How to Map Sunlight Before Choosing a Vegetable Garden Site

To map sunlight for a vegetable garden, observe each possible planting area throughout the day, record when direct sun reaches and leaves it, and repeat the check during the season you intend to grow. Choose the location from those observations and the crop's needs. A bright view from a window at noon is not a full-day light record.

Compare actual planting areas

Draw a simple yard outline with the house, fence, trees, paths, and two or three possible planting areas. Give each candidate a letter. Mark the corners you would actually use, rather than judging the entire backyard as either sunny or shady.

This is an observation exercise, so you do not need to dig or buy bed materials first. Keep the sketch loose enough to move a proposed bed. If the useful sunny area is smaller than expected, a smaller planting plan is a reasonable result.

Make a repeatable sun log

Use a day when moving shadows are easy to distinguish. Begin in the morning and revisit the same positions through the afternoon and evening. An hourly reminder is a practical starting schedule; check more closely when a building's shadow approaches a bed edge. This is a suggested household record, not a calibrated light measurement.

For each visit, write the time and whether the spot is in direct sun, patchy tree shade, or solid shade. Note clouds separately so temporary cloud cover does not become a supposed fence shadow. A dated photograph from the same position can help explain the notes later.

Field	What to record
Location	Candidate letter and the particular corner or center.
Time	Actual observation time, including morning or afternoon.
Light	Direct sun, patchy shade, or solid shade.
Cause and conditions	Building, fence, tree canopy, passing clouds, or uncertain.
Follow-up	A transition time or season that needs another check.

Add intervals without pretending they are exact

Estimate the time between observed sun and shade transitions. If you first checked at 10 a.m. and the spot was already sunny, you have not established when sunlight began. Mark that boundary as unknown rather than filling the missing morning with an assumption.

As a made-up arithmetic example, direct sun from 9–11 a.m. and 1–4 p.m. totals five hours. That example describes two observed intervals, not a recommendation for a particular vegetable. Also record whether all of the proposed bed shared those intervals; one sunny corner does not establish the exposure of every plant.

Keep each candidate on its own line when comparing the results. Do not combine a sunny morning at location A with a sunny afternoon at location B and call either place suitable for the whole day. A photograph helps only when its location and time are known; save those details with the image.

Match the result to the crop

University of Minnesota Extension recommends at least six to eight hours of daily sunlight for raised beds growing full-sun crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Compare the actual variety's requirements with your observations before buying plants.

Oregon State Extension distinguishes fruiting vegetables from crops grown for their leaves, some of which can tolerate partial shade. Less sun does not automatically rule out every vegetable, but it does call for a different crop decision. Ask local Extension guidance to help match the crop, season, and climate; do not treat shade tolerance as a yield promise.

Keep the date attached to the map

Penn State's microclimate guidance explains that shade position and duration change through the year. Trees that have not yet leafed out can also make an early-season observation misleading for summer planting. Retain the date and canopy condition beside every map.

Before committing to a permanent bed, plan another check for the intended growing period. If you cannot observe that season yet, keep the decision provisional. Water access, drainage, and room to work still need separate checks; a light map answers only the sunlight question.

Choose planting tools after the location

Once a suitable small bed is ready, the UKOKE UGP02G garden tool kit offers hand tools for planting and routine maintenance. It does not measure sunlight or change a shaded site's suitability.

Written by Codex using the linked sources. No firsthand growing trial or independent human review is claimed. Cover: AI illustration. Product-card image: official UKOKE photograph.