How To Plant A Full Shade Raised Vegetable Garden Bed–Year 2
Planting season is here and I have spent the last several weeks digging in the garden and building some loud-and-proud garden beds. I have had several people ask me how to “spring clean” the garden and prepare the raised beds. Above you see my full shade vegetable French Potager garden completely replanted. Below I tell you how I did it.
How To Replant A Raised Garden Bed —
- Dig out old plant material from previous year;Kale, Parsley, and Celery overwintered and grew back. I dug them out and replanted them elsewhere. (See above.)
- Amend soil; last season I added plenty of rotted manure, so this season I added fresh Organic Mechanics Potting Soil mixed with Organic Mechanics Worm Castings and Actino-Iron, which is an organic fungicide and Iron supplement. The goal is to keep the soil fertile and alive without adding chemical fertilizer and also work to prevent fungus and mildew build up in the shade beds.
- Plant the raised beds; I prefer rotating crops, so reorganized the beds in a pattern that mixed the vegetables up significantly from last year. First I lay out the beds in the design I prefer, then I plant. This season I am using Bonnie Plants for my herb and vegetable supplier. (See below).
I planted several vegetables and herbs that will perform well in full shade – lettuce, celery, parsley, basil, collard greens, and thai basil. Also, I mixed in coleus to add some color to the beds.
Here’s last season’s post with a full list of vegetable varieties that do well in the shade – LINK.
Special Note – Because the FTC requires it, I am letting you know that Bonnie Plants, Organic Mechanics Soil, and Natural Industries supplied the plants, soil, and soil additives I used in this garden. I donate a large portion of the vegetables I grow in my soil-improved garden to the local food pantry when harvested.
So, I assume that since you are required to “advertise” for the various products that you have used that you also get a “royalty” or some other compensation for this service… lol
Tom, I do not get paid money or a royalty for using these products. The products, however, were given to me in exchange for utilizing them in the garden however I would like. No one tells me how to plant, use their products, or report on these products – they give the plants to me in exchange for my doing whatever I would like with them in relationship to building online garden content.
I am a spokesperson for Natural Industries – they pay me to travel and speak and talk about how to use their products. I have used their products in the past with success and am trialing them in new areas in my garden this season as well.
ALL the products I choose to use in my garden I use because I like them and want to use them and would be using them whether or not I was given them. My experiences with them are my own and my opinions are also my own.
Shawna
This is great! I've always been told that vegetables need to grow in sun, and we have very little of it in our yard.
I just discovered your blog, so I don't know if you've already addressed this elsewhere–but are those wine bottles a self-watering method? My family owns a wine shop, so I have access to lots of empties. Sounds like a great idea.
Hi Kim!
Thanks!
No, the wine bottles do not self water anything, they are simply built into a path.
Go to this link and you can learn how I did it –
http://www.thecasualgardener.blogspot.com/2011/07/recycle-wine-bottle-initiative-how-to.html
Shawna
Happy to have discovered your website today. I definitely want to try the potager front garden and the shade vegetables in the back.
I’ve been frustrated, however, when trying to follow links – like for the wine bottles – only to find you’ve “moved.” Can’t those links be updated?
Thank you Claire – we HAVE just relocated our website, so it will take a while to work out all the kinks – will keep on updating those links ASAP.
🙂
Best,
Shawna
Woohoo!!! I’ve been looking for information on planting in the shade. We’ve just cleared out a huge area of ivy and want to plant more veggies there. The only problem is that it’s mostly shade. This post is a HUGE help. I can’t wait to print this out and get planning. Thanks, Shawna!
So glad you like the post – happy to help!
Shawna
By the way – if you go to this link you will see more detail on the shade garden planting – http://ded.e4d.myftpupload.com/2011/10/how-to-grow-a-vegetable-garden-in-low-light-the-story-of-a-french-potager-kitchen-garden-gone-shade/.
Thanks!
Shawna
Hi Shawna,
How would you describe your shade? Dappled shade through trees? Or deep dark shade, such as on the north side of a tall building or under a deck?
Dawn
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