40+ Vegetables That Grow In Shade

There are tons of vegetables that grow in shade, and it’s fun to experiment. In this post, I’ll share my list of shade vegetables, partial shade vegetables, and partial sun vegetables. That way, you can utilize all the garden space you have, no matter how much sun it gets.

One of the biggest challenges many home gardeners face is not having enough sunlight to grow vegetables. I’ve struggled with this too. My vegetable garden used to be in full sun until the neighbors trees started growing taller, and now it’s mostly shaded.

If I’ve learned one thing from growing vegetables all of these years, it’s that they don’t all have the same sun exposure requirements. This is great news for those of use with shady vegetable gardens!

Shade vegetable gardening isn’t bad or difficult! And once you learn about all the different vegetables that grow in shade, you’ll find that it’s much easier to grow anything you want!

Here’s what you’ll find in this post…

• Shade Vegetable Gardening In Not A Bad Thing!
• How Shady Is Your Vegetable Garden?
• 40+ Vegetables For Shade
  • Shade Vegetables
  • Partial Shade Vegetables
  • Partial Sun Vegetables
• Tips For Growing Vegetables In Shade

Kohlrabi and turnips are good vegetables for shady areas

Shade Vegetable Gardening In Not A Bad Thing!

I used to plant all of my veggies in full sun because I assumed they would grow best there. But guess what, shade loving vegetable plants will actually suffer in the hot sun.

Once you understand the sun exposure requirements for each of your favorite veggies, you will be able to use the space you have more efficiently. And if you’re like me, you’ll start to love vegetable gardening in shade!

But hang on a minute… how do you know that your vegetable garden is shady? Just because it’s in shade in the morning, or when you return home from work in the evening doesn’t mean it’s shaded all day long. It could be getting much more sun than you realize.

Peas are good vegetables to grow in shade

How Shady Is Your Vegetable Garden?

Before you write your veggie garden off as being full shade, it’s important to know how many hours of sunlight it actually gets.

If you’ve never figured that out before, then I encourage you to do this first. Here’s how to figure out how much sun your garden gets.

Once you know for sure how many hours of sun you have, you can plan which types of veggies to plant in the different areas of your garden.

Save your the sunny spots for the sun loving vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, tomatillo, eggplant, okra and melons. Then embrace the sun challenged areas to grow your favorite shade loving vegetables!

Broccoli is one of the vegetables that grow in partial sun

40+ Vegetables That Grow In Shade

Since the neighbors trees began shading my veggie garden all those years ago, I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with vegetables that grow in shade. It’s been fun, and I’ve have found tons of shade vegetable plants that grow very well in my garden.

I’ve broken down my list into the three different categories: shade vegetables, part shade vegetables, and part sun vegetables. This will make it super easy for you to decide which vegetables to plant in the different areas of your garden.

Zucchini is a great vegetable for part sun

Shade Vegetables

There are plenty of vegetables that will grow well without much sunlight. All of the shade growing vegetables on this list will grow just fine with only 2-3 hours of sunlight per day. In fact, many of these will suffer if they get too much sun.

Spinach is a shade loving vegetable

Here’s the list of vegetables for shade…

• Leaf lettuce
• Swiss chard
• Mibuna
• Arugula
• Cress
• Collard greens
• Rhubarb
• Spinach
• Mache
• Tatsoi
• Bok choy
• Claytonia
• Mustard greens

Lettuce is one of the best vegetables for shade

Partial Shade Vegetables

A partial shade garden is an area that gets 3-4 hours of sunlight per day. The part shade vegetables in this list would also grow well in a partial sun area as well.

But they don’t like full sun (especially if you live in a hot climate). They also won’t grow well if they get too much shade.

Carrots are excellent vegetables for part shade

Here the list of vegetables for partial shade…

• Green onions
• Beets
• Rutabaga
• Carrot
• Bush beans
• Kohlrabi
• Endive
• Radish
• Turnip
• Parsnips
• Scallions
• Kale
• Leeks
• Peas

Radishes are vegetables that can grow in shade

Partial Sun Vegetables

A partial sun vegetable garden gets 4-6 hours of sunlight per day. Though these are all vegetables that grow in the shade, some will produce less food than they would in full sun.

I’ve been growing these shade tolerant vegetables in my partial sun garden for years, and they’ve always grown very well there. I would probably get more food if I grew them in a sunnier spot, but I always end up with more than I can use.

On the other hand, the cool season shade garden vegetables on this list will benefit from some protection from the hot sun. Especially if you live in a place where it gets very hot in the summer.

Cauliflower is a shade tolerant vegetable

Here’s the list of vegetables for part sun…

• Cabbage
• Pole beans
• Celery
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Cauliflower
• Potatoes
• Radicchio
• Garlic
• Cherry tomatoes
• Squash
• Cucumber
• Broccoli raab
• Zucchini

Cucumbers are good vegetables for partial sun

Tips For Growing Vegetables In Shade

Vegetable gardening in the shade has it’s own unique benefits and problems. Here are some quick tips for growing veggies in the shade…

• Watch out for slugs and snails, they thrive in the damp shade.
• If your garden is in the full sun, then you can use shade cloth or floating row covers to give your vegetable garden shade.
• Many vegetables that love shade will bolt (flower and then seed) when it gets too hot, so it’s important to keep those out of the sun.
• Be sure to plant cool season shady vegetables early for the best results. Many can be planted as soon as the ground is workable in early spring.

Chard is a perfect vegetable plant for shade

There’s no lack of vegetables that grow in shade. Once you understand what vegetables grow in shade, partial shade and partial sun, you’ll be able to utilize all of the garden space you have to grow anything you want.

More Posts About Vegetable Gardening

• How To Plan A Vegetable Garden Layout
• How To Attract Bees To Your Vegetable Garden
• 15 Colorful Vegetables To Grow In Your Garden
• A Beginner’s Guide To Companion Planting
• 17 Easy Vegetables To Grow In Your Garden

Share your favorite vegetables that grow in shade in the comments section below.