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shade tollerant veg
I have been asked to help a couple of new friends plant up a veggie patch that we are creating at the back of some tenement blocks in Edinburgh from some reclaimed wilderness. The buildings tower above the plot on three sides...it may get 5 or 6 hours sun. What can we plant there?
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#2
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shade tollerant veg
"benjiboy" wrote I have been asked to help a couple of new friends plant up a veggie patch that we are creating at the back of some tenement blocks in Edinburgh from some reclaimed wilderness. The buildings tower above the plot on three sides...it may get 5 or 6 hours sun. What can we plant there? Presumably it's open aspect, the ground is open to the sky not overshadowed? In which case most veg should be OK although you may have some problems with those that like a lot of sun like Tomato, Chilli & Sweetcorn etc but even with those it would be worth trying just to see, just plant them in the sunniest bit. Things like Peas and Beans and even Marrows and Courgettes may actually prefer it from what I've noticed over the years, they don't seem to like too much heat. The surrounding walls should also make a nice warm microclimate for the plot so you may be able to plant out stuff earlier than others in the area, just find out when the last frosts hit the plot, locals may know. -- Regards Bob Hobden just W. of London |
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A kaleyard is indicated - good traditional Scottish fare. Also potatoes next year. |
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shade tollerant veg
benjiboy wrote:
I have been asked to help a couple of new friends plant up a veggie patch that we are creating at the back of some tenement blocks in Edinburgh from some reclaimed wilderness. The buildings tower above the plot on three sides...it may get 5 or 6 hours sun. What can we plant there? Hello, I am in a very similar situation.. but worse! Also in Edinburgh, at the back of a tenement building making the corner. So, in my case, no sun at all, except the very back of the garden in summer for 1 or 2 hours. Despite that I tried many times several vegetables: salads, onions, leeks, etc. I have to say, in my case, the main problem was not the lack of sun, but the thousands of snails and slugs, eating through every new plants and seedlings quicker than every method of killing them (organic or chemical). I decided to give up. On the other end, this year, I decided to try on the tiny tenement front garden, where it's much drier, and which receive maybe a good 4-5 hours sun every day. For some reason, it is almost completely devoid of slugs and snails. I've been really successful with all sorts of salads/lettuces, onions and leeks look good, I got a few radishes and carrots, it looks like I might have some french beans on the railings and I have 4-5 lareg broccoli waiting to produce florets.... Philippe |
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#6
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shade tollerant veg
On 2009-08-03 09:00:52 +0100, gogo said:
benjiboy wrote: I have been asked to help a couple of new friends plant up a veggie patch that we are creating at the back of some tenement blocks in Edinburgh from some reclaimed wilderness. The buildings tower above the plot on three sides...it may get 5 or 6 hours sun. What can we plant there? Hello, I am in a very similar situation.. but worse! Also in Edinburgh, at the back of a tenement building making the corner. So, in my case, no sun at all, except the very back of the garden in summer for 1 or 2 hours. Despite that I tried many times several vegetables: salads, onions, leeks, etc. I have to say, in my case, the main problem was not the lack of sun, but the thousands of snails and slugs, eating through every new plants and seedlings quicker than every method of killing them (organic or chemical). I decided to give up. On the other end, this year, I decided to try on the tiny tenement front garden, where it's much drier, and which receive maybe a good 4-5 hours sun every day. For some reason, it is almost completely devoid of slugs and snails. I've been really successful with all sorts of salads/lettuces, onions and leeks look good, I got a few radishes and carrots, it looks like I might have some french beans on the railings and I have 4-5 lareg broccoli waiting to produce florets.... Spinach does well in shade or dappled shade. |
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shade tollerant veg
On 31 July, 21:42, benjiboy
wrote: I have been asked to help a couple of new friends plant up a veggie patch that we are creating at the back of some tenement blocks in Edinburgh from some reclaimed wilderness. The buildings tower above the plot on three sides...it may get 5 or 6 hours sun. What can we plant there? Rhubarb. Mind, Edinburgh might be a bit cold for it. You might want to stick something over the plants in the winter. Potatoes and cabbage and brussels and broad beans will do well enough, 5 or 6 hours sun is quite a lot - and you are far enough north to have long days in the summer. Peas and runner beans do better in the sun, but again 5 or 6 is quite a lot. My old Grandad mirrored his fence with aluminium foil to persuade his runner beans to do better - no idea if it really worked. After all, the wilderness plants did OK! I reckon the quality of the soil will be a far bigger issue than the amount of light, and you might find you need to do a lot of watering too, modern cities tend to be very dry environments - the rainwater is whizzed away rather than forming a natural water table in the soil |
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