Shade plotting

[mi2bugz]

We just moved to our new house and I am not familiar with the best locations for planting vegetables (sun/shade locations in summer). We are in Texas and I need to factor in some shade. What is the best way to guess where the shade will be in summer compared to now? Does the shade even really move that much? Sorry if dumb question but really don't want to go through all work of making the garden in a spot that won't work.

~ Nicole

 

[operationindigo]

in my experience in FL, it moves significantly. What I did last year was I went about a week where I put out a broom or rake at various parts of the yard where it was sunny at mid morning. Then I watched it throughout the day to determine which areas shade fell upon within a few hours. It seems lo-fi but it gave me a good idea of how the shade/sunlight moved around in the yard.

 

[mi2bugz]

I have been tracking the sun movement each day at various times. How were you able to predict if shade would be in those same spots in a couple of months? It makes sense that if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west the sun would basically be in the same spot but higher so the shade would be almost in the same area but a friend says it will move a lot.

 

[lazy gardener]

You might research this question at your local library. Perhaps DIY books related to solar panels or green houses would be able to answer your question.