Other posts seem to recommend leafy vegetables for this type of sun pattern. I realize these are generally spring/fall vegetables, but are they spring/fall vegetables only in a garden with direct sun during those seasons?

They are basically vegetables that will tolerate 'shade', defined as less than 6-8 hours of direct sun, and still do well. This, as opposed to the vegetables that require 6-8 hours of direct sun to prosper.

Your sun exposure pattern as you describe it would fall into the "shade gardening" category - lots of internet info available on it - since it would only have 6 hours of direct sun and then only for a limited time.

There are some ways to get around the problems of shade gardening explained in some of the articles linked below - using containers that can be moved as needed is one of the most common.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Shade Gardening

Thanks digdirt,
I appreciate the info.

Also take into account the seasonal temperatures when picking what to plant. I spent a year in NoVA and my salad greens "cooked" early in the summer due to the heat, even when I had them in part shade.

As for the sunlight Dec-Feb, you only need it if you want to extend the season by using a cold frame to grow vegetables through the winter. In March, figure it will take a few weeks of sunlight to warm up your soil for spring planting. So you can plant those cool season veggies in the spring and fall, then switch to more heat tolerant ones for summer. (Swiss Chard might be a good one to try -- it loves heat, yet lasts through into late fall even with the dwindling light.)

March - April: 2-3 hours direct sun
May - June: 4 hours direct sun
June - August: 6 hours direct sun
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If you have warm/hot summer months that will ok.
I am in similar situation. And I grow tomatoes, cukes, eggplants, pepper etc . And on top of that, we have much cooler summers than VA.

Also consider INdirect light. Plants use that too. That is different from total darkness. June through August our days are about 14 hours long. That also counts.

Another consideration is MAYBE you can cut down some of the trees to improve the situation.

You could try a few different crops and see how they respond to less than ideal sunlight. I think alot of people would be surprised to know how well some will perform with just 4 or 5 hours of direct sun. I don;t think I would even attempt melons though.

My garden gets direct sun from about 11am to 3 or 4p in the summer. My peppers actually seem to prefer this over full sun in SC. The peppers are a bit taller than they would be in full sun but the yield and quality is great. I find that my basil prefers this to full sun all day as well. My tomatoes do get a bit lanky, but theyre caged so it doesn;t really matter. My corn gets tall but the 4 or 5 hours seem to be just enough. It's not like they are in complete darkness the rest of the day.

You'll see light 'requirements' for certain veggies but remember that these may just be the ideal. I don;t think you're limited to just leafy greens.

Thank you all for the great advice. Based on that advice I think i will start with some greens this fall and see how they do through the summer, maybe trying to find some heat tolerant ones for the summer months. I will also plant some "full sun" vegetables in early summmer to see if I have enough sun to allow them to produce. Trial and error seems to be a good option at the beginning.

For the most part fruiting crops will not produce heavily or even normally, most likely. However, did you take into account that trellised crops can get very tall and perhaps catch more sun than will be at ground level?

Thats a good point pnbrown. I think I would get a bit more sun for the fruting crops if I added a few vertical feet.