Until the summer cottage work has begun in full force, there is time to plan the future vegetable garden – that we will grow in the most “unfavorable” places.
April 22 2017
Any vegetable needs sunlight, in absolute shade, and they will not grow in cool climates. But if the sun’s rays fall on the site only for a while, even through the foliage, this will be quite enough for some types of vegetables, but the shadow should not be constant.
Herbs and herbs should only be exposed to the sun for three hours a day.
Parsley, dill, beets, asparagus, rutabaga and celery require just four hours of sunshine a day.
All types of cabbage (Peking cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli), as well as onions, garlic should be under the sun for five hours a day.
All these crops can be safely placed in the shade of shrubs and trees. Weed these vegetables regularly and plant them in rows east-west so that they get the maximum amount of diffused sunlight even in the shade. Small-fruited remontant or forest strawberries give good yields in the shade.
But nevertheless, it is worth looking at your region if it is already cloudy and cool in your area. Beans, green beans, peas (they are often planted to enrich the soil with nitrogen) feel great in shaded places under fruit trees. Spicy, melliferous herbs of lemon balm, mint, tarragon, ornamental wormwood are often planted specifically for pollination and protection of fruit trees from the moth or scaring away slugs in thickets of currants.
Under the crowns of trees, but not very dense, gooseberries feel good. It is undesirable to plant large-fruited gooseberry varieties in the shade: the berries become smaller. Gooseberries should not be planted in a lowland; with high soil moisture, the plant is affected by powdery mildew and other diseases.
Raspberries bear fruit well and thrive in shady areas, so they can be planted near fences and walls. Rosehips and currants can grow well under trees and do not need bright light.
Planting and growing a beautiful lawn in an area where little sunlight gets in is difficult. The grass will be weak and sparse. It is better to give preference to perennials, since annual plants do not develop well in the shade and lose their decorative effect
For example, aquilegia, perennial aster, badan, perennial geranium, elecampane, iris, oxalis, clover, forest bell, swimsuit, lily of the valley, cinquefoil, lupine, daylily, lungwort, young, forget-me-not, peony, primrose, ferns, reseda, violet , phlox paniculata and subulate, cyclamen, lamb.
There are ground cover perennials that will create a dense green carpet in your country house, for example, periwinkle, lily of the valley. One-year and two-year-old flowers can be planted in the shade of ageratum, summer adonis, pansies, erect marigolds, mallow, daisy, forget-me-not, fragrant tobacco, lobelia, lunaria, sea lobularia, mimulis, matthiola two-horned, nemesia, matricaria, napurtia … Fashionable shade-tolerant annuals – hybrid balsam and ever-flowering begonia.