West Facing "Garden"

I’ve had good success with sald greens and cherry tomatoes in a low sun garden – probably only 4-5 hours direct light per day – but bigger tomatoes and veggies will struggle.

AndrewLuke

in Garden Design and Maintenance 12 years and 7 months ago

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expert_textpert | 12 years and 7 months ago

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Okay, not really a garden, but read on. On a west facing 15’x20′ terrace, will I be able to grow (in pots) vegetables (ie, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, bitter squash, eggplant, etc.) and herbs (parsley, dill, mint, etc.) Terrace faces west and has 7-stories above it on the 15′ side. I know I can grow veggies in pots but will the terrace get enough sun?

berniceshola | 12 years and 7 months ago

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get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/PlantSense-1000-EasyBloom-Plant-Sensor/dp/B001E5DF66/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1350053185&sr=1-5&keywords=garden+light+meter You leave it in the spot for 24 hours and the plug it in to your computer, and it will tell you how much light you get and which plants will do well there. As a rule of thumb you need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight to grow most vegetables. 8 or more is better. And look into EarthBox planters for container gardening. They have built in reservoirs so you only need to water once a week or less. http://www.amazon.com/EarthBox-1010002-Garden-Terra-Cotta/dp/B000JUW8RE/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1350053360&sr=1-1&keywords=earth+box

marie-helene | 12 years and 7 months ago

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Is the tall wall on the north or the south side of the terrace? A southwest exposure would give you at least 6-7 hours of sun per day (8 hours for beefsteak tomatoes), which is what you need for most vegetables.  With 4-5 hours of sunlight, you can grow most herbs, and salad.   Put a camera with a time-delay feature and take pictures every 10 minutes from the time the sun shows up; that will give you a map of your terrace (some areas may get 6 hours, others only 2, depending on the true orientation.)  If the sunniest spot is the back wall, you can grow most things on a trellis so what you don’t get in square footage you can make up in height.

expert_textpert | 12 years and 7 months ago

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I guess I wasn’t clear. The terrace is attached to (part of) a building with 7-stories above it. The short side (15′) of terrace is attached to the building and the terrace extends out 21′ west. so the “tall wall” (7 story building) is to the east. Thanks flw for the links. That plug in sun ‘mapper’ is pretty cool. wow, I didn’t realize veggies needed 6 hours of direct sunlight.