growing veggies on a balcony in shade?

**Rhiamon** · 01-17-2011, 08:09 AM

I am looking to grow some veggies on my balcony this year, I have a great big tree in front of it, so what veggies could I grow in containers that grow well in shade? Plus I have a squirrel problem they are always on my balcony so what is a friendly way to keep them off and from eatting what I grow? I like squirrels they are fun to watch in the tree, they have a nest in it and it was fun to watch the babies in Sept when I moved in so I don't want to do anything that will hurt or kill them.

**Contrary Housewife** · 01-17-2011, 10:16 AM

IMO you will have a hard time growing anything in 100% shade. Seeds need sun to germinate and develop. In shade they will be slow to start, if at all, and put energy into trying to grow or vine toward a sunny spot rather than producing a compact plant that will fruit. You may get fruit but it will probably not ripen.

I have tomatoes that grow every year in my compost (which is completely shaded year round), they get big and leggy trying to reach sun but only ever produce tiny green fruit that never ripens.

You could buy hothouse plants but chances are they will not thrive.

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-17-2011, 10:25 AM

You might try a leaf lettuce or spinach. But without sun you won't get anything that needs to produce fruit.

**pollypurebred39** · 01-17-2011, 11:03 AM

Grow Vegetables in the Shade - Ten Vegetables You Can Grow Without Full Sun

**Lady_V** · 01-17-2011, 11:10 AM

Thanks for the reminder Polly!

My patio is between both buildings and the last few years haven't been good on my garden. I can container the shade-liking veggies (broc, cauli, peas and beans) and try to save the one spot we get sun for tomatoes!

I feel for you Rhiamon... we are practically in a cave!

**HappyMama** · 01-17-2011, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Lady_V

Thanks for the reminder Polly!

My patio is between both buildings and the last few years haven't been good on my garden. I can container the shade-liking veggies (broc, cauli, peas and beans) and try to save the one spot we get sun for tomatoes!

I feel for you Rhiamon... we are practically in a cave!

Yes thanks Polly, have a few shade areas as well, and am going to try these there this yr.

**madhen** · 01-17-2011, 11:25 AM

Good luck keeping the squirrels at bay. About the only thing I've found that keeps them out is caging my plants, and that means putting each plant into a hardware cloth cage that is COMPLETELY squirrel proof on ALL sides. Squirrels are smart, and they have all day to figure out how to defeat your best efforts.

**Missy** · 01-17-2011, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by madhen

Good luck keeping the squirrels at bay. About the only thing I've found that keeps them out is caging my plants, and that means putting each plant into a hardware cloth cage that is COMPLETELY squirrel proof on ALL sides. Squirrels are smart, and they have all day to figure out how to defeat your best efforts.

Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. Some people have luck for a little while with cayenne pepper sprays and such. But you gotta keep on it. and it could taint the flavor of the item you wanna eat. I tried it on my chard and it left an off flavor. It's cayenne so harmless to us, but it was not a cayenne flavor i was detecting. It's a HM recipe you can find online. And it didn't work well anyway.

**Missy** · 01-17-2011, 01:17 PM

maybe a distraction technique would work for squirrels instead. Start leaving piles of nuts/etc elsewhere in your apartment/townhouse complex...somewhere else...by the managers stuff. Ok, it's an idea. maybe not even close to a good idea. But the possibilities have me entertained anyhow. Clandestine manouvers to distribute and distract the furry little creatures...I can almost hear the "Mission impossible" theme song ....

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-17-2011, 01:33 PM

My biggest problem with squirrels was just after planting, they would get in and dig up the seeds. I thought about putting something over the containers after planting, sheet of clear plastic, mesh or glass maybe, just to keep them out until the plants were established - but I never tried it so don't know if it would work.

**Missy** · 01-17-2011, 02:09 PM

You can buy hardware cloth with a small mesh. And form it to cover the pot and plant. Get the smallest grid you can so they can't get their little paws in it. It'll help a lot. They like to dig in pots fr several reasons. Hiding a cache of food stuffs, to get to the plant parts to munch them (seeds are like the bonus prize to find), and so on. you could even try getting your hands on something that wouldn't feel good for them to dig through, such as driveway type gravel. But they might be undetered by that. The hardware cloth i have found...is the best deterent that i have found so far. plastic and glass could cause the heat to raise in the pot killing off your germinating seeds, mesh isn't so hard for them to chew and tear into to get into the pot.