Gardening question

[boomhower]

Hello all,
First some background. I live in a subdivision with a homeowners association. I have wanted to have a garden for some time, but the by-laws of the HOA prevent this. However, I was able to get around the by laws this year by planting my tomato plants in a "flower bed" that is next to the house. (The by-laws allow this) I planted a total of 12 plants this year with a goal of canning 20 to 25 quarts of tomatoes and sauce. I far exceeded that. As of right now, I have canned 48 quarts of spaghetti sauce and 16 pints of tomatoes, and the plants are still producing. I consider my first foray into growing/canning a success and I want to expand it a little next year.
The only other available spot in my yard where I could create another "flower bed" is on the east side of my yard barn. It would be an area approximately 12 feet by 3 feet. It would get sun only in the morning and early afternoon. I also could put a trellis behind it against the yard barn for climbing vines. Herein lies my question....

What would be a good item to plant here that will grow well with partial sunlight??? I also want something that will can well and that my family will eat.....

Thanks in advance

Boom

[goatlady]

possibly any of the root crops would do well there, i.e. carrots, beets, taters either white or sweets. Interplant with spring peas, lettuces, chards, kales for fresh eating with your maters.

[eeyore]

Will they allow a fence around the bed? IF not i would plant melons or cucumbers or something you could train to a trellis. Don't forget if you have the room about trees (fruit bearing), they should not have a problem with those and hedges of Blackberrys or some other type of fruit.

[Hit or Miss]

You may also want to consider some herb plants mixed in with your flowering plants. Useful and pretty.

[boomhower]

Thanks for the replies.

I like the potatoes, carrots, and cucumber ideas. Not big on peas and neither is my family. So, if I do cukes, I should train them on a trellis? And they will do ok with partial sunlight?

I have already planted a couple of small fruit trees, but by the time they will be producing, we hope to have moved to property in the country. We are actively looking for property to build on. Right now, I'm just trying to start out small with the gardening, a few items at a time to get my feet wet. Same thing with the canning.

I did parsley, oregano, and basil along with (3) cherry tomato plants in one of those topsy turvy deals on my back patio. It worked really well for that, but you have to water it EVERY day. The fresh herbs were always nice to have.

Boom

[goatlady]

Are you not "big" on peas cause you've only had canned or frozen ones?? Fresh peas are a whole nother taste. My favorites are those flat Chinese Snow peas, saute in butter with onions, throw in a bit of chicken and it's a nice meal. Snow peas tossed in a salad is yummy. No shelling, just eat the whole tender sweet pod.

[trkarl]

I agree with goatlady. Peas picked fresh from the garden and eaten raw are fantstic. Cooked they taste nothing like you get from a can or frozen. When I first started digging up the yard my wife thought I was nuts and just wasting money on dirt. Then she tasted real fresh veggies. There is no comparison to fresh home grown.

[boomhower]

peas

It's not that I don't like peas, it's just that they don't "agree" with my stomach.

When I was little (like 2 yrs old), my mother caught me in her garden eating peas right out of the garden. She said she had to put me back into diapers for a week. Sorry if that's TMI.

What about Lima beans? WIll they grow well in partial shade? I can eat those no problem, and my oldest will eat them too.

Boom

[goatlady]

It's been my experience that lima beans need LOTS of sunshine and ventilationair movement to avoid fungal/mold problems.

[RememberGoliad]

Pole beans willl also grow well and produce happily in a semi-shady area. I had an old fenceline full of huisache that was basically a PITA to me, and so I started a bunch of pole bean plants and transplanted them, with some bush bean plants in front. Both did well, even under the overhanging huisache and mesquite. They'd get sun from about 2 hours after dawn until right before noon, and then indirect/filtered through trees all afternoon. Still produced very very well for me... and quick to start producing, too, which could be a plus up there where you have a short growing season. (To me, short is anything less than 11 months of the year :D )

[monkeybird]

I agree about the peas. I grew white acre (Lady) peas this summer. It was the best vegetable I've ever eaten. My bush limas did poorly. There were grown next to the peas and I guess the peas overwhelmed them.

This spring I will plant pole beans along my fence. I have a very shady yard, lots of trees so my growing area is limited.

Any other vegetable I can grow in the partial shade?

[RememberGoliad]

Leaf lettuce does well in shade, so long as it gets SOME sun... and will produce so long as you pull some off, and use it, it will produce well into summer :) I'll think of others... try some leafy stuff... spinach, turnips, etc. anything you can pack into jars and can ;)

Come to think of it, i had a rousing success about 10 years ago with tomatoes and eggplants mixed together, and planted on south side of house. They'd get shade from the eave for a few hours during middle of day, and other than that they had full sun, though. I think they'd work in spotty shade (from a thin tree) if you have such a place.

I expect most anything will grow, maybe not as well or produce as prolifically, in the shade. Good luck :)

[kappydell]

You need to grow foods that look like landscaping or flowers; what they are depends on what your family will eat. Many long term city folk do not recognize root crops as food; they are easily interspersed with flowers. Beets come in red, green and both colors and leaves AND roots are edible. They store in a cold room. Leafy crops tolerate semi shade and many are varigated. Calalloo, orach, various amaranths are edible as greens if family likes greens; other amaranths produce grains. Plant pole beans with pretty colored blooms and tell folks they are 'ornamentals'. Purple pole beans have lovely violet blooms and pick easily as they are easy to spot. Plus the purple color tends to make folk think they are not edible. (They turn nicely green when cooked). Okra looks like hibiscus plants - gorgeous. Some cabbages are beautiful, but kale is not as recognizable in its many leaf colors and shapes, and tastes like cabbage in slaw or cooked. Potatoes, well, few city people recognize them at all. They mistake them for tomatoes, then lose interest when no tomatoes appear. Leafless peas look like they are grown for their greenery, which is attractive addition to bouquets as a filler. Ditto asparagus.
If folks think you are growing exotic flowers, they will not snitch on you to the enforcers. PS...I read that all dahlia tubers are edible, but some taste better than others. Next spring I will grow a number of them to taste test.