Question
I have a small backyard that has a house on the west and north side, a cinder block wall on the east side and a large tree shading a portion on the south side. Due to the high sides of our yard, we tried some part shade/part sun plants last year. But they got blasted in the heat. Our yard doesn't get 10 hours of sunlight but it gets very hot. Can I sucessfully grow a vegetable garden in part of it up against the houses and plant something along the cinder block wall - preferably grapes or raspberries, or other covering plants (can be non-fruit). Can you recommend a plant we can grow along the wall, both in the shaded and sunny parts? Any recomendations for better use of the space?
Answer(s)
Most vegetable plants need approximately 8-10 hours of light to grow and produce. When shopping for either seeds or plants refer to the label for sunlight requirements. Since your yard also gets a lot of heat you will want to look for plants that are heat tolerant as well. I have included the link to our webpage where you can find more information on growing vegetables, recommended varieties for our area, as well as light requirements.
http://extension.usu.edu
There are several ornamental plants that work well in part shade conditions. As with the vegetables you will need to read the plant labels to help you determine the plants sunlight requirements. Look for plants that say shade tolerant or part shade on the label.
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