Can we talk about how long I was wrong about morning shade?

For 3 summers I put my tomato plants in the sunniest corner of my yard in Austin, watching them struggle with wilt by noon. Then my neighbor pointed out that my backyard gets brutal afternoon heat, not gentle morning light like I thought. Did anyone else realize their garden layout was totally off because of how shadows move through your space?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_rose2d ago

Did you catch that episode of the Joe Gardener podcast where he talked about microclimates? He had a whole segment on how the same street can have totally different sun patterns because of fences and trees. It made me realize my whole garden plan was based on guessing, not actually watching.

the_faith2d ago

That part about fences really got me thinking. Did you actually go out and track the sun in your own yard for a few days before you changed your plan, or are you just going off what he said on the podcast? Because I did that last spring after hearing him talk about it, and what I thought was full sun turned out to be more like partial shade by noon. The shadows from my neighbor's shed totally changed everything I assumed.

anna7172d ago

Well I have to disagree a bit here. My tomatoes in Dallas actually did better in the morning shade spot because the afternoon sun here is just too harsh for them. Every garden is different and what works in Austin might not work in another city.