New - Need help with placement

I have planted a few things in the past (bell peppers and tomatoes), but this year I have decided to do SFG after a friend recommended it to me. I purchased all the materials to make a raised garden. I am planning on doing 2 4x4. My only problem is I have no idea where to place it in my yard. In the past I have planted right next to my house by the back porch. The plants did well there although they stayed fairly small and produced very little, but I did nothing except water and planted them directly in the ground. The wall on the house is brick and there are two windows. The windows in my house are high and are about 4 feet from the ground. This area gets the morning sun and around 2pm or 3pm their is a shadow from the house on this area.

Here is what my yard looks like. I have are two small bushes next to the house and one small tree in the south-east corner. My neighbor on the south side has some big trees that cast a small shadow on the south south-east part of my yard. The back fence line usually gets sun most of the day. I would like to put the garden as close to the house as possible so it is easier to keep an eye on. I have a 2 year old and 2 dogs.

Each square in this is 2 ft

Welcome to the forums scases! It looks like you're a planner like me, I like that!

If it were me I'd put it right outside the covered porch. There you'll get the sun from the south (always nice) and it sounds like there's not much shade in that area. If your brick on your house heats up then you'll want to move away from the house a bit, otherwise it shouldn't be a concern. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

Thanks for responding and the welcome. I am a planner and I am very organized. I can go to the extremes at times.

The only shade this area gets is in the afternoon around 3 or 4 when the sun starts going down. It is basically the shade from the house and the covering from the porch. Otherwise it gets a lot of sun. I was concerned about the heat from the bricks. How far from the brick should I move it? I have 2 boxes how much room should I leave between them 2 or 3 feet?

I am so glad I found this site. I am excited to get started.

I'm not so sure how far away from the bricks to move it, but I'm sure if you think about it then you can come up with a good feeling. If you're 5 feet away from the house is it warmer than say the fence on the south side? How about 10 feet? My guess is that half way between the house and southern fence should be good, but if you think about it then I'm sure you can come up with something you're comfortable with.

So long as the area gets 6-8 hours of full sun you are ok. If the area is shaded from 3 onward then the area will need to get full sun from 9-3 at the very least.

If you can get 6-8 hours of full sun there that is definitely the most conveniently place for the boxes. If you don't get that much sun then you'll have to put them at the back fence.

Veggies need a lot of sun to produce well.

Scases, and thank you for joining our great group. I think determining the location is almost as hard as designing the plan for the veggies you will grow. Because of automatic sprinklers already set up in my yard, and the availability of water faucets, I had to rearrange my set up as to the best placement for my new boxes.

Is the south gate for a driveway or anything that your SFG would impede or block if you placed the garden a few feet out from the southern end of your covered porch? You would probably have full sun there most of the day. That placement would make the beds easy to get to, yet not place too many obstructions in such a wide open yard so your 2 yr old and dogs still have plenty of room to play.

I live in a cooler climate than LA, so I don't really have a concept of how far heat would be radiated from the brick of the house. I am assuming that the covered porch is not enclosed, so there would not be as much heat reflected from the porch itself.

You do need 3 feet between your beds, and at least the same between your house or porch and your beds to allow you to walk around everything and give you room to kneel or bend to work in the beds without stepping on your soil. If you need additional room from the house or porch to avoid some of that radiant heat from the bricks, it looks like you have the room there.

I am sure you will find a great place for your SFG.

Furbalsmom - Thanks for the reply. I found this forum while looking for info on SFG. I also purchased Mel's new book. The gate is a double gate that is used for a lawnmower. The lawnmower will not fit through the gate on the other side of the house. I have thought about putting the boxes in that area but then it would be hard to get the lawn mowed. We have a company that does that and they use a riding lawnmower. If the garden was next to the house I could keep an eye on it better since I can see that area from my back door. The only problem is I have a bush that I will need to remove. The back fence line gets sun the entire day. I am lucky to live in an area that has very little shade. Only the back south-east corner gets shade.

Dizzygardener - I am waiting for a sunny day to see exactly how much sun the south fence line and the area next to the house gets to decide where to place the boxes.

I love input from other people especially since this is my first time trying to garden. Any tips are greatly appreciated.

I think whatever is closest to the house and still gets lots of sun is good, as long as you don't block traffic, like the riding mower.

Whatever you decide to do, please keep us updated on your progress. And just so you know, we pictures.

Thanks again. I love pictures too. I placed my boxes and tomorrow I am hoping it will be sunny so I can see how much sun the boxes will get before I fill them.

Welcome to the forum, scases. So glad you found us.

What are you planning to plant in your garden?

Keep us posted as your garden grows.

I am going to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, hot peppers, herbs and I am going to try lettuce and spinach.

I placed the boxes yesterday but did not fill them. I wanted to see how much sun they get in the area next to my house first. Today has been a sunny day. They have been in full sun since about 7:30-8:00 this morning. It is now 1:30 and it is starting to get shaded. There is about 1/4 of one side already shaded. I may need to move the boxes to the south some. In order to do this I will need to move or remove a bush. I wasn't home when the sun first started shining on the area. I took my kids to school and then went to the store. I got home at 9 am. I know the sun shines in the area around 7:30am because it comes through the back door at this time and bounces off the tile floor into my face if I am sitting on the couch watching morning news. I think I should remove the bush and move the boxes over about 3-4 feet. See the pictures below of a time lapse.

9am


12:30pm


1:30pm

And now at 2:30pm

Or you can plant the veggies that can take more shade in the areas that get shade first. Seems like you are getting the 6+ hrs. that is needed. Lettuce, spinach and such might even last longer into the summer with a little shade. Good luck and good thinking on not filling the boxes until you make up your mind.

I even grew tomatos and peppers on the north east (shady)side of my house last year and was setting tomatos when my neighbors were pulling up plants. It was a late crop but did pretty well for orphan plants from Home Depot that were not put in until the last week of June. That's late for the lower south. They were in deep shade by about 2PM




Kay

Something else to remember is time of year. Right now the part of my yard behind our front trailer gets shade by 1, in July it does not get shade until 2:30. Also, the sun will be coming up sooner, and staying up later. I do like the suggestion of possibly planting plants that need less sun in the box on the left. Also, sun in March is not the same as sun in July and August, I'm in TX so I am trying to think of ways to put up shade for some of my boxes, as some get the full 8 hours of sun but, it's HOT sun. This year I will have a trellis on the west side of at least two boxes, but that's just my situation.

You could leave them as they are, or move the bush, and move the boxes, and later put one in where the one on the left is for lettuce and such, just a though.

FarmerValerie is thinking like a sfgardener. EXPANSION



Kay

I'll just echo everyone else. I'd definitely put some shade tolerant veggies in the left box. Lettuce, Spinach, Broccoli Rabe, Kale, and Collards all come to mind. You might even be able to get away with some onions over there. Herbs are another good choice.

Thanks every one. I am moving the bush and moving the boxes over to have room for expansion. Yes I am thinking ahead and hoping the SFG will work for me. I am new at this and have my hopes high. I had a plan for what I was planting and where but now I may be rethinking that based on the suggestions about what is better in shade. now off to re-plan. I am sure you will see another post with that shortly

I might suggest you put up shade cloth about a foot or so from the wall. This is the black stuff you can get at HD or Lowes in long rolls. Get the black so you can see out the windows. I hung mine from the eves of the house with hooks. This will help to keep the bricks cooler, the house cooler and won't cook your veggies. With tomatoes, you may have to shade them in the afternoon so they don't cook on the vine. I didn't shade mine and had cooked tomatoes until I woke up and shaded them.

Glad your with us as this is a great bunch to be with.

I hear the veggies calling again.
Bruce

Hahahaha, I did not even realize it, I just thought I was being practical, like my dad, and trying to get all work done in one fell swoop, so I could enjoy the fruits of my labors. I wish my younger 2 kids would have inherited that family trait, but then again it did not show up in myself until after the birth of my first child, and my oldest (24) has it now, so there is hope for the younger 2, that second child (22) though-I just don't know..........