Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am building a 3 foot (.91 meter) wide 70 foot (21.3 meters) long grow bed. However, I have a problem. If if put the bed where I want it at the top of the running north and south then there is a fairly large oak tree that is going to shade 30 feet or so of my grow be shaded most of the day. If I turn it east and west then I have to move a lot of dirt to build up a mound to level the grow bed so it does not slope down hill. So, any way, I do not want to build a huge mound or cut one of my only larger trees.

Are there any good eatable crops that can be grown in 60% shade shade? Something like lettuce, spinach ect? Or is that just a bad idea? Perhaps I should just make two 3 foot (.91 meter) by 40 foot (12 meter) grow beds side by side.

I've got a couple of grow beds that only get sun for a few hours late in the afternoon and they are working great for starting seeds, growing lettuce and many herbs. Lettuce will do great with shade though I think the spinach will want more sun and cool weather.

I know mint will grow fine in shade though you should probably restrict mint to it's own separate grow bed since it is known to take over.

My stevia seems to be doing well in the shady bed too. Shady sections of bed also make good places for rooting cuttings and getting seedlings going that you will transplant later when they are big enough not to toast in the sunny spots.

Many plants will still grow in some shade though they will be much slower and not as productive.

How will this shady area be in the winter. As in you say it gets 60% shade, is that now or always. If the Shade will be less (like if the tree is near the North end of the bed) in winter it could be a perfect thing. In a hot climate, most plants can tolerate more shade in the hot part of the year than they would in "normal" climates that the seed packets generally give instructions for. However, if the shaded area is deep shade and gonna be that way year round, you might be better off doing two shorter beds side by side in the sunnier area with a walkway between, you could probably still link them with a large pipe so they could drain together, otherwise, make one higher so it can cascade into the lower one.

In the winter there will be better sun once the trees drop the leaves.

I may need to stay in the sun with two shorter beds, it sure would have been cool to have a garden fence. I want to grow productively though.

Hey DDM, why the long length? Are you using a 1/2 pipe or something?

No, I wanted to run the length of my future "natural" area with vegetables. Also, with in a few feet I will be digging the fish pond. So the narrower the grow bed the more space I have for the pond. It would also fit within the natural shape of the land.

The grow bed is going to be only 3 feet wide because the 90 mil pvc lining I am getting is only 5 foot wide. I need this tough stuff because I gravel(rocks) in my soil and I am not going to mess with a padding.

Hi Dan
In the Shady spots you should still be able to grow the winter veg, ie: Beans snow peas brussell sprouts etc.

I have to have a large Oak tree, which I have built a green house underneath, I get early morning and late afternoon sun in summer which is great for the temp inside ( not too hot) nad when winter comes the Oak dumps it's leaves and get full winter sun all day, I did have to do some pruning of the lower branches to squeeze it in.

Cheers
Ron

+1 for using the shade

There is "miner's lettuce" that does well in the low light.

Not sure on the pricings you are working on,,,but i'm looking at stainlless steel grow beds at less than $1,000 for 20 metre X 1 metre X 40 cm deep.

parsely will tolerate low-light and can be used in MANY recipes.

I think he is planning a long narrow ground grow bed kind alike my monster bed. A really inexpensive way to have a very large grow bed since you only need framing around the sides of the grow bed top if it is sunk into the ground a bit. A long narrow roll of pond liner is relatively inexpensive in relation to any sort of container grow bed.

I know our oak trees around here (central FL) don't really ever go bare of leaves the way most oaks do in colder climates. This makes using an oak tree as shade in summer but not in winter a little tricky unless the tree is to the North of the bed and the sun angel in winter allows light in under the branches while in summer it is overhead and therefore the tree shades it.

Thanks for the input. Yes, I plan on doing something like TCL did. Brussell sprouts sounds like the only nutritious food that can be grown in shade. Or perhaps I could just grow crops for seed there.. It really is a hard call to make. Do I make it look perfect or make it work better. I think two shorter beds would be best for growing food and I do want to grow a lot of veggies.