On 4/19/2009 2:24 PM, PeterGreenMan wrote:
I would like to get my front garden contributing towards the food bill.
I’m at a loss as to what to grow. Not only must the garden be
aesthetically pleasing (whingeing neighbours) but the house faces north
and the garden spends a lot of time in the shade. Any suggestions or
advice would be appreciated. Vegetables


Everything depends on climate. Where I live you can grow artichokes and
asparagus in part shade.

Plant a ground cover and have the artichokes as accent plants growing
out of it. However, in my garden, the artichokes grow in the shade of a
high-branching ash tree. They go dormant in the summer, sprouting up
again in late fall to produce delicious buds in the spring.

Plant asparagus against your house. When the spears start coming up too
thin, stop harvesting and let the plants grow for the rest of the year.
They will make a nice foundation plant. They turn golden yellow in the
fall and then go dormant in the winter. Mine grow in the shade of a
peach tree.

I also have dwarf citrus, guavas, and loquats in partial shade. These
are both ornamental and fruitful. My neighbor across the street has a
fig tree with delicious fruit; it's growing on the east side of his
house and gets only about 3-4 hours of sun a day.

Total shade, however might be a problem.


--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary