My vegetable plot is to the north of my house and is shadowed much of
the day from direct sunlight --- house, garage; garden wall, neighbours
trees, ... But none of it is under trees or affected by roots.

Now (March 19th, with not a cloud in the sky) some of it may get direct
sun for only an hour or two, other parts not at all, and about half of
it four hours or so.

What effect has shadowing on plant growth --- say potatoes, broad beans,
carrots?

How does do the effects of shadowing compare to the effects of cloud
cover --- which, in north-west Ireland, we can expect a lot of?

Best regards,

Jon C.

In article ,
Jonathan Campbell wrote:

My vegetable plot is to the north of my house and is shadowed much of
the day from direct sunlight --- house, garage; garden wall, neighbours
trees, ... But none of it is under trees or affected by roots.

I forget the exact figures now, but I found them when writing the
climate FAQ. A hell of a lot of the sunlight in the UK is indirect,
and so shadowing isn't as important a factor as it is elsewhere.
That's in relative terms - in absolute terms, it excludes a lot
of vegetables (like ripening squashes, chillis etc.)

Broad beans, carrots and (mostly) potatoes won't mind much; you
may get a slight smaller crop. Nor will most of the other plants
that do well in cool, dark summers.

My garden is comparable, for different reasons.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.