Not all of us are fortunate enough to have space to grow in full sun. Many people live in apartments with a balcony and limited sunshine. However, there is lots of food you can still grow in limited sun!
Basically, a good rule to remember is that if you grow a plant for the fruit or the root, it needs full sun. If you grow it for the leaves, stems, or buds, a little shade will be just fine.
Although these plants can tolerate some shade, no vegetable will grow in full shade. The following crops will produce with three to six hours of sun or consistent dappled sunlight.
1. Lettuce
Lettuce is easy to grow and tolerates shade well! You should have lettuce within a few months after planting your seeds.
2. Spinach
Spinach is our favorite thing to grow and can handle shade like a champ! It won’t grow as fast as spinach planted in full sun, but you should be able to start harvesting this super nutritious green within a few months.
3. Mint
Mint is pretty much invincible and will tolerate most any conditions you throw at it. It spreads like wildfire so keeping it in a container is actually preferred to letting it run wild in the garden.
4. Green Onions (Chives)
Green onions (chives) are one of our favorite things to keep around the patio! They do great in shade and will come back year after year!
5. Parsley
Parsley is another herb that tolerates shade and does great in a container. It’s also a great source of many vitamins & nutrients!
6. Rosemary
Although rosemary prefers full sun, it will tolerate shade. Not only is rosemary a great herb to flavor your dishes with, it can also be used for anxiety relief!
7. Broccoli
Broccoli does best in full sun but can tolerate shade, especially the sprouting varieties. These produce lots of small broccoli heads within a few months instead of one large head.
8. Kale
Kale is one of the most nutritious things you can add to your diet and is incredibly easy to grow! We also grow a lot of kale indoors as microgreens.
9. Peas
Peas prefer full sun, but will usually do okay with 4-5 hours. Peas will vine up a trellis making them a great option for a rail or deck.
10. Bok Choy
Bok choy is in the cabbage family, but instead of producing one giant head you get a bunch of super-nutritious leaves.
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