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brilliant…! can you reccomend a vegetable that is “shade loving” ?

Container gardens work out fine. Tomatoes will need larger pots, but so long as you water the containers regularly and add some support for the heavy branches, you will get a nice yield.
You can grow pole beans, (green beans that grow on long vines, so they can climb up fences or strings rigged up for them.)
Peas grow upward on strings, too.
I have seen people grow cucumbers as climbing vines by taking sections of nylons/pantyhose and creating slings for them and tying them to the fence, so the growing weight of the vegetable is supported.
You could place a ladder or other shelf where many pots of smaller plants can be kept.(Leaf lettuces, carrots, beets, spinach, etc.)

I grow my sweet corn the way the pioneers did. Think of a die with the number 5. 5 dots in a square and one in the middle. I plant my sweet corn like that. One sqaure every 8 inches or so. People tell you you have to plant at least three rows for the corn to pollinate but this takes care of that. plant the rows about 1 ft apart, you can harvest from each side. In a row 5 foot long you could plant about 30 to 35 grains of corn. Since corn makes 2 ears per palnt, if they all come up and develope you would have around 150 ears of corn. Of course not all develope fully. The pioneers did this and planted climbing beans or squash, or pumpkins next to the corn. Sort of a self supporting trellis. Try it you'll be amazed! My garden is 25ft x 55ft. I plant 2 rows of corn and have enough to give all the family some. I learned this at the Lincoln Log state park in Illinois. They farm the way they did in 1845.

I used to have the same problem, but I successfully grew beans and peas, lettuces and spring onions in planters, and tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, strawberries and peppers in growbags. If you don't want to get growbags you could grow these things in the planters too but just remember they need a good rich soil and plenty of watering! Growbags are ideal because they provide exactly the right soil and retain water well. You could probably even give butternut squash or pumpkins a go in a growbag (one plant to a bag) if you've got room for the plant to sprawl (or guide it up a trellis).
I wouldn't have said it was worth bothering with onions, as you won't get much of a crop in such a small space. Go for more expensive and productive veg instead, like the above.

Good luck!

Colleen
You can definitely grow tomato and pepper plants in containers, as long as each plant's in a container that's at least three gallons. You'll need to stake them, or place a tomato cage around them, and you'll want to water daily (especially tomatoes: they have copious root systems!)
There's also a nice little cherry tomato called "Tumbling Tom" that is ideal for a hanging pot: it grows outwards and down rather than upright. Check a local nursery, rather than Home Depot or Walmart—this one's a specialty item.
As you already know, there's no point trying to plant anything vining in a container. But most herb plants will do fine, so long as the pot's big enough to accomodate them. Rosemary, basil, thyme, parsley and oregano are good choices, and you can bring them in if your winter gets cold.

Figure the O2 output is directly proportional to surface space of the leaves. That is close enough for a first comparison.

Six feet is too deep to reach into and weed and harvest, so figure on making two rows of plants, where you want to be able to walk down the middle.

What you plant has a lot to do with where you are. You can put a lot of herbs in. If you are zone 7 or higher, I'd put in tarragon, rosemary, basil, chives, parsley. Skip the first two if you are colder. Add your favorites, and add something odd, like lemongrass or savory.

Next, choose veggies which are really tastier from your garden than from the store. A good, indeterminant tomato (Sun Gold for cherry tomatoes, maybe Early Girl for larger ones). Beans (I like the true haricot vertes), peas (english for shelling, or snap peas to eat the whole thing), lettuce for an early crop followed by kale after the lettuce is done.

The soil you have is fine. Add compost, especially if you can get it free (some towns collect yard waste and give away the compost) to improve the soil.

badass

thanks alot very helpful.

I would end it w/ the fairy granting her the wish, but putting the cottage inside the vinegar bottle.She did get her wish, but not the way she wanted it. I think that would be funny.

Companion planting. Select your companions by the size of their leaves and heights.

As an example, plant Peppers and Onions in the same row. Place the onions between the pepper plants. The peppers and onions are the same heights and the peppers will allow the sun through to the onions.

A bad example would be Squash and Lettuce. The giant Squash leaves would grow over the Lettuce and prevent the sun from getting to the Lettuce.

How ever, Squash and Corn are good companions. The corn grows above the Squash so it gets sun shine, and the Squash has giant leaves that catch the sun that gets past the corn stalks.

Get the idea now. Companion Plant the gardens to get twice the yield from the same space. Now pick the type of veggies you like to eat and companion plant those.

1. Bring him some new seed catalogs to page through. He would probably enjoy the pictures.
2. Get him a calendar somehow related to flowers, gardens, or gardening.
3. When you visit, bring along a piece of paper and draw out for him what your own garden will look like this summer. Ask for his advice.
4. Create a talking game: use photos of plants, trees, and flowers; use cuttings; stimulate as many of his senses as possible.
5. Take him on a little tour of the nursing home and talk about certain houseplants or cut flowers you pass by.
6. Are there trees and bushes outside his window? Can he easily see these? Talk to him about these plants and let him talk to you.
7. Does the nursing home staff already have some sort of program related to what you are doing with him individually? Perhaps the staff doesn't know he likes to garden. Tell someone at the nursing home about his past as an avid gardener. Can the nursing home staff then ask for his advice on gardening issues?
8. Bring along some picture books related to gardening.
9. Buy him a small framed picture of a garden scene.
10. Is there anyway the two of you can make a gardening scrapbook together, maybe even including a few photos of your friend in his younger days as a gardener?
11. Does the nursing home ever have fundraisers? The two of you could create a gardener's basket of garden seeds, etc.
12. If possible, bring seasonal plants in his room.
13. See if you can find a plum or cherry tree, cut a few short branches and see if you can force these in water in his room.
14. Surprise him with some colorful blooming houseplant.
15. Perhaps the most important thing you can do for him is to bring yourself — a fellow gardener he can identify with.

I hope this helps you and your friend.

Get a large pot (10 inches or larger), fill with soil. Leave a potato somewhere warm and it will sprout. Bury it in the soil as deep as your finger goes. Water, but not too much.

Remember, potato stems, leaves and flowers contain solanin, which is quite toxic. Keep out of reach of children and pets!

Good luck with the September crop!

Looks good!

As a farm boy myself — in the 1960s and 1970s — I had it easy relative to the 1800s!!!

All the items you mentioned should grow well in your climate. I would get going on the radishes and carrots right away though. A neat trick on those two. Take a string of toilet paper and use kids glue to attach radish and carrot seeds. Do every other one every six inches. I think the radishes come up first and whey you harvest them the carrots have room to grow. Works kind of nice. just put an inch or so of dirt over the toilet paper.

Cucumbers and squash are a cinch. Here in Oregon (because of similar growing season) We buy starts of cukes and squash so they get to harvest quicker. But you will harvest all of August and Sept. and into Oct. if the weather permits.

No, experience with lettuce. Just planted some for the first time, so we will see.

Put a black mesh around the base of your bell peppers. They take forever if their roots don't get warm enough.

You can probably fit all those into a 10×15 plot if you plant it all in one area.

Tomatoes are a great beginner one, but if you don't like them, who cares. Just plant the stuff you like.

Oh, spacing. Leave at least 4 feet around your cucumbers and squash, they love to spread their wings.

It should be ok, as long as you are aloud to have the bird their. I personally have never had a bantam, but i have a friend who used to breed and sell them and she kept them all in areas of about that size. It should be just fine as long as it has no access of jumping off, or anything attacking it(which is a great thing that you are not on the bottom floor.) If the porch does not have walls or a screen you may want to ass a screen netting as so to not let hawks in after the bird. Good luck.

my mom always told me that if i wanted to grow the herb for the root or the fruit then the sun is best. if you want them for their leafy greens the shade is just fine. some of the leafy green herbs that have done well for me are: basil, parsley, cilantro, sage, chives, mints, and tarragon. my friend tried other leafy greens and they also did well. good luck!

cosmos are really colorful and do well in full sun. Plant carrots, lettuce, beans, strawberry's. vegetables such as cucumbers, pumpkins and melons might take up a lot of room.
hope this helps