Selecting a Garden Spot

[bflocat]

Hi Everyone,

This weekend is finally the time to put in our raised-bed veggie garden, but we're having a dilemma over where to place it. I was wondering if people could offer their expert opinions.

Spot #1 is the perfect location, in terms of design and landscape, as it's off to the side of the driveway in an area we won't use for anything else. It would look great to have a fenced-in garden there, and there's lots of room to expand. It's perfectly level, well-drained ground. However, it only gets direct sun from about 10:30am - 4:30pm (at this point in the solar year).

Spot #2 gets uninterrupted direct sunlight from sunrise until about 5pm, but it's on top of a hill (so slightly sloped all the way around) and has almost no room for expansion. It's also in a part of the lawn that we'd potentially use for other things. Oh - and we have a major vole/groundhog infestation in that side of the house that we are still trying to clear up.

Anyway, most references say to always plant in the sunniest spot you've got (obviously #2), but I was wondering what others might say.

BTW, I'm located outside Buffalo, NY (zone 5B), so our growing season is pretty short.

Thanks for any advice!

[opabinia51]

Hello and welcome the HG,

Well, you do want to get as much sunlight as possible, I'll give you that. However, 10:30 to 4 should be adequate. Just don't expect any monster crops coming out of your garden.

What do others think?

[Grandad]

Without pictures it's hard to visualize the differences. But based on what you stated in your commentary, I'd be inclined to GUESS that Option #1 would be the better choice. As Opa said 10:30 to 4:30 should be adequate sunshine for most vegetables.

[bflocat]

Thanks for the responses. I'm glad to have some reassurance that this should be enough sunlight!

We actually made the first bed this weekend, in Spot #1, and I'm glad to say that we're already getting sunlight from 10am - 4:45pm, so it should be okay. I'm much happier with the garden in that location, so unless we get a really poor harvest, we'll keep it there permanently!

[img]https://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/bflocat/CIMG0096.jpg[/img]

[opabinia51]

Looks like a dandy little spot! Have fun with it!