Question
Gardens
I live in Raleigh, NC, and currently have an east facing in-ground garden directly in the back of our house. It gets about 2 hours of morning sun in one part and close to 5 hours at the other part. I mostly planted Basil in the past and it's come up good, despite not that much sun. I also planted green onions and chives which did pretty good. This year I am thinking about adding rosemary, dill, oregano, thyme, tarragon, 1 bell pepper plant, and 1 Roma tomato plant. Should all of these do fine in the east facing garden? I was thinking about putting the tomato plant and pepper plant in the area of the garden that gets 5 hours of sun. I also was contemplating about starting a garden on our south side of the house, which is the hottest area. This side gets sun from about noon to the end of the day. Would this area be too harsh for plants? What about the heat and humidity that we get in Raleigh in the summer? I've read that afternoon sun is the worst because it's too strong for plants. Plus what about the sun reflecting off the house? The garden would have to be near the house. Pluse I should mention that from the house to about 7-10 ft. out the land is flat. Then there is a little hill or slope going up to the neighbor's house. My garden would only come out about 4 feet from our house. Would my plants do better if I had a south side garden or an east side garden, where it is now? I did notice that the east side garden's soil keeps a little moist because of the shade. Would the south side dry out too much? I can send pictures of the areas I am talking about if that would help. Thanks very much for your help.
AnswerI recommend planting all vegetables, with the exception of peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes, facing east. Plant shade loving vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, and chard closer to the house to minimize the amount of sun.
Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant need a minimum of 8 hours of sun per day for good production. They also love the heat. The same holds true for corn should you ever decide to plant it. Therefore, I would place these vegetables facing south. Just be sure to water deeply once the top 3" of soil dries out. As with all vegetables, they should receive a minimum of 1.5" of water per week.
Good luck with your new garden, and please write again if I can ever provide assistance.
Regards,
Mike
