Vegetables and herbs that grow in shade

Most vegetables want six or more hours of sun, but a shaded courtyard is not a lost cause. As a rule, crops grown for leaves or stems tolerate part shade far better than anything grown for fruit. These picks produce honestly on three to five hours of direct light. If your patch is shady, set your sun hours in the calendar’s conditions tuner and it will rank crops for your actual light.

1. 🥬

   1. Lettuce

   Afternoon shade is a feature, not a bug — it delays bolting and keeps leaves tender in warm weather.

2. 🥬

   2. Spinach

   A leaf crop through and through; part shade extends its season well into spring.

3. 🥬

   3. Silverbeet

   Keeps producing on four hours of sun, just a little slower than in full light.

4. 🌿

   4. Mint

   Actively prefers damp shade. Keep it in a pot or it will claim the whole bed.

5. 🌿

   5. Parsley

   Happy under taller plants or on a bright but sunless balcony rail.

6. 🌿

   6. Coriander

   Shade slows the bolt that ruins coriander in Australian summers.

7. 🥬

   7. Bok Choy

   Fast, shallow-rooted and content with morning sun only.

8. 🌱

   8. Warrigal Greens

   The native spinach alternative: shade-tolerant, coastal-tough, and hard to kill. Blanch leaves before eating.