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| Hello, GW! I recently moved into a new house that has a yard with no area that receives more than 6 hours of sunlight. The house is surrounded by trees and almost forms a canopy over the house. I currently have my tomatoes and cucumbers planted in an area that receives 4 hours of direct sunlight from 10 AM to 2:00 PM. I am worried that my cucumbers and tomatoes will not do well in this area due to the lack of sunlight and I am considering moving them next year to an area in my yard that receives 5 to 5 1/2 hours of sunlight. The problem I do not like about the area is that it is much smaller and it is directly in front of the house. However, if the extra hour of sunlight will make a difference, I would definitely move them. I am also considering planting them in big containers on my deck next year, since the deck area receives a good 7-10 hours of sunlight. Does anyone have any advice regarding this matter? If it helps, I have 2 German Johnson Tomato plants growing, and 1 Better Bush Tomato Plant growing as well. And for cucumbers, I have 3 Baby Persian Cucumber plants and 2 Armenian Cucumber plants. |
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| The container idea on your deck sounds good IMO. I grow in containers, and am happy with the results. 4-6 hours of sun is a bare minimum, and the plants will be leggy, and you might be limited to varieties you can grow. Any chance you could harvest a few trees to open up some sunlight? |
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| Agree, I'd go for the deck if eliminating trees, or at least trimming them, isn't possible. Plus, given that the sun is at it's peak northern exposure for you over the next 2 weeks and then begins to shift after the 21st and move back to the south, use this year to track it. See if you would really gain anything. As both the declination angle and the intensity fade after the equinox, it's possible you might actually lose early spring and early fall sun exposure by moving the garden. Dave |
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- Posted by missingtheobvious Blue Ridge 7a (My Page) on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 2:54
| For 8 years, I grew tomatoes right against the east side of a west-facing brick house. So at best the plants had 6 hours of direct morning sun -- and a lot less in the spring and late summer. Growth was adequate, all things considered. Several years ago there was a GW member in MN whose yard was quite shady due to neighbors' trees, and the sunniest areas were all under 6 hours. IIRC, he grew tomatoes in large pots which he set wherever there was the most sun. I don't remember if he moved the pots over the course of the summer. He did get fruit. Afternoon sunlight is always stronger than morning sun, so you might want to take that into consideration in deciding where to put your tomatoes. (I don't know why that is, but I've learned the hard way that plants advertised as "partial sun" will die if the sunny part of the day is the afternoon!) |
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