Second try and want to do it right this time!

Compost should be made in the shade if you have it. Any weed seeds that are in a shade made compost don't grow well in the garden. Compost that sits in the sun...totally weedy addition to the garden if you have any weeds go to seed on or in the pile.

Be aware though, the rest of your garden plants are going to suffer if they don't have sufficient sunlight available to them daily. A minimum of 8 hours of direct sun is needed to grow the tomatoes and peppers and get a decent harvest. I grew peppers to the West of a row of apple trees a couple years ago and they did poorly. They really needed AM sun to produce peppers. You will also be battling a lack of air movement in your garden if there is an abundance of shade. Which in turn will make your tomatoes susceptible to foliar diseases quicker than in full sun. Plan on spraying (even before you see one spot) a fungicide every 10 days or after each rain all summer long. You don't want to start out reacting to conditions in the garden. Be proactive.

 

Try spinach or lettuce in the places that get the most shade. It does ok on the shady side of my garden. Lettuce doesn`t like Texas blazing heat so I plant mine where its cooler. Spinach does ok but grows a little slower.

 

The garden is in the only sunny spot I have. The tomatoes did great, although they were late to ripen because the season itself was lousy.
The squash did great. The watermelon grew well, but it wasn't sweet at all. Any idea why? They were sugar babies.
These, along with broccoli and peppers, are going to stay in the sun.

The beans (bush) didn't get taller than a foot and only gave me 3 or 4 beans at a time.
The peas shriveled up and died.
My spinach grew like crazy.
My lettuce was very unhappy.
Those 4 I am planning to move to a shady part of the yard. This area gets am sun and afternoon shade. The trees are tall, so there is plenty of air circulation. Just shade. The beans will be in the part that gets a little more sun than the rest, unless I am advised differently. I am open to advice and suggestions.
I'm thinking of adding celery, carrots, and chard to the shady area too.
Any thoughts?

 

Beans and peas like blackeye are heavy feeders and need fertilizer as do green beans.
Are you sure the melons were ripe? What did you use to determine if they were ready to eat?

 

The watermelon may not have been sweet due to the cool Summer.

 

The directions said that they will be dark green when they are ripe.
A hot summer makes them sweet? I hope this coming summer is better. The last few summers have been quite mild. When I was a kid I remember the heat waves were 100+. Now, just 3 days of 90 or more is a heat wave, and those are few and far between.

 

Cool wet weather can make them less sweet. Hot and not overly wet will concentrate the sugars. You cannot go by size or color to tell when a watermelon is ready to eat. At the first joint above the melon you will see a tendril, that needs to be completely dry and shriveled. Even after that allow a week or two. Then before you pick it, thump it with your finger. It should have a hollow but solid sound if ready. While yours are growing you can practice this. At time to pick you can tell the difference. Sound will change from a ping ping to a thump. Takes a bit of practice.

 

Thank you for the info. I will definitely watch for the tendril.
I was thumping them all summer. They sounded the same to me. One I left on the vine all summer until the night before the frost. It had to be ripe. It was red, but not sweet.
Another thing I'll do is see if I can change where I position it in the garden. There is a very slight hill in my garden and the watermelon was at the bottom. I think I'll have to see if I can find a place for it at the top. That way, it will have less water.

 

If not sweet by then, you have to blame the weather. Excellent idea to move them. They don`t need a lot of water. If the leaves start to wilt you can water minimally but let them dry out in between. Mine only get rain if we have it and full sun. You might also keep in mind that its a running plant. No matter where the roots are its the rest of the plant that counts. Would you like some of the old line cantaloupe seeds I put in the exchange? I have plenty.

 

Thank you, Mart, but unless they can do well in the shade, I have no room for them. I would if I could.
I wish I had a larger area to work with. Every now and then, I come up with a picture of my perfect garden. It changes each time I think of it, though, and so does the location. It is never where I am living now. What does that say...?... *sigh*

 

Skipping over so may be repeating but what kind of soil do you have? That's the start here we have nasty clay garbage that I hate

I use containers though -- also you will need to add some compost/manure/fert type thing

For me at least outside is MUCH easier then inside.

 

Thank you all!

Another idea was mentioned about the garden. I like it, but want your thoughts and advice. I've got hostas along the driveway that need to be thinned out. The idea to take some and plant them around the garden fence came up. What do you think?
I liked it at first, but I don't know if it will draw slugs to my garden, or draw slugs away from my garden and keep them attracted to the hostas. Any thoughts?

 

Well,, you sure don`t want to bring the slugs closer to your garden.

 

Exactly.
At first I liked the idea to draw the slugs out, but then, I thought about causing more to come closer to the garden.
Is there any plant with the same features such as size and spread that will be a good fence bottom, and will keep pests away from the garden?

 

Try some marigolds. Harmless to the garden and pretty too. Many plant them with the vegetables for that same reason. Don`t think they will help slugs though. You can sprinkle diatomaceous earth all around the plants and as a barrier around the perimeter for those. It will also keep cutworms, and other worms out.