When it comes to growing vegetables, a bit of smart thinking will allow you to maximise your growing space. Plenty of vegetables are better suited to gentle light than heightened exposure to the sun. In fact, some actually do better out of the heat; they’re slower to bolt, slower to dry out, and need watering far less often. The trick, then, is knowing which crops to select.

How much shade?

The first step is to work out what kind of shade you’ve got. Partial shade is regarded as three or four hours of sun a day, or dappled light under a tree. This is ideal for a good range of crops, as we’ll see below. Deep shade, with barely any direct sun at all, gives you fewer options, so you’ll do better with something like mint or a container of herbs than a full vegetable bed.

The best crops for shade

There is quite a selection of likely crops when it comes to shaded areas, so you can adapt the space to your personal preferences. Leafy greens are the most obvious choice here. Lettuce, rocket, spinach, chard, and oriental leaves like mizuna and pak choi all cope well with less sun. An added bonus is that the shade helps stop them bolting and running to seed in summer, meaning you’ll have a crop well into the hotter months.

Root crops will manage well too, though they’ll take longer to grow. Beetroot, radishes, turnips, and carrots do well in partial shade, though they’ll take longer to grow, and the roots will most likely be smaller.

Brassicas are surprisingly tolerant of the shade. Kale, purple sprouting broccoli, and cabbage will all do well, especially in a spot that’s shaded throughout the hottest part of the day.

When it comes to herbs, you can consider mint, parsley, chives, and coriander. They all prefer a bit of shelter from full sun, especially during the summer months. Mint in particular is happiest in a shady spot, though it’s best kept in a container of some kind, as it can spread easily in its ideal growing conditions.

What to avoid

Sun-lovers like tomatoes, chillies, peppers, aubergines, and sweetcorn all need long hours of direct sunlight to ripen properly, and in shade they’ll produce very little. Save those for your sunniest spot and you should get a good crop, and some important ingredients for a nice salad too!

Making the most of the space

There are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to growing in shaded areas. Be sure to sow a little more thinly than you would in other outdoor areas, as plants reach for light and can get ‘leggy’ when crowded. ‘Leggy’ is what we call stems that are long, thin, and weak stems with large gaps between leaves. The plants should present as short and bushy.

Slugs love cool, damp spots and will find plenty to snack on if you’re not checking your plants regularly. Check your soil as well, and water it as needed. Shaded plants will need watering less than those in sunny spots. You can add a bit more light by painting a nearby wall or fence white to bounce light back onto the growing bed.

Shade slows things down rather than stopping them, and you’ll need to keep an eye on the plants and soil. But if you give crops a little longer and choose the right ones, then you’ll have another valuable and versatile place to grow vegetables.