible.

Broccoli

In some cases broccoli actual does better in partial shade, as the cooler temperatures the shade provides means its slower to bolt.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Do you struggle with bugs in your broccoli? Here’s how to keep them out! The same trick will also work for cabbage or any other cruciferous vegetable.

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Photo by Irene Kredenets on Unsplash

Celery

Celery is not a quick growing vegetable. It’s best to start celery 8 to 10 weeks before you intend to plant them outdoors.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Collards

Collards are very similar in texture to kale and are quick and easy to grow. They’re not every popular in North American diets, but they should be!

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Kale

There are so many varieties of kale to chose from, ranging from the darkest green, to blue/green, to tinged with pinks and purples. Sneak some into your flowerbeds for something that is both pretty and practical.

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is super useful, as it can be ready in as little as 45 days, and both the leaves and roots are edible.

Peas

Peas are one of the less-shade-loving-slower-growing-options on this list, but they will still work. Just plant more than you usually would to account for the vines being less productive.

Potatoes

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Radishes

Radishes add a nice peppery hit to your salads. Don’t plant too many though–16 or so radishes in enough for one week. Plant a new crop every week or two while its cool for radishes all season.

Spinach

My favourite variety hands down is Bloomsdale. It’s the only one that I actually get to harvest before it bolts.

Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard comes in so many pretty colours. My favourites are Bright Lights and Giant Fordhook.

Turnips

Turnips are another vegetable in which both the leaves and roots are edible. I like the Purple globe variety because it’s both pretty and tasty.

Can You Grow Vegetables in Full Shade?

If you have an area that receives no sunlight whatsoever all day (example–the front of a North facing house, a walkway between houses that is constantly shaded) you can’t grow any vegetables well except for possibly Asian Greens. Many of the leafy green vegetables can be grown with as little as 2-3 hours of light a day, but the growth will be slow.

Partial shade, with about 4-5 hours a day of light, or even a full day of dappled shade underneath a deciduous tree is your best bet for growing shade-loving vegetables.

Shade Tolerant Herbs

All those vegetables would taste better with a couple of fresh herbs! Although most herbs are heat and sun loving, there are 5 herbs that tolerate the shade.

Basil

My favourite kind of basil Sweet Basil, but I also like to grow a few other purple tinged varieties to use as greens in flower arrangements too.

Cilantro

Photo by Tomasz Olszewski on Unsplash

Mint

Keep your mint in a pot instead of growing it in the ground, as it has a spreading habit that you might not appreciate.

Oregano

Parsley

Photo by Hanna Stolt on Unsplash

Which of these shade tolerant vegetables, fruits, and herbs will you grow? If you need more ideas for plants that love the shade, here’s 17 perennials that grow in zone 3, and 22 of my favourite shade annuals.


Wish you could grow fresh vegetables in a small space? Now you can, with Small Garden, Big Harvest. It’s the fastest way to learn all the intensive gardening techniques that can help you maximize every inch of your available gardening space. With lots of easy to do, real life examples, and 2 done-for-you plans, you’ll be able to start vegetable gardening, even if all you have is an apartment balcony.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE


Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

3 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: growing fruit, growing vegetables, partial shade, shade

10 Easy to Grow Vegetables for Beginners (Plus 5 You’ll Want to Avoid)

March 12, 2020

Planting your very first garden can be both exciting and scary.  You can’t wait to eat fresh vegetables you’ve grown yourself, but you soon realize that there’s so much about gardening you just don’t know.  Add in a few incidents with killing houseplants and it’s enough to make a beginner gardener throw in the trowel.

Don’t give up before you get started.  You can grow vegetables as a beginner and be successful at it too.  As long as you have a location with 6 or more hours of light a day, are willing to add some compost to your soil, and you water regularly, you can grow a vegetable garden this year.

I’ll show you the 10 easiest vegetables to grow, plus 3 I think you should avoid your first year.

P.S. All the vegetables you see in this post are ones I have personally grown in my own garden.

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

19 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening Tagged: beginner gardening, Gardening, gardening tips, growing vegetables, how to garden, plant a garden, plants, vegetable gardening

Avoid These 8 Mistakes for a Better Vegetable Container Garden

March 4, 2020

This year I had visions of a beautiful container garden filled with vegetables on my back deck.  I would make it interesting by adding flowers to some of the pots and create a space that was both beautiful and edible.  However, my dreams and reality did not meet.  Here’s the mistakes I made and how you can learn from them.

Really quick gardening disclaimer: I garden in zone 3b in Saskatchewan, Canada, and as such, my gardening advice is best suited to the Canadian Prairies.  While I try to make my gardening tips applicable to as many locations as possible, it is impossible to be 100% relevant to every single zone in North America and beyond.  Thanks for understanding!

Second disclaimer: Nobody really wants to see pictures of practically dead plants.  The pictures here are of my pots when they last looked good, around the mid-point of the growing season.  They went downhill shortly after.

Do you dream of having a container vegetable garden on your patio, balcony, or other small space?  Gardening in pots can be tricky for beginners--here's 8 mistakes you'll want to avoid. #gardening #containergardening #pots #vegetables #vegetablegardening #beginners #plantcare
[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

13 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Vegetables Tagged: beginner gardener, beginner gardening, container gardening, containers, growing vegetables, pots, small space garden, vegetable garden, vegetable gardening, Vegetables

Garden 2018: Lessons Learned and What I’m Doing Next Year

September 6, 2018

There’s been two back to back overnight frosts and the 2018 gardening season is officially done as far as I’m concerned.  Someday I will try and extend my season by a month, but with some unexpected health complications this summer, this is not the year.  Here’s a little recap of what went well, what I learned, and what

First, let’s start with the successes. . .

Check out my small space backyard vegetable garden.  It's amazing how much you can grow using the square foot gardening method and a bit of vertical gardening. #smallspace #gardening #backyard #vegetable #garden

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something, I earn a small commission at no extra charge to you.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: failures, garden vegetables, Gardening, growing vegetables, lessons, raised vinyl garden beds, seeding square, square foot gardening, success, urban garden, Vegetables

How to Survive a Heat Wave in Your Garden

July 5, 2018

It’s one of those humble-brag type of problems in the garden: Oh look, we’re having this crazy heat wave with wonderfully warm summer weather. What do I do?

While you’re grateful for the nice weather, it’s easy for your plants to take an absolute beating when the temperatures soar high above average. Here’s a few strategies to cope.

How do you deal with a hot summer heat wave in the vegetable garden?  I'll show you how to save your plants with these easy tips for your backyard garden. #gardening #summer #beginnergardener #heatwave #gardentips #vegetablegarden

Disclaimer: I garden in zone 3b in the Canadian Prairies. What is hot for me might be normal for you. If you live in the Southern States and have some other solutions for surviving a heat wave, I would LOVE to hear them in the comments, as you are the experts!

Disclaimer 2: This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a bit of extra coffee money, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase anything from one of my links.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Gardening Tagged: Gardening, growing vegetables, heat wave, summer, tips, vegetable garden

Grow roots with us

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • 5 Easy Ways to Increase Pollination in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Bloom Times: What Cut Flowers Grow When in Zone 3
  • The Best Vegetables & Flowers to Start with Winter Sowing
  • 21 Cut Flowers to Grow in Part Shade
  • The Best Grow Lights for Seedlings (from Budget to Bougie)

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Connect with Shifting Roots On. . .

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Find What You’re Looking For. . .

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I love seeing the world through this loving boy’ I love seeing the world through this loving boy’s eyes.  Honestly, I’ve been so sick that I wasn’t really in the mood to “do Valentines Day” but there was this sweet little voice going on about how excited he was for today and how much he loves his family and I just couldn’t resist.  So whether you’re on your own, part of a couple, or in the thick of life-with-littles craziness, Happy Valentines Day!

#valentinesday2020 #mylittlevalentine #boymomlife #lifewithlittles
How do you pass a cold -28 day? By planning your How do you pass a cold -28 day?  By planning your garden, of course!  Today in my stories I’ll be going through the steps I take to start planning everything out.  I’m curious, do you start planning now or wait until the last minute?

P.S.  want your own copy of this planner?  This is the newly updated paid version and it’s on sale by itself from now until Sunday for only $5.  If you’re from Canada, use the code CANADA to make $5 USD be closer to $5 CAD.  Head over to the link in my bio to get yours.

#gardenplanning #gardenplanner #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #organizedlife #organizedliving #wintergardening
Curious about growing lettuce indoors? My experim Curious about growing lettuce indoors?  My experiment is a success so far, although it’s still going to be awhile before I’m eating another salad off of them.

Okay, so maybe a little rant today.  I think sometimes in the gardening space we’re guilty of making things seem easier than they are.  Myself included.  This lettuce project is a case in point.

Was it easy?  Yes.  But will it provide me with endless salads all winter long? Nope.  Or at least not at this scale.  I’m going to estimate that I’d need at least 15 plants this size, especially since it’s winter and everything just grows slower.  And I’m the only person in my family who really eats salad.

In conclusion, this is a fun project to pass the winter, and not a truly sustainable source of lettuce.

Thoughts?

#growinglettuce #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #wintergardening #indoorgardening #plantproject #sustainablefood #gardenersofinstagram #gardenerslife #northerngardening
Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing ex Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing exactly what to start when.  Every two weeks, I'll be posting these handy guides so you have enough time to order your seeds and be ready to plant when it's time for your area.  To find out when these veggies, herbs, and flowers need to be started where you live. . . ⁠
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1. Search out your area's last frost date.  There are plenty of calculators on the Internet.⁠
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2. Count backwards 8 weeks from that date.⁠
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3. Start these seeds when that date hits.⁠
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If you follow me because we're in similar zones--don't panic, it's not time yet!! I won't be starting my 10 week seeds for another two weeks, and even that is slightly on the early side. (I'm starting everything a bit early so I can hopefully plant it out before baby gets here--I won't be physically able to do it after.) I like posting the info early for followers in warmer zones and so you can save it and still have time to order/buy seeds & supplies.⁠
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Which one of these are you most excited to start?⁠
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#seedstarting #seedlings #homegardener #northerngardener #homesteading #urbandhomesteading #homesteadingskills #gardenlife #gardenlifestyle #startingseeds
Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing the whole seed packet in hopes that a few of these little luffa babies will provide me with zero waste sponges that I can use for home cleaning, and as an exfoliant in home made beauty products.

The catch?

These plants are notoriously hard to grow, especially when you live somewhere cold with a really cold growing season—and if they get a hint of frost on them they turn to mush and all my hard work is ruined.

Gulp.

But gardeners are born optimists, so I’m giving it a shot—because you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

P.S. if you’re trying luffa in zone 3 like me, just basically ignore all the directions on the seed packet.  Start them immediately (two weeks ago would have been ideal) and follow along because I’ll show you exactly what to do and when.  I’ll be popping these under a grow light once the sun goes down.

#luffagourd #luffa #loofah #seedlings #seedstarting #northerngardening #northerngardener #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #mygardenthismonth #gardenlife #canadiangardening
This weekend I took a big leap of faith. I came t This weekend I took a big leap of faith.  I came to New York to meet with other content creators/business owners to dig deep into what we do and create a strategy around our messaging.  I don’t even know how to properly describe what all went down, but is was incredibly life changing and I really feel connected to this tribe of women who are committed to playing to win and being the people our businesses need us to be.  I’m so excited to share what I’ve planned for my business with you in the coming months.

#playtowin #gardenblogger #businessowner #wahmlife
Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant? I Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant?  I think the Sansevera or Snake Plant or Mother-in-law’s tongue comes close.  Sure, it might be the vanilla of the plant-loving world, but it is so good for so many situations!⁠
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It can handle you forgetting to water it, low light, or bright light.  It is somewhat forgiving if you are an over-waterer. ⁠
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I’ve had this one for 2 or 3 years now and I keep getting rewarded with more spikes.⁠
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Plant lovers, is there another houseplant you think would be perfect for beginners?⁠
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#crazyplantlady #houseplantsofig #houseplantsofinstagram #snakeplant #houseplantlove
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