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Growing with minimal sun in the winter

Posted: Sun 23-Jan-2022, 19:56
by Cliffsidegardens
My main garden area that I have is completely shaded in the winter from about late October to March, as the sun hides behind the trees at the back of my property. If I plant overwintering cauliflower, will it just sit dormant during this whole time, and then head up when the sun starts coming back to it? I'm thinking it could make the cauliflower come in much later than the expected days to harvest, or would it not head up at all and be a waste? How much sun is needed for successful wintering of vegetables?

Re: Growing with minimal sun in the winter

Posted: Fri 11-Feb-2022, 09:28
by Danoost
I'm somewhat doubtful you'll be successful with so much shade but it's worth a try. It won't hurt to try, say, ten plants and see how they perform.

Overwinter cauliflower in our area matures in April and requires some heat and sun-energy in late spring to head up.

We need as much sun as possible for overwinter vegetables. I recommend that in your shaded area you focus more heavily on roots: carrots, beets, parsnips, rutabaga, winter radishes, etc.