Shade vegetable gardening?

Growing vegetables in the shade would be a huge triumph for me. I'm cursed/blessed to have half my yard be shaded due to the direction of my house. Cursed for gardening; blessed because my kids have a shaded area to play outdoors!

And as I continue to push the boundaries of my raised beds, the idea of gardening in the shade has greater appeal. Apparently I'm not alone. From what I'm able to see, the general consensus is leafy vegetables like lettuce, seem to be ok.

Root Simple has tried other veggies with some success:

• New Zealand spinach


• cucumbers


• tomatoes (not as much growth as in the sun, but they are fruiting)


• Swiss chard


• dandelion greens


• raspberry (Really! I had just purchased another bush...)

Colleen Vandereim from organicgardening.about.com puts this rule of thumb forward:

Basically, a good rule to remember is that if you grow a plant for the fruit or
the root, it needs full sun. If you grow it for the leaves, stems, or buds, a
little shade will be just fine.

After checking out this list of shade-tolerant vegetables, maybe I need to rethink my planting for this fall, as my flowers begin to die back. I see possibilities ahead!