Finding The Perfect Spot For Your Raised Garden Bed

LESLIE: Courtney in Rhode Island is looking for some gardening tips. What can we do for you?

COURTNEY: I’m trying to find a spot for my raised garden bed. I’d like to put it behind the house, which is the north side. And I remember last year the spot being full sun but last week, I noticed it was completely shaded. How can I tell where it was going to – where a good spot would be, you know, when it comes time to plant?

TOM: Yeah, I think you’ve just told yourself. Yeah, it depends on how high the sun is in the sky. And right now, it’s early spring.

LESLIE: Right. And it’s also – it’s a seasonal thing.

TOM: Yeah. And it’s a seasonal thing. So, in order for you to get full sun for the longest period of time, it has to be in a more wide open space with no obstructions. And the north side of the house is generally not the best place to put a garden, because it typically is the cooler side of the house.

And I had a situation, when I first moved to my home, that was like that, where we had a spot that always been used in the garden. Because we had loved there – my family lived there before that – I kind of didn’t notice how big the trees had gotten but I did notice that my garden was getting smaller every year until I was like, “Duh. I’ve got to move the garden.” And once we moved it to a full-sun southern spot, the garden production pretty much doubled and then tripled.

So, I think that you basically have to get it somewhere else other than the north if you really want to have a long season here.