kevin101 said:Hello,
I am living in the South part of North Carolina.
The back yard is facing northeast.
Get limited sunshine only since the house itself casts shadows in the afternoon.
What kind of veggie and herb can I grow?
Help and Thanks!
Very possibly, "part shade" in southern NC is like "full sun" farther north. And "afternoon shade" might let you grow varieties with less heat tolerance than your neighbors' crops need, since afternoon is the hottest part of the day, and all crops have some upper temperature above which they won't grow well or set fruit.
That morning sun might let you start some varieties earlier in the spring than your neighbors.
Also,
coastal NC is probably cooler in the summer than inland NC. Try putting your ZIP code into Dave's garden planner and see if anything jumps out at you.
http://garden.org/apps/calenda...
I agree with Thomas and the NC Extension "Vegetable Gardening Handbook". Grow what you like to eat!
(Well, also be sure to grow at least one EASY thing that you're sure can take your heat. That way you'll have the satisfaction of seeing something grow vigorously.)
Once you have that list, defer anything that is not heat-tolerant until your 2nd or 3rd year, unless you like a challenge or expect Spring or Fall to be settled enough and last long enough to let that cool-weather-crop yield before it gets too hot or too cold. Lettuce, spinach, broccoli and other Brassicas like cool weather, but grow fast enough that they may be sown in very early spring and harvested before it gets too hot for them to taste good and be tender.
And even then: if you like something that LOOKS unsuited to a warm climate, look through seed catalogs for varieties claimed to be heat-resistant or heat-tolerant. Just plant 1/8 to 1/4 packet per season while testing the variety. Once you're sure it isn't heat-tolerant
enough for you, or it's not your favorite flavor, split what's left into trade packets and join a seed swap.
Some heat-tolerant things are beans ("green beans", "snap beans", "French Beans"), eggplant, tomatoes and peppers. "Yard Long Beans" can take a LOT of heat. Dave's garden calendar suggests: cowpeas, squashes, cucumbers, gourds and sunflowers. Corn, pumpkins and watermelons if you have enough room.
After you pick some veggies and herbs that you would LIKE to grow, you can divide them into "probably easy" and probably hard" based on heat tolerance and how long they take to mature.
If they are "probably easy", just try any variety where the seed catalog description sounds good. That will let you weed out the lying seed catalogs after 1-2 years! I like these seed vendors, but you'll do well to find some that specialize in varieties that are well suited to your location.
Johnnies
Territorial
Ed Hume
Botanical Interests
Victory Seeds
Fedco
Hazzards
The vegetables and herbs that sound hard to grow, but that you like, will provide as many garden challenges as you care to accept. Up North, we call that "zone envy" or "pushing the zone", because winter kills our mistakes. And the challenging ones give you better local bragging rights, because you don't have to mention your afternoon shade or years-long-search for a heat-tolerant variety. Just casually share YOUR harvest around the neighborhood and look modest when no one else can grow them like you do.
Maybe share around some seedlings, but call them YOUR strain. Hide the original commercial packet they came in! That will add to their mystique and attraction for others.
And if you save your own seeds for even one or two years, you can boast that you've been selecting and breeding them "for a while" to adapt them to local conditions. After 3-5 years, that even becomes fully true!
If you find a seed swap with a focus on warm weather, jump in with both feet! Buy some commercial seeds in larger, cheaper packets and year-end sales, then split them up to join the swap without a shoebox full of saved seeds. Warm-weather gardeners will mostly offer warm-weather seeds.
http://garden.org/apps/swap/
(The Mid-Atlantic swap is underway and it might be too late for this year.)
DnD's "All Seeds International Swap" is about to start, but we're all over the map, not focused on warm climates. But you would be welcome if you bring at least three packets of seeds to the swap. If you OFFER three, but bring home thirty, that's OK, especially if you plan to come back next year. Plants are generous about producing seeds, and many traders are also generous. Hope to see you there!
http://garden.org/apps/swap/vi...
It might also be a good question for a thread in a regional forum. "What varieties of these herbs and veggies are YOUR favorites?"
Hmm, is NC "Mid-South" or "Southeast"? Or is your weather close enough to Texas or TN to ask there?
The "Southeast Gardening Forum" welcomes NC.
http://garden.org/forums/view/...
"Mid-South" doesn't list its target states, and I notice there has not been a lot of traffic there, lately. They could use a wake-up thread!
http://garden.org/forums/view/...
Here are some links to some NC Extension websites, they may list varieties that do well in your area. They also have county offices that could be very specific, but I don't know your county.
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/categ...
https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu...
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https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/e...
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https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/e...
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/categ...
https://nccommunitygardens.ces...
