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dark side of the house

Steven Kovacs

Posts: 263

Location: Western Massachusetts (USDA zone 5a, heating zone 5, 40"+)

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posted 8 years ago

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For those of you in non-equatorial regions, what use have you managed to make of the shady side of the house (north in the northern hemisphere, south in the southern)?

So far we use it primarily as a utility access point - that's where the door to the basement is, and the exhaust from the heating and hot water systems. We might put a tool shed there. Otherwise I'm struggling - not much beyond ferns will grown on that side, so maybe ostrich ferns (for fiddleheads) are our best bet. Does hot compost work in the dark?

Judith Browning

Posts: 9697

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 8 years ago

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shiitake logs! and it's a nice place for potted cuttings that need some shaded shelter to begin with....at our last house I also had a nice bed of ginseng on the north side against the rock foundation.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Roberto pokachinni

gardener

Posts: 3491

Location: Fraser River Headwaters, Zone3, Lat: 53N, Altitude 2750', Boreal/Temperate Rainforest-transition

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posted 8 years ago

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Hot compost works in the dark as it is the thermophilic bacteria and not sun exposure that make it hot. Keep the compost away from your house if your house is wood! <- just sayin'

Hostas grow in the shade. Edible shoots from what I've heard. Might be a good place for a summer greens (which tend to bolt in full sun in mid summer).

A permanent ladder to your roof? Fire escape?

Insulated above ground or below grade root celler?

Cold koi pond?

Meditation space? Chill Zone?

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."-Margaret Mead "The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision."-Helen Keller

Steven Kovacs

Posts: 263

Location: Western Massachusetts (USDA zone 5a, heating zone 5, 40"+)

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posted 8 years ago

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Roberto pokachinni wrote:
A permanent ladder to your roof? Fire escape?

Insulated above ground or below grade root celler?

Cold koi pond?

We've got maybe 8-10' of space to work with, and the soil is already wetter than I'd like, sot he pond is out, but the fire escape is a good idea, thanks!

Charli Wilson

pollinator

Posts: 517

Location: Derbyshire, UK

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posted 8 years ago

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The dark bit of my yard is a 3m wide yard hemmed in my brick walls or fencing, it never gets any actual sunlight. I have log storage there (close to the back door), some lumber storage, the bins are stored here too, as well as a hot-compost bin. And I grow alpine strawberries, ferns, hostas and spring bulbs (just to brighten the place up a bit!) in pots. High up on the wall where it gets better light I grow tomatoes and herbs in hanging baskets- they're on pulleys so they go quite high up the house (they still don't get direct sunlight), you can lower them down to water them and harvest.

Marco Banks

gardener

Posts: 1774

Location: Los Angeles, CA

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posted 8 years ago

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I grow ginger on the east side of the house. It absolutely thrives over there. It gets a bit of morning sun, but is in the shade for the majority of the day.

When life gives you shade, made ginger aid. Yeah . . . I know . . . that was goofy.

On the north side (my front yard) we've grown a big Japanese maple that loves the cool shade. It gets an hour or two of sun in the heart of the summer, but the rest of the time, it is content to enjoy whatever defused light makes it was into it's canopy.

"The rule of no realm is mine. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I too am a steward. Did you not know?" Gandolf

Nick Watkins

pollinator

Posts: 38

Location: Akron, Ohio

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posted 8 years ago

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Roberto pokachinni wrote:Hostas grow in the shade. Edible shoots from what I've heard.

Can confirm edibility of hosta shoots firsthand. They're rather bland and "green"-tasting with a hint of nuttiness. I imagine they'd be delicious in something like a stir-fry.

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