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The optimum growing conditions that most vegetables prefer is 8 to 10 hours of full sun, sometimes this just isn’t possible!

When considering which crops to grow in shady areas, think of them in terms of leaves and roots. Crops we grow for their leaves (kale, lettuce, spinach) and those we grow for their roots (beets, carrots, turnips) will do fairly well in partially shady conditions. The crops we grow for their fruits such as eggplants, peppers and tomatoes — really do need at least six hours of full sun per day.

Arugula: At least three to four hours of sun per day. Arugula welcomes shade this crop is prone to bolting as soon as the weather turns warm if in full sun.

Asian greens: At least two hours of sun per day.

Chard: If you grow chard mainly for its crisp stalks 4 to 5 hours of sun per day; if you grow it mainly for the tender baby leaves, 3 to 4 hoursof sun per day.

Kale: At least three to four hours of sun per day.

Lettuce: At least three to four hours of sun per day. One of the best shade vegetables. Try a variety of different lettuces.

Culinary herbs: At least three hours of sun per day – such as chives, cilantro, garlic chives, golden marjoram, lemon balm, mint, oregano and parsley.

Mustard greens: At least three hours of sun per day for baby mustard greens.

Peas and beans: At least four to five hours of sun. If growing these crops in partial shade, getting a good harvest wil take longer. Try bush and dwarf varieties rather than pole varieties.

Root vegetables; At least four to five hours of sun per day for decent production. Beets, carrots, potatoes, radishes and turnips will do OK in partial shade, but you’ll have to wait longer for a full crop.

Spinach; welcomes shade, as it bolts easliy if in full sun. If you grow it specifically to harvest as baby spinach, you’ll be able to harvest for quite a while as long as you continue to harvest the outmost leaves of each plant.

All shade is not equal.

Some shady conditions will yield much more produce than others will. Gardeners should be familiar with the different types of shade:

Nearby trees may cast dappled shade on your garden for some or all of the day. If the tree canopy is high enough and the branches aren’t too dense, the conditions nearby can be shady but still fairly bright. Trimming any low branches can help let in more sunlight. Partial shade ranging from only a couple of sunny hours and many hours of shade to the opposite. Shade from buildings is more difficult to deal with than shade from trees, as it often plunges the garden into total shade for large parts of the day. As a general rule, if you have a few hours of full sun but dark shade for the rest of the day, you can grow some crops, but the yields won’t be as high as if you had bright or dappled shade during the rest of the day.