I can't give you advice if I don't know where you live.

Very difficult to know where to start so please bear with us as you hear things that aren't what you were hoping for, ok?

First, it is a very shady area. With such limited sun exposure, and what you see now is growing less and less each day as the seasons change, your choices for a crop are very limited.

Second it is a very small area so even with ideal conditions only a small amount of production of one or two crops will be possible. Could you tell us the exact sq. feet of the area?

Third, depending on what your gardening zone (your location is) it is getting too late for planting much of anything now.

Fourth, some time and effort will be required in preparing the ground, clearing, tilling, getting a soil test, adding nutrients and compost, etc. before any planting can be done so your target is to get the area ready now for next spring planting rather than planting now.

I'd suggest you first provide us with much more information and answers to the questions posed and then consider container gardening as a good alternative. If you have a much sunnier location on the property where containers filled with a good potting mix could go you'll likely have much better results.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Agree with the others that we'd need to know what sort of climate you're working with. If you're in Zone 9, you could probably do some things like cabbage and broccoli. In colder zones, you might be able to get some lettuces and baby bok choi this fall. Some turnips mature quickly, as do radishes.

Hey, thanks for the replies. I live in the Canadian zone six, American zone five. I'll just say it's Toronto. I'm unsure if the yard size, it is small. As for preparing the area, I'm aware that a lot of work is needed and just really wanted to know if I could get something started now to see if this will work for next year. Thanks again!

Are you going to be able to trim/remove some of the trees to drastically improve the sun exposure? How long do you estimate it will take you to get the area cleaned out and tilled to be ready for planting? Is there a local source for some compost?

You could try some beets or turnips, maybe some lettuce or spinach as they will all tolerate some light frost. Much of anything else will have to be covered to keep the frost from killing it before it gets to maturity.

Dave

You might want to get a plot in a community garden to start your gardening experience! Some of them in my area provide compost and have classes!
You certainly need more sun! If the community garden experience is good for you, and you fall in love with gardening, you might want to....1. cut down all the trees that are shading your garden....or 2. MOVE to a sunnier location in order to have a garden! LOL Nancy