"Pat Kiewicz" wrote said:
In my experience, the most likely veggies to produce where shade is
an issue are green beans, chives, parsley, lettuce and a few other types
of loose, leafy greens.

i wonder if ground cover spinach would work there or how about what here in
New Zealand is called silverbeet.
its not a beet per se. its a dark green leafy plant. full of iron and tastes
good steamed on its own or chopped and tossed into pasta sauce or
casseroles.
not sure what its called wherever you live.
hang on, i'll google it for ya and find out other names....
Swiss Chard, i should of remembered this. my mom loved it. she lived in
california. i just never made the connection between the names. silly me.
heres some info i found.

Nutritional Information:
1/2 cup cooked silverbeet is a serve, and is:
 a good source of folate.*
 a source of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin A and iron.
 Low joule with only 62kJ per 100g.

Like English spinach, silverbeet is a source of iron. Its rich stores of
this valuable mineral however are not well absorbed by our digestive system.
Silverbeet is also relatively high in sodium (429mg per100gm) and should
therefore be considered carefully by those on low salt diets.
*Cooked silverbeet supplies about 60 micrograms of folate per serve. An
increased maternal folate consumption in at least the month before and 3
months following conception may reduce the risk of foetal neural tube
defects. It is wise for women planning a pregnancy to consume a minimum of
400ug folate per day in at least the month prior to conception and at least
3 months following conception.
Availability:
All year

Selection:
Fresh silverbeet has dark green, crisp leaves and a crisp creamy white
fleshy stem. Avoid silverbeet with wilted stems or leaves and scarring.

Storage:
Remove the string binding the bunch together after purchase, as this can
bruise the stalks. Remove damaged leaves and cut back the white stalk and
store in the refrigerator in an airtight plastic bag. Silverbeet should be
consumed within a few days of purchase.

Preparation Information:
 Salad (raw)
 Stir fry
 Steam
 Microwave
 Soup

Wash the leaves and stalks in cold salted water and drain well. Slice and
use in stir-fries, quiches or filo parcels with fetta cheese. Silverbeet can
also be steamed or pureed and used in soups, as a side vegetable or shredded
and added raw to salads. Cook as briefly as possible to retain maximum
nutrient content.

Historical Information:
This is the vegetable, with its big, dark green leaves and white veins and
stalk that many Australians mistakenly call spinach. Silverbeet is in fact a
close relative of both spinach and beetroot. Used for many centuries,
silverbeet was mentioned in Roman writings dating back to the 3rd and 4th
centuries BC. Even before this time it was a popular vegetable, thought to
have originated in the Mediterranean.

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maybe the ground cover spinach is better after reading that info. didnt know
silverbeet was high in sodium, nor that the iron is not easily digestable.
oddly its a staple vege here. often pureed for babys around 1yr old and up.

lots of links on google for NZ spinach. as i dont know u'r location, cant
say which one would be the best source of the seeds. its grown in our
climate yr round. tho one website says only grown in summer. go figure.

i guess i can leave that to you to find. guess thats all i can suggest for
your vege plot.

cheers,

jeanne

argh, why is this double spacing?