Are your neighbors friendly? If any of them garden I bet they can tell you something about how the sun hits your land during the spring and summer.

Last year I planted my small corn patch starting 4 feet from the North side of my barn, it grew great - the area is completely shaded for most of day now but when I planted only shade from the peak of the roof brushed the first plants in the rows (the peak is about 16 to 18 feet. I have a South facing slope and the people across the way (on a steep North facing slope) are in the shade all day now but by the time the weather warms enough they will have plenty of sun.

I don't think that you will have too much trouble gardening, but your property may actually have benefits that you can take advantage of. I have read that orchards sited on North facing slopes might be better able to weather a late frost because they would be more likely to bud later (which was a bit of a bummer for me with my S. slope, not that it stopped me). If the neighboring forest was toward your East or you had a West facing slope I think you would be in worse shape because you would be shaded every morning of the year and in the summer direct sunlight would hit you like a wave just when it is getting hot.

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new place! Keep us updated if you can.

Best of luck!

One way that might help is to make a sketches of the backyard at 2 hours intervals; looking at the sun on the ground. Pick the area with the most sun. Keep in mind the change in the sun throughout the year.

Another helper is having plants in containers, especially those that might need more sun. Then you can move them around and keep them in the sunlight more.

I would think you could grow a lot of things, very successfully. Try to find a warm/sunny spot for tomatoes (as sunny as possible) and remember, lettuce, spinach and some other veggies like a little shade. Have fun trying different things and specialize in what does best in your area.

Remember, plant flowers and herbs to help bring in beneficial bugs and just make the garden prettier. And, if you have access to any aged horse manure, you might want to add some on the beds now. Your soil preparation is just as important as your sunlight and exposure. Best of luck with the new garden!

Returning to the topic at hand, try to blend your enthusiasm with practicality. While I'm very much an advocate for legumes rather than lawns, it is a common mistake for beginning gardeners to bite off more than they can chew. This results in planting too much, or too much all at once, or building a garden that is simply more than you have time or stamina to maintain. The idea of planting into pots that you can move around to follow the sunny parts of your yard may in fact be a good solution, but how much time will you have to dedicate to having a portable garden? While your list of veggies is not overwhelming, you will want to plant rather a lot of corn to get an appreciable yield, whereas beans and spinach might give you more meals per square foot. Just a thought to bear in mind as you plan your garden.

Chicken manure is a good high nitrogen addition if it is composted. Fresh chicken manure is NOT recommended in vegetable gardens. Horse manure is often favored because it has better texture and is arguably less unpleasant to work with, but it has its' own set of problems - in particular, it can introduce weed seeds into the garden that survive the journey through a horses' digestive system... and if they can survive that, they'll likely flourish in your garden. I've built many gardens in my life, for myself and others, and all of them have included a comprehensive composting system. To me, that is always the first thing to do when starting a new garden, and you can do it at any time of year.

Good luck in your endeavors. This is a great place to come as questions arise - not everyone will agree, but you'll get lots of advice and ideas to choose from, and generally, encouragement.

I like to add unfinished compost in late fall to those beds that are inactive for the winter (which are less than 50% due to all my winter and overwintering vegetables), almost finished compost for the spring beds in March, and just leaves as mulch under big plants in June. The earthworm density is amazing.

As for horse manure...of course it has weeds! Nothing in life is truly free, right? LOL But, those weeds are lush and beautiful (as is the garden) and I leave a few, to bring in ladybugs and other beneficials.

Beneficial bugs can be brought in all kinds of ways, but some of my favorites are catnip (we use Walker's Low...usually at Lowe's, ironically) and Hidcote Lavender for bumble bees. Catnip is also supposed to help squash and melons...I think it keeps away some of the bugs that bother them, though my squash and melons rarely have a problem, with our short growing season.

Alyssum is a great flower for bringing in smaller hover wasps, etc. I also like marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, stock and evening stock for the annuals and daisies, coneflowers, salvias, even shrub roses and butterfly bushes, if you have a border garden, nearby.

There are all kinds of books on beneficial bugs and companion planting (what plants help others do better) and I think you'll have fun, exploring at your library. There are also all kinds of articles, online. It's a fascinating subject, IMHO :)

1 cup whole or 2% milk
2 cups cream
1/2 cup sugar

1 cup anise hyssop flowers, with 1/4 cup reserved
1 vanilla bean

Directions

Split open vanilla bean and remove seeds by running a knife across it. Set aside.
Remove flowers from stem by grasping the stem at the bottom and pulling the bud between your fingers. Do this into a deep bowl or you will have purple flowers all over the kitchen. If the flowers are not young, you will likely have some seed in there as well, that won't affect the taste Set aside.
Heat milk and cream in a pot. Add sugar, vanilla bean and seeds and 3/4 cup of flowers. Continue cooking on medium heat and stirring for about 10 minutes. Do not let milk boil. 175 degrees is a good target.
Remove pot from heat. Allow contents to reach room temperature before straining into another container and placing in fridge until cold. Once cold, stir in the remaining flower petals and transfer to ice cream maker and follow directions per your machine.
For richer ice cream you can add 2 or 3 egg yolks. To do so, whisk the yolks with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the heated cream to the yolks, stirring it constantly (this is known as "tempering" and is easier with a helper to pour or stir). pour the mixture back into a saucepan over LOW heat until it starts to thicken, then pour it through a strainer and allow it to quickly cool. For stronger flavor, add 1/2 to 1 cup finely ground star anise seed. Chopped figs make a nice addition, too. 1 or 2 plants will provide enough flowers for 1 batch. The leaves can be used as well, earlier in the season, if you don't want to wait for the flowers, but the flavor is less intense and, to my taste, not as complex. A few spoonfuls of one of the many licorice-flavored liquors will also boost flavor complexity, but will alter the texture and freezing rate. Black Sambuca, Pernod, Galliano, or Absinthe are good places to start if you want to experiment. Add liquor during the churning process in your ice-cream maker. Some people like the flavor of anise with chocolate or coffee - I like those flavors unadulterated.

If you use eggs, you can make the base for custard or creme brulee as well. The standard recipe is

6 egg yolks
6 tablespoons white sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Mix everything except the brown sugar in a bowl and prepare as above. Fill a 2" deep baking pan with about 1/2" water and put that in the oven. After heating and straining the mix, pour it into oven-proof ramekins and set these in the water. Bake for about 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 1 hour - overnight is better, but cover with plastic film (not touching the custard) so it won't form a skin or absorb flavors. Let it come closer to room temperature when you re ready to serve it. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top - I like Turbinado best, for the texture - and caramelize it with a torch or under a broiler. Serve with a glass of Essencia Orange Muscat.