Im wanting to start a vegetable garden here in the next few days but the spot ive chosen only gets 2 1/2 to 3 hours of direct sunlight a day, the rest is partial..Im worried I may start something that will bear no product or very little...does anyone have any suggestions??? Oh and the soil has a lot of clay in it and would have to be improved..Im worried it would be a waste of time..
There are many things that you could grow in a part-sun area. Some suggestions that I have found online are: Salad Greens, such as leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, and cress. Broccoli Cauliflower Peas Beets Brussels Sprouts Radishes Swiss Chard Leafy Greens, such as collards, mustard greens, spinach, and kale Beans
Some others you might want to try are onions, turnips, parsley, chives, dill, thyme, mint (use container in ground, it spreads), ginger. My friend had success with tomato but only cherry, grape and roma. Also had luck with asparagus. Also plant your rows east/west as then the sun is even.
The problem with partial sun is dew or water staying on the plants to long. Tomato's dont like being wet to long or touching leaves in the dirt.
If the soil needs to be improved, why not start improving it? Just a pile of leaves sitting on top would work for a start ... buy a MATTOCK. Best hand implement for digging stuff into clay, my opinion! Works way better'n a shovel. The kind with a spike on one end, hoe-thingy on the other: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=5&ct=image&ved=0CCsQ9QEwBA We bought ours at Walmart about 7 years ago. Best darned garden tool I've got.
Clay can be broken up with sand and compost. Ditto to the mattock advise: Get one! Your day light is a limiting factor. Stick with shade tolerant plants. Rule of thumb: if you get enough sun for a thick lawn, you've got enough sun for a vegetable garden. You are in an area with deciduous trees, so you may have more light in winter when the leaves are off the trees than you do now. If so, try collard greens or other members of the Cole family (cabbages), Plant in late August, early September for a late fall crop (before hard freeze hopefully).
Cool! Im gonna look to get one. I like new garden tools. My tomato leaves are curling up and dying again. Fruits look alright. Happens about this time every year. Argggg.
If the lower leaves are dying, you may be dealing with fusarium wilt, a fungus. It is aggravated by hot humid weather, planting tomatoes in the same soil year after year, and soil pH that is a bit too low (add limestone powder). Avoid planting tomatoes and other susceptible plants (pepper, potato, sunflower, cosmos) in the same ground for 3 years to let the fungus die. If you are short on space, grow in sterile soil in a container. Make sure you have no weeds in your garden. They help spread the disease.
As far as the soil...you might want to check with the city-county-whatever to see if they give out free compost. There are a few places here that do it including the private contractors that collect yard waste. Most of the time they'll only do it by the truckload, its free if you go pick it up, other wise you have to pay for del.
You should be able to conveniently grow some healthy Lettuce, Spinach, Cauliflower, Peas, Beets, Radishes and even carrots.
I discovered that the city's wood chips I put in my raised beds were not sufficiently broken down and it may be next spring before they become good soil and not nitrogen-robbers. I got veggies, just not as much as I will next year.
