Being the type who doesn’t take no for an answer, I’m going to try growing veggies on my shady deck again. I wasn’t very successful a couple years ago. I thought that 3 hours hot midday sun would be enough for green beans but alas, it was not. That is unless you consider 12 delicious green beans over the course of the growing season a success. So maybe green beans is not the answer. This year I’m going to stick with those I know will deliver for me. No sense wasting valuable space on my deck for edibles when I could grow perennials that the hummingbirds would love. Now that I think about it, I’ll grow both.

Early season veggie starts have arrived at the nurseries plus I see lots of good choices from Renee’s Garden Seeds.

Shade tolerant vegetables for your brightest spots – the partial shade areas – include beans, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, summer squash and early maturing tomatoes like Early Girl, Stupice, San Francisco Fog, Isis Candy as well as other cherry tomatoes. Corn and peppers will be lankier and bear later and only modesty in partial shade.

Root crops and leafy plants can tolerate more shade than fruiting crops. Beets, carrots, potatoes, celery and turnip will grow quite happily in partial shade. So will shallots and bunching onions, cilantro, garlic, chives, kale, leeks, parsley, oregano, cilantro and thyme. Leafy plants can tolerate partial to light shade because their leaves grow larger to absorb the sunlight the plants need. In very light shade areas concentrate on leafy green like Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, arugula, radishes and tarragon.

Shade can be decidedly helpful to some crops. Leafy greens will be more tender and succulent, without the bitterness they tend to acquire when conditions are too hot. A combination of a bit of afternoon shade and an abundance of moisture will help cut-and-come-again crops like broccoli, lettuce, cabbage and celery stay in good condition longer in hot weather.

I’ve always wanted to enjoy carrots from my own garden. From Renee’s Garden Seeds, I think I”ll try growing some Babette French Baby Carrots. They germinate quickly and grow quickly. I plan to harvest while they’re still small- 3-4 inches long. I eat a lot of spinach so I’m going to grow Little Hero, Container Baby Leaf Spinach. The catalog says it has a mild, nutty flavor, is fast growing and highly ornamental in containers. And I might try my hand at an heirloom tomato for containers like Tasmanian Chocolate. They sound delicious and would be worth fighting the squirrels for.

Whatever plants you grow in your shady garden, be sure not to crowd them. Plants tend to sprawl there and if placed too close together they will compete for available light. Place your vegetables plants wherever they will get the most light even if it means putting different crops in separate places. A small harvest is still better than no harvest at all. Your vegetables may take a bit longer to mature without full sun so be patient.