Vegetables & Herbs That Grow in the Shade

According to John Durham, Colorado State University`s Master Gardener, leafy vegetables such as those you use as the bulk of a salad tolerate shady conditions the best. Vegetables like mustard, spinach, cabbage, kale, arugula and lettuces do well in partial shade but not complete shade. The other benefit to having these vegetables in the shade is the ability to eat them at any stage of maturity and reap the vegetables a few times over the growing seasons, says Durham. It is worth noting that these leafy greens will not grow as ardently in the shade as in the sun, but the taste should remain unaffected.

Deborah L. Brown of the University of Minnesota says that herbs in the mint family, such as spearmint and peppermint, do very well in light shade with good moisture in fertile soil. She goes on to note that this means that these plants do not do well in sections of the garden where root competition with neighboring trees is possible. As a warning, members of the mint family do not tolerate heavy shade despite thriving in light shade conditions.

Broccoli and its cousins cauliflower and the turnip do well in shaded parts of the garden. These vegetables still require some sunlight during the day, ranging from three to six hours total for the plant to do well. The Garden Online`s website recommends placing the sun-worshiping plants in the prime sunny garden real estate while planting veggies like turnips, cauliflower and broccoli in every other available spot. This maximizes the amount of nutritious vegetables your garden yields, which keeps your garden productive and helps with the grocery bill.