Full Sun Exposure

Or, how to not locate a garden.

This is the time of year I start getting an itchy green thumb. The soil is too cold for starting seeds, but I can't help daydream about what to put where once February rolls around.

This is also a good time of year to plan out any garden expansions. Why? The sun is near it's lowest point in the sky, so how the mid-day shadows cast across the ground is different than in June.

Consider this a lesson in how to locate a garden.

I moved to my property almost five years ago. I immediately started watching the shadows in the yard to determine where to put a garden. My first attempt was in the front yard. I found what I thought was a good spot, looked straight up and saw clear sky, and began removing sod. A few months later though, once the pecan trees were fully leafed out, I realized that my previously sunny spot only got 3-4 hours of direct sunlight thanks to the trees. After two years, I gave up and relocated the garden.

When I started siting the raised beds behind the house I laid out poles on the ground to outline the bed location. I watched the lawn for several days to see how the shadows were cast before I put my shovel in the ground. What I didn't account for was that the sun does not come up as high in winter as it does in summer. As a result, come October one of my raised beds only got 2-3 hours of direct sunlight before it fell in the shadow of the house.

House shadow

This would explain why I can't get the kohlrabi and beets to do much more than exist. They only get a few hours of light in the morning, and that was after the big pecan tree on the east side of the barn lost its leaves. In December this entire bed is in the shadow of the house at mid-day. Now at mid-January about six inches get mid-day sun. When I start spring planting, that will be the first area to get fresh seeds. No sense planting if it doesn't see direct sunlight to warm the dirt or nurture photosynthesis.

I don't even bother planting anything in this tank over winter. It's best chance at getting daylight is a bright but overcast day, where the clouds are just thick enough do diffuse the sunshine.


Slowly but surely, the sun is coming back. But it also serves as an example of why it's a good idea to observe the yard for a full year before undertaking a major planting project.

Or generate a sun position graph. And then work out the math, angles, etc.

December 21 - Winter Solstice

June 21 - Summer Solstice

I'll just stick with observations.