"Blondie" wrote in message

Just wondering if somebody more learned than i could tell me whether
vegetables grown in the backyard will grow happily under shadecloth or do
they need direct sunlight. Thanks

That is one of those "it depends" questions. It depends on the weather and
it depends on what you are trying to grow.

I know that here in the midst of the drought when the sun would fry an egg
on a bare arm after 2 minutes exposure to the midday sun, I did grow some
veggies under shade cloth. The air was so dry and the soil so hard to keep
moist that this was the only thing that allowed them to grow. But having
said that, I have narrow beds and the shade cloth was only draped over the
top, not fully down the sides so they got reflected light on the south,
direct light on the north at the edges and morning and late afternoon sun.
The veg I grew out in the open during the worst of the drought were a waste
of time. If you were in central Aus, I'd say that would be the way to grow
most veg.