Q: I have heard that there is a sunlight calculator on the market that measures the amount of sunlight that a specific garden spot gets. Have you heard of this?

A: Getting a handle on how much sunlight an area receives is one of the basic keys to garden success. Daily observation is sometimes adequate but there are devices that do the work for you. One is the SunCalc meter (www.lusterleaf.com). Simply put it in a garden spot and check it after a day’s exposure. A more accurate but more expensive version is the LightScout (www.specmeters.com). It measures photosynthetically active radiation for a 24 hour period.