Mrs. David's Garden Seeds®

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

This week, we will discuss some vegetables that grow well in shade. In order to do this, we need to review what full sun means to a plant. Shade means four hours or less of sun a day. Obviously, plants need light. Partial shade means four to six hours of sun per day. So if an area in your yard only gets roughly three to six hours of sunlight due to the shade of trees, buildings, or anything else, you can give it a try.

Of course, you always want to give your plants as much light as possible so if you have an area that gets two hours of indirect sunlight a day versus an area that gets four hours of indirect sunlight, plant in the area that gets four hours first, especially when you are talking about tomatoes as we discuss them on Tuesday of this week. And trimming up some branches to let a little more light in is always a good idea!

Below on this page are some plants, both herbs and vegetables that do well in shade.

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade - 2/6-2/12/2023

Monday, February 6, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Another foggy morning on the farm. This is looking out the side window near my planting area and greenhouse. The lights are still on as it is before 7am.Another foggy morning on the farm. This is looking out the side window near my planting area and greenhouse. The lights are still on as it is before 7am.

Good foggy morning! It is Monday again. This week, we are talking about veggies that do well in shade. There are quite a few of them.

The fog cleared out. The customers started coming in. We have had so many customers in here this morning, the most we have ever had on a Monday morning. At one point, we had four sets of customers in here at once, all asking me questions that I did not know what to do. We are selling plants and seedlings today out of the greenhouse as well so I have taken several trips to the back. It has been a great day and it is only 12:30pm now.

Seedlings For Sale

  • Tomato Seedlings $3.95
  • Ghost Pepper Seedlings $6.95
  • Pepper Seedlings $1.95
  • Other Vegetable Seedlings $1.95
  • Herb Seedlings $2.95

These prices will change as the plants grow bigger.

Plants For Sale

Today, for the first time since September, I started selling the plants back in my greenhouse. Here is what I have for sale right now:

  • Citronella Plants, small $6.95
  • Mint Plants--Chocolate Mint and Peppermint $6.95
  • Parsley $6.95
  • Rosemary $5.95
  • Rue $4.95
  • Thyme $6.95
  • Wandering Jews--Small $6.95, Large $14.95

These prices will change as the plants grow bigger.

Onion Sets

  • Any kind $8.95 (Only a few left but we have plenty of onion seeds!)

We have had some more customers this afternoon and I have been restocking the store and cleaning out our fish pond. I am glad it is almost closing time. My feet are killing me! Have a great night, fellow gardeners!

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Now, you need to understand that when we say "full shade" in gardening language, it does not mean in a shady spot that never sees sun. Just like when a packet of seeds says "full sun", it does not mean to plant in the blazing sun all day long so it can die. Read on...

Some of our beets growing in a raised bed. Beets are one of the vegetables that grow well in shade.Some of our beets growing in a raised bed. Beets are one of the vegetables that grow well in shade.

Full Sun  Full sun means a plant needs six or more hours of sunlight per day.

Partial Shade  Partial shade means a plant needs from four to six hours of sunlight per day.

Full Shade  Full shade means a plant can do okay with just four hours of sunlight per day.

Here is some shade cloth being laid out on the driveway to measure and cut. Nacho put a lot of it up for us.
Some of our hoop houses covered in shade cloth to prevent our plants from drying up in the harsh Texas sun.Some of our hoop houses covered in shade cloth to prevent our plants from drying up in the harsh Texas sun.

Here in South Central Texas, to block our vegetables from too much sun, we pay good money to put up shade cloth so our plants don't just shrivel up and die in the blazing, torturous sun. Shade cloth is a wonderful invention. No, we don't sell it but you can find it online. Just google shade cloth and it will come up from several suppliers. If you are in Texas, invest in a big roll of it. You will need it unless you have an abundance of trees on your property. Our property used to be a peanut field so there was one tree on it before we bought it. We have spent thousands of dollars on trees but we lost a lot of them in the crazy un-Texas-like freezes we have been having since we have moved out here. We have some trees but none yet that provide shady areas.

Tuesday, February 7, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

It's fixing to rain today. This is my greenhouse from the back deck as well and the field. We may be purchasing some of it in the spring.It's fixing to rain today. This is my greenhouse from the back deck as well and the field. We may be purchasing some of it in the spring. The trash cans have garden soil in them.

Today is my mother's 85th birthday. Happy birthday, Mom!

It is a much warmer start to the day at 67° but cloudy so no sunrise for you. David made us some delicious, farm fresh eggs with cheese for breakfast.

It is time to get ready for another action packed day at David's Garden Seeds®. Yesterday, I did not even get to mess with listings I am supposed to be fixing until last night in front of the TV. Then I was good for about an hour until I fell asleep. I walked all over the farm yesterday several times and I was on my feet for hours. They feel good right now, but we will see how they are in a few hours.

I was out back watering the plants in my greenhouse this morning when a customer came. He wanted six tomato seedlings for $3.95. Our tomato seedlings are $3.95 a piece, not six for $3.95. We do everything by hand and spent many hours planting them and paying people to help us plant them. We are not a discount center. We are a small business and we have employees to pay as well as bills and taxes.

David says we do have some tomato seedlings that did not get marked so we don't know what varieties they are. He said we can sell those at a lower price so if you are interested, come get them for a discounted price, while they last.

Around 11am, it started raining on and off for the entire rest of the workday, at times pouring. It is almost 5pm and the skies are still heavy with grey clouds so I don't think it is over yet. We have had several customers who came to buy seedlings. One lady bought 29 today plus a lot of seeds.

I am starving. I have fed the fish and I need to pack up and go home. I am not sure what I am cooking for dinner but I am ready for it.

It is 7:30pm and I just got a strange message on Facebook from someone I do not know saying that a mutual friend as well as one of our workers told her that we would sell her eggs for her. Shoot, most of the time, I cannot even sell my own eggs. I have not spoken to the mutual friend since November and we never had a conversation about eggs. None of my workers has promised we would sell eggs. Normally, I am the one in the store so I am really confused.

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Yes, you can grow some tomatoes in shade. Let's start with bush style tomatoes that are usually determinants. Try to give your tomatoes as much sunlight as possible so they can produce a lot of fruit. Ideally, they should get at least three hours of sunlight a day. The tomatoes that do best in shady conditions include:

My new favorite tomato seedlings, Sungold. They are delicious cherry tomatoes that do well in shade.My new favorite tomato seedlings, Sungold. They are delicious cherry tomatoes that do well in shade.
  • Black Cherry Tomato
  • Black Krim Beefsteak
  • Glacier Cherry Tomato
  • Green Zebra Slicing Tomato
  • Juliet Plum Tomato
  • Principe Borghese Plum Tomato
  • Roma Tomato
  • San Marzano Paste Tomato
  • Sungold Cherry Tomato

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

You will find shade cloth all over our farm, protecting our garden, including vegetables that do well in shade.You will find shade cloth all over our farm, protecting our garden, including vegetables that do well in shade.

Good chilly morning again. It is 48° and raining this morning on the farm. David and I have to leave soon to go to a doctor in San Antonio. It is still dark out but I was outside with Ethel. I am eating a breakfast sandwich that David made us. Sometimes he is really good in the kitchen. So he made those while I loaded the dishwasher and turned it on. I was supposed to do that last night but I fell asleep on the couch again and did not think of it when I finally woke up. LOL!

The store will still open on time this morning. Matthew will be taking care of you until I get back. We still have plenty of seedlings to go around, especially tomato seedlings but we have already sold several hundred. Good thing we planted 4,000. Come on by. We have some eggs this morning as well.

It is now noon and we have returned to the farm. We had a great double appointment with the podiatrist. Then I fought with the gas tank, trying to fill the truck while David was inside getting us some lunch. For some reason, the cold wind started blowing and that gas pump just did not want to do anything...Finally got it to work and now I am in the store, all set for you to come and visit. Nacho is here helping us indoors today since we lost a man last Friday who moved to Arizona. Good help is so hard to come by out here. It is definitely not like it is in San Antonio where the whole world seems to answer your ad.

Nacho stayed until 8pm tonight. We went to church and came back to find him still here. I had told him to leave at 5pm because we have church and he had church but he stayed which means poor Matt had to stay. We got back around 6:45pm and sent Matt home. My head had been pounding for several hours so I went in the house and took another round of arthritis strength Tylenol. About an hour later, I felt better so I made some chicken and rice soup. It was so good.

I woke up starving at midnight so I got up and ate some salami.

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

I do not have shady places to plant a garden here on the farm. This was all a big peanut field and there is one tree up at the top of the property that came with the place, a mesquite. Since then, we have planted a lot of trees but none are big enough to create shade yet so we had to put up shade cloth around the place to take some of the strong sun off of our garden areas.

Now, let's start the rest of the list from A to Z from today through Saturday. Then on Sunday, we will look at some herbs that grow well in shade.

  • Arugula
  • Beets
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Bunching Onions (Green Onions)

Of course, David's Garden Seeds® carries all of the seeds listed except for potatoes. I am planting potatoes for the first time this year and I got mine at Hoss Tools.

Beets can be grown in early spring as well as fall. Try planting all of the above vegetables in partial shade as they will do better than if you plant them in full sun, especially in Texas where it is too hot for these vegetables most of the year. If you don't have shade, put up some shade cloth or create a hoop house covered in shade cloth. It will really help.

Thursday, February 9, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

One of our strawberry plants in the hoop house has a flower and is ready to produce.One of our strawberry plants in the hoop house has a flower and is ready to produce.

Good morning and happy Thursday! When I got up at 6am, it was 36° Fahrenheit. It is now 9:45am and the temp is at 45°. It should hit 76° by this afternoon. It is bright and sunny but the ground is wet. Josh is putting in some more irrigation pipes. Our visiting, once a week youth workers are planting onion sets back in one of the hoop houses. Brendon is helping and supervising. These kids work so well. Of course, we pay them for their time.

Well, I woke up starving at 6am so I had some toast with cream cheese and coffee. Around 7am, David decided to make eggs for us and he was cutting tomatoes and made a flap cut on his thumb. No big deal, except he takes Xarelto so it was gushing out hard and heavy. He went through several bandaids and wrappings. Finally we wrapped it in some big gauze with a lot of tape around 8:30am and it has not bled through yet. Hopefully, he doesn't have to go to the hospital because I am still paying on his October hospitalization bills and we have more doctor visits next week. I cannot afford all of this.

Two onion sets waiting to be planted. Wouldn't you know that once these were planted, a customer came in asking for onion sets?Two onion sets waiting to be planted. Wouldn't you know that once these were planted, a customer came in asking for onion sets?
An individual onion planted in our onion bed.An individual onion planted in our onion bed.

As I mentioned previously, our youth helpers are planting the last of our onion sets so they are gone, no longer available for sale.

We still have plenty of seedlings back in the greenhouse as well as full grown plants for purchase back in my greenhouse. I have four dozen farm fresh eggs in the refrigerator. With the weather being so beautiful today, I am thinking we will get a lot of visitors but it is Thursday, normally our slowest day of the week for in-store customers. We will see.

We had a lot of customers. Most of them wanted to see the seedlings and all of them but two customers bought our seedlings. A lot of them! We are completely out of some of the varieties including the Black Brandywine.

So we had multiple customers during the lunch hour and after that. In between, I did a lot of content creating.

This evening, I was out on the back deck before dark and I heard turkeys in the field next door. Yes, turkeys for sure.

Turkeys were in the field next to our fence gobbling away. We love living out here!Turkeys were in the field next to our fence gobbling away. We love living out here!
The sun is going down now...The sun is going down now...Time to think about the Hell's Kitchen 2 hour season finale!

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Delicious, fresh bush beans, ready to be snapped and cooked.Delicious, fresh bush beans, ready to be snapped and cooked.
  • Bush Beans
  • Bush Peas
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Chicory Endive
  • Collards

Bush beans and bush peas are so prolific, especially when grown in the shade. They will grow well in early spring as well as fall. They do well in cooler weather.

Friday, February 10, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

It's Friday! Not sure why I am excited because I have to work on Saturdays as well...It is cold and windy but the sunrise lit the sky up in a pastel pink.

It is windy and has climbed from 42° to 54° at 11am. We had our first customers and they took him a lot of tomato plants as well as seeds and luffas. We get so many nice customers.

David put on a crockpot of beans last night for lunch today. He asked me to make some cornbread which I did a little while ago so lunch is ready...The wind is blowing hard and I am in my bright fluorescent yellow hoodie. I thought it would be sunny and warm. Boy, was I wrong.

It stayed chilly all day long. We had quite a few customers come today, much to my surprise in the cold wind.

Late this afternoon, we found out that a female turkey was caught in the fence between our property and the field next door. She was with her Tom turkey who was not caught. Interestingly, I am sure they are the same turkeys we saw over there yesterday. David and Matt, along with Josh, had to go rescue her, but she kept getting back into the fence because she wanted to come over here. After three times, they finally both came into our yard. Not sure why and I don't think they are there anymore.

The female turkey got caught between two fences and insisted on coming through to our yard. The male turkey just stood there. He started to get aggressive but backed off.The female turkey got caught between two fences and insisted on coming through to our yard. The male turkey just stood there. He started to get aggressive but backed off.
Here is a closer look.Here is a closer look. Isn't that Tom turkey beautiful?

I sold all four dozen eggs today that I had in the refrigerator so that was good. I just took three dozen eggs over to the Farm Store for tomorrow if you want some. I am hoping for some warmer weather because that cold wind is just too much! Have a great night!

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

We grow vegetables and herbs in the Farm Store in our hydroponic grow tower.We grow vegetables and herbs in the Farm Store in our hydroponic grow tower.
  • Kale
  • Leaf Lettuce
  • Mustard Greens
  • Peas
  • Potato
  • Radish
  • Rutabaga

We have grown everything listed above except for potatoes. As I mentioned previously, this will be my first time planting potatoes in February of 2023. All of them do well in shade and in cooler temperatures.

Saturday, February 11, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Well, here we are below freezing again at 31°. I told everyone that it was too early to plant outdoors and that it would get cold again and I hope you did not plant too early. It is important that you don't plant prior to the danger of frost in your area.

Determine Your First And Last Frost Dates

To check on when your last frost of spring is as well as your first frost of fall, go to Almanac.com and type in your zip code. Then mark your calendar. This is a very handy tool. It is what we use.

Remember that our fresh seeds grow well but you have to plant them when it is warm enough in your area.

We have cold winds coming through and I think they are blowing folks out this way because we have been so busy with customers! At one point, I had eight people in my Farm Store at the same time. That is a lot for this small store but we all had a great time. Right now, Matt has a few families out in the greenhouse looking at the seedlings. I have sold a ton of them. Matt was kind enough to come over and bring us lunch.

We had nobody the last 30 minutes which is fine. I got more listings updated and then I closed up shop and went home. I have a bad sinus headache due to the cold wind blowing stuff around.

This evening, we will be cooking prime rib for the Svengoolie movie. We bought a huge prime rib for Christmas. We only had five at our table so before we cooked it, we cut it in half and froze the second half of the prime rib. Now it is all defrosted and we are going to live high off the hog (or should I say cow) tonight! I am excited!

The prime rib is all seasoned up and ready for baking.The prime rib is all seasoned up and ready for baking.
The prime rib is ready! The red thing in the meat is the meat thermometer, not raw meat. LOL!The prime rib is ready! The red thing in the meat is the meat thermometer, not raw meat. LOL!

The prime rib came out really good! It was delicious. The Svengoolie movie was Killer Klowns From Outer Space. I hadn't seen it before but it was hilarious. Interestingly, it came out in 1988 and I don't recall hearing about it.

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Today, let's look at the following vegetables that grow well in shade:

A turnip ready to be harvested on our farm.A turnip ready to be harvested on our farm.
  • Sorrel
  • Spinach
  • Swiss Chard
  • Turnips

Turnips are a root vegetable. You can grow them in the cooler weather in just a small amount of sunlight so they can produce a nice, round turnip underground. The leaves will need some sunlight in order for that to happen. Turnip leaves or greens can also be eaten. Cook them on the stove and you will have a healthy side dish. Slice and roast the actual turnips in the oven with some olive oil and salt and pepper and they are pretty tasty.

The sorrel, spinach, and chard will produce leaves to eat. The spinach can be eaten raw, cooked in water, and sauteed. My favorite way to eat spinach leaves is in a salad. It tastes good like that with Ranch Dressing! Ranch can fix anything.

Sorrel is best eaten raw in salads but it can also be sauteed. The leaves and stems of Swiss chard can be eaten. It is best to saute the pieces or they can be steamed. They can also be added into soups for extra nutrition.

Sunday, February 12, 2023 - Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade

Here comes the sun...It is currently 35° and I do not want to go out there and do animal chores.Here comes the sun...It is currently 35° and I do not want to go out there and do animal chores.
Pamela and Sue Ellen are playing as the sun comes up in the backyard.Pamela and Sue Ellen are playing as the sun comes up in the backyard.

Happy Sunday! David, Lucy, and Ethel are still asleep. Pamela and Sue Ellen are frolicking outside as the sun comes up. I woke up in the dark, starving so I have had my first cup of goodness along with part of a leftover cherry turnover from last night.

It is hard to believe another week has come and gone and it is almost time to go to church again. It seems all I do is work and try to keep up with the dishes and laundry.

In between some of the customers yesterday, I was noticing how quickly the snapdragons are coming up in the beds out in front of the Farm Store. I think we will have more of them than the zinnias, at least until it gets hot. Snapdragons hate the heat. They like some shade.

That prime rib we had last night was really tasty. We will have that again for lunch.

You all have a great Sunday! I will probably be back on here later because it is Super Bowl Sunday. Matt is supposed to come over and enjoy the game with us. We will be making queso and we'll have leftover prime rib and other delicious items. Don't worry about us. We won't starve!

Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade - Herbs

I am including some edible herbs for flavor and nutrition that go along with vegetables that grow well in shade. They include:

Basil seedlings ready for purchase.Basil seedlings ready for purchase.
  • Basil
  • Chervil 
  • Chives
  • Cilantro and Coriander (same plant, cilantro is leaves, coriander is seeds)
  • Mint
  • Parsley
  • Oregano
I grow mint in pots in my greenhouse to sell to our customers. This is chocolate mint.I grow mint in pots in my greenhouse to sell to our customers. This is chocolate mint.

These are all easy to grow from seed and you should not have a problem. Plant them in pots so you can move them around if you need to. If you decide to plant them in the ground, make sure the mint is contained or it will overtake everything else planted in the same bed with it. Mint takes over eventually and it wins.

Return from Vegetables That Grow Well In Shade to Our Fourth Year

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Hi! I am Juanita aka Mrs. DGS. This photo was taken in our commercial kitchen during a potluck.Hi! I am Juanita aka Mrs. DGS. This photo was taken in our commercial kitchen during a potluck.
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