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It depends on the crop, but many crops don't suffer much, some even do better from the additional shade and shelter.
by quixoticelixer- 6y ago
It depends on the crop, but many crops don't suffer much, some even do better from the additional shade and shelter.
- AlotOfReading 6y agoThat doesn't seem like a particularly compelling answer. By varying the crop, you can grow things virtually anywhere. In practice though, people want to grow the things they're familiar with. Shade presents a problem with at least three of most important crop families: grasses, pulses, and nightshades. Their wild ancestors preferred sunny, warm environments without a lot of shade.
- quixoticelixer- 6y agoAnd some of those will do fine in mild shade, this is far from full canopy cover.
- AlotOfReading 6y agoI'm imagining something along the order of wide-spaced modern orchards, which have tree spacing of ~20-40ft. I wouldn't exactly call those "mild shade". I just don't see any benefits beyond companion planting with a groundcover crop like cucurbits, which would be far easier to mechanize.