Selfsufficientish.com

Hi there,
I'm trying to grow as much veg as poss in a shady garden, we have a 25 ft wall which casts quite a shadow. I've been reading about reflective mulches such aluminium foil, we have just the thing ie a large roll of relective silver embossing paper. Just wondered if anyone know how we would use it?

any hints are very welcome

cheers

Hi fluere - I moved this into its own section so it would get more attention - hope that's OK with you.

yes that's great thank you

Using embossing paper to reflect light probably isn't the way to go as there's no way of knowing what sort of chemicals would leach out of it into the soil. I have heard of people using mirrors or whitewash on facing walls, but the best course of action is growing to suit the situation rather than attempting to change it. Work out which bits of ground get sun, and for how long; and consider using window boxes or pots on brackets or vertical growing to make the most of the light in non-ground areas.

Anyhow, this lot will all do OK with 3 to 6 hours of sun:

Salad Greens, such as lettuce, rocket and pak choi
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Peas
Beets
Brussels Sprouts
Radishes
Swiss Chard
Leafy Greens, such mustard greens, spinach, and kale
Beans

and welcome to the forum!