Q. I have planter boxes which get hours and hours of
direct sun. I’ve tried everything from corn, to edamame, grapes, peppers, tomatillo,
and many others. I have even put up shading but either there is too much sun or
maybe I over water. I’d like to start now and get a jump on summer.
A. The usual problems are finding a good spot in the
landscape for the garden, getting the organic matter up to decent levels,
planting at the right time and watering correctly. All of the vegetables you
mention as well as grapes have no trouble handling our sun and temperatures.
Shade
cloth, around 30 to 40% and no more, can improve the quality of many crops but
not all crops. Okra for instance does not tolerate any shade at all. It has beautiful
leaves but no edible production. Corn is the same way.
cloth, around 30 to 40% and no more, can improve the quality of many crops but
not all crops. Okra for instance does not tolerate any shade at all. It has beautiful
leaves but no edible production. Corn is the same way.
.jpg) |
| This is a ten foot wide hoophouse with 30% shade cloth. 30% does not seem like much in the very bright summer sun but it is enough to give some relief to vegetables resulting in better quality. |
Put the
garden where you can regularly see it from inside the house. Out of sight, out
of mind.
garden where you can regularly see it from inside the house. Out of sight, out
of mind.
The
garden needs 6 hours of sunlight at a minimum. Eight is better. The worst spot
for a summer garden is on the west side in full sun. The best location is full
sun in the morning through mid-afternoon.
garden needs 6 hours of sunlight at a minimum. Eight is better. The worst spot
for a summer garden is on the west side in full sun. The best location is full
sun in the morning through mid-afternoon.