Three More Easy Ways

Observe and Record

Start observing the place you think would be good for a garden for how much sun it gets. Note when the sun first hits ALL of your spot, as opposed to just part of it. Clearly being able to see when all of it has sun shining directly on it is why you marked out your spot first. Take note of whether it’s still in full sun throughout the morning and afternoon and when any part of it first comes into shadow in the evening.

As you observe, jot down the times when the sun’s direct rays first hit the entire spot in the morning and when any part of the spot first becomes shaded in the evening. If you’re around, also note and subtract any times when the spot becomes shaded throughout the day. Then, use your recorded times to figure out how many hours of direct sunlight the area gets at that time of year.

If you do this during a time when you’ll be growing your garden, these are your times. If it’s fall, winter, or early spring, you can use the chart below to see how many hours to add for your approximate latitude.

Hours to Add for Your Latitude 

	Dec	Nov/Jan	Oct/Feb	Sep/Mar
25º	3.5	3	2.5	1.5
30º	4	3.5	3	1.5-2
35º	5	4.5	3.5	2-2.5
40º	6	5.5	4	2.5
45º	7	6.5	5	3
50º	8	7.5	6	3.5

However, if you observe your spot during true fall and winter (September 21 through March 21), the obstructions to the south will be casting much more shade than they do during the spring and summer growing seasons. As long as these obstructions are below 45-50º, they won’t shade your garden during the summer (see the latter part of “Another Way: An Uncomfortable Salute” below), but you might need a different method since their shade during this time of year makes finding times through observation difficult (see below and A Precise Way: Making Your Own Measuring Stick).

An Uncomfortable Salute

This is partly in jest, but, once you know your cardinal and ordinal directions, you can also do all of this by traipsing around your yard, flailing your arms around, and knowing some information about sunrise and sunset.

Standing in your site, point at the tops of the vegetation, earth, or buildings that will obstruct the sun to the east and northeast and west and northwest (see Orienting Yourself). To make sure you’re accurately noting when your site is first in sun in the morning and in shade in the evening, stand on the far east side of your marked-out site (the last to get sun in the morning) when pointing to the east and northeast and on the far west side of your site (the first to lose sun in the evening) when pointing to the west and northwest (see Why Northeast and Northwest Instead of Just East and West?). Are you pointing straight ahead (ideal, about 14-16 hours of sun in midsummer) or just a little up (still okay), or are you getting uncomfortable because your neighbors might think you’re doing the Heil Hitler salute?

If it’s the latter, you have more problems than your neighbors merely thinking you’re weird. If pointing straight up is 90º and pointing straight out is 0º, pointing anywhere greater than 45º, halfway between the two, for either east and northeast or west and northwest horizons will mean noticeably decreased growth for your garden plants.

Do this same thing pointing to the south from the south side of your prospective garden plot. If you only plan to grow plants during late spring, summer, and early fall, you can get by with a higher angle to the south, but still check it just to be sure it’s not greater than around 45º.  If you want to have plants growing during early-to-mid spring, mid-to-late fall, or the winter, however, you’ll need a lower angle to the south, as well, so make sure it’s much lower than 45º (There are more details on this in the book.).

Time Lapse

If you’re tech-savvy and can’t be around during the day, set up a camera focused on your spot to take time-lapse photos throughout the day. You can then watch the sped-up, final version at your leisure to analyze how many hours of sun your spot receives. Refer to the table in “Another Easy Way: Observe and Record” to adjust for your time of year and latitude.

Most cameras allow you to change the settings to alter how often they take a picture to best balance your needs for accuracy versus available memory, battery power, and the time you’d like to spend watching the final version. Some, like those in more recent iPhones, will adjust this, and the resulting video, automatically as the timespan gets longer, and apps are available for more specific tinkering if you so desire. If you’re worried about running out of battery life, set your camera up in a location you can safely keep it plugged in.