How do I measure the amount of sun I get?

I live in the woods but with the area around the house cleared we have probably 30 feet on every side, free of trees. I can't plant on the west side, or the north side. I need to find out how long a time during the day I get sun on the south and east sides. Hard to tell with the tall woods only 30 feet away. I need to know how to measure the amount of sun. Thanks for your help!

This message was edited Apr 16, 2011 5:14 PM

Good luck on that one pjadams.....Maybe you could just take a day and focus on how long the sun hits certain areas and log it.:.)

You will need to make some notes. Sun will be on the East side from the time it clears the trees until noon to 1PM roughly with bright light until the sun starts to set. That would be where you plant things requiring morning sun only, or those requiring part shade, The south should get the morning sun at about the same time as the east side does and should continue to receive direct sunlight until the sun sets below the tree line.

That being said, you need to note what time the sun hits what part of the yard throughout the day....and for how long...a solar map of sorts. The sun will rise and travel at different angles through the seasons, so you will need to make note of those times also. You literally need to just watch the sun's trajectory across your yard.

The height of the surrounding trees determine how long you will have direct sunlight. Also how much sun comes into the area if the trees lose their leaves in fall/winter. You will also need to take into account any structures in the yard....trellises, fences, garages..etc

Full sun plants require at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun. you can with you notes determine the best places to do your plantings.

See I knew my dumb response would get a reaction and you can rely on Moonhowls advice, she does her research.LOL

I don't know how well they work, but there are things out on the market to help, if you don't have time to spend tracking your sunlight. Here's one:
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/sunstick.html
They are a little pricy for a one-time use thing (well, you get 6 I guess), but if you look you may find a reusable one somewhere...
Let us know if you find one!
j.

I have the same situation you do. I ended up planting my sunloving plants next to my house on the south side. Where i have maximum light. Which is not a full day of sun but maybe 2/3. All is doing fine. You might just do like me and go to container gardening and can move plants around if necessary.
Vickie

Thank you! You've all helped. I will do the tracking but I'm already pretty sure (from reading "Full sun plants require at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun." that I won't have a veggie garden. I know so many other plants will grow well, and I will just have to have someone else grow tomatoes and such for me! LOL!

Hopefully you may have a spot on the south side for tomatoes. You can grow them in containers in the sunniest spot in the yard....even if it is the edge of the driveway or the middle of the sidewalk...grin

Well, I ordered a light meter, knowing I won't remember to follow through on measuring light on my own. Hopefully it will come soon.

Good luck PJ. I hope you find at least one sunny place for your tomatoes. Keep us posted....grin

Light Meter is here. I've measured all 4 directions, each in several different spots. Every where but 1 shows moderate sun. Sigh. LOL! The one place that has full sun? My DECK! My very small no room for anything but table and chairs deck! LOL! I guess because it sits up kind of high it gets less tree shade? I have no place at all on ground level to grow a food garden. But I am going to try again in the empty yard south of the deck but measured at deck heighth. I could put raised (*significantly* raised, LOL!) beds there if it gets full sun at that level.

Now the quandry....tomatoes...dinner on the deck...tomatoes....??? Sorry.

LOL! I tried tomatoes on the deck, and they produced so poorly (no room for large enough pots and they would be too heavy as well.)

You could maybe try one of the smaller cherry tomato varieties...we like sweet 100...they live up to their name.

Maybe a "Red cherry large" tomato in a LARGE pot on the deck. With a HIGH CAGE around it. I have 2 in a raised bed and they are currently 7 feet high a LOADED with tomatoes! One would give you quite a few!

Definitely a high cage...I've grown cherry tomatoes for three years, and only got to eat a few. If you're surrounded by woods, like I am, the critters think everything you plant is just for them. *sigh*

I grew two cherry tomatoes on the deck and they did very well, though larger pots would have been better. Thanks everyone!

You might want to think about growing some things higher off the ground to get a little more sun access.

Check out the way Jaywhacker grows things, on stacked poles:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1092013/

Hi pjadams49417 -
I just came across this thread and see you've already purchased a light meter. What type did you buy? Are you happy with it? I hate to recommend another one because none of them are cheap and you just spent money on one, but I just thought I'd mention this one for the future, if you were interested.

I have one I purchased a couple years ago that's kind of neat called "SUNCALC".

The link below is from GARDEN GATE Magazine, which I subscribe to, but you don't need to be a subscriber to use their website or shop at their store. There are also other place that carry it like LEE VALLEY and some magazines. When I bought mine, Garden Gate had the best price and their shipping is free, but I haven't checked other prices recently.

With SUNCALC, you can use it as is or if you want to get really involved, you can use their chart which explains how in some parts of the World, for instance, "Full Sun" means much brighter Sun than Full Sun in other areas. They also recommend when you use it if there are other plants around that will shade it, that you raise it up in a flower pot or something similar.


http://www.gardengatestore.com/suncalc.html

Many vegetable plants do well without "full sun". My fallgarden is in partial shade & that includes tomatoes, Only way to find out is test it & see what you get.

I grew tomatoes & peppers for years on a "part sun" balcony that thrived. We lived in an apartment at the time that had a large covered balcony with only about 3 hours of filtered sun right up against the railing. We used to get more tomatoes than we could eat and they were beautiful.