I'm a bit far north, so the sun is always in the southern sky. I have a fence that runs east west and casts a permanent shadow over my garden. Thus the reason I put the pathway there and started my beds where the shadow ends during the height of the summer. I don't know where you are located but a fence that runs north/south shouldn't shade anything for half of the day (unless I am missunderstanding). Come to think of it, I have north/south fence in my garden. I have path there as well because I have 100 foot trees that block the sun after 4pm, so that area is in shade far too much for most plants to grow.

My recommendation would be to spend a weekend day looking out there every few hours and seeing when you get sun and when it's shaded. Sun loving plants apparently need 8-12 hours of sun during the summer.

Experienced gardeners feel free to correct me if I am mistaken. Good luck with your garden. (pics of what I describe are all over my site).

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden

No, it doesn't cast a shadow half the day. I think it only casts a shadow until 10:30 or 11 am, since I'm on the west side of it. It's hard to know exactly because I've only lived here a month or so and it's rained or been cloudy practically every day. Most days it hasn't, I've been distracted with remodeling and my three-year-old. :) My east-west fence casts a much smaller permanent shadow that I wouldn't mind, were it not for the trees the neighbor has planted just on the other side of it. They aren't so big right now, but could be a real problem in a couple years since they are already casting a small shadow over the fence shadow.

I'm probably just overthinking this all. I have a north to south strip that's about 33 feet by 72 feet long, in which I'm going to put my garden. I want to plant some tall things, like tomatoes and trellised cucumbers and beans. Plus I told my three-year-old she could grow a tiny bit of corn (what have I gotten myself into? lol). So I won't have any problem this year, but I'm worried that when I rotate things eventually, I'll have a problem with shading. I'm sure it'll all work out, though. Thanks for replying!

> I'm a bit far north, so the sun is always in the southern sky.
> Experienced gardeners feel free to correct me if I am mistaken.

This reminds me of something I've been wondering about for a while. People often recommend a south-facing slope for maximum light exposure. However, in the north during the growing season, the sun rises and sets significantly into the north half of the sky. How else could we have an 18 hour day? So much so that my north-facing slope gets more sun exposure than a south-facing one during the growing season. Although I think people still prefer the south-facing slope since it favors the warmer and more sun-direct times of the day.

I'm not sure about that ... I think it rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest  farther south in the winter, but always in the southern sky (in the temperate northern hemisphere). A south-facing slope receives the sun's rays more directly (and so more intensely), a north-facing one more obliquely (and with longer shadows). Changes in day length have to do with the angle between the axis of the earth's rotation and that of its orbit around the sun.

The length and timing of the shadow will be different during the growing season and now. Especially with trees there, you may be wise to start well away from the fence. I would think 15' would give you years before the trees cast a shadow on your garden plot.

There's a growing tree just to the east of my garden, and it casts shade, especially on the eastern edge, for a couple of hours each morning. I find it's a handy place to lean tools against, hang my coat, and get some shade if I'm out working. The small amount of lost light doesn't seem to make any difference.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sun and seasons

> I think it rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest.

This is true in the northern temperate hemisphere only between 9/21 to 3/21. Between 3/21 to 9/21 the tilt of the earth's axis towards the sun means that the sun will appear in some portion of the northern sky each day. In fact, in the northern arctic circle on the solstice, the sun will be in the northern sky 50% of the day, and in the southern sky for the other 50%. I'm only at the 45th parallel, but in the summer the sun shines strongly on the north side of my house each morning and afternoon. This means that a north-facing slow will receive more sunshine during this time of year. However, during the bulk of the day, the sunlight will strike the north slope less directly. And if you arrange your grapes or fruit trees in a "theater-audience" style, one row looking over the other, you can space them much closer on the south slope than the north.

In the continental 48 the summer sun sets in the northwest. If you are west of the fence, you will have more hours of afternoon and evening sun than morning shade.

I have an East West running 6 foot fence across the back of my yard. I've just planted cherry trees on the north side of the fence-thinking : " this is the southernmost end of my yard so they are planted in the south of the garden. All well and good but there is a pretty definite shadow most of the day until the sun beams more westerly after 5. I am not happy with myself ! There is not any other place to put a fruit tree but I should have planted them on the south side of a north wall, not the north side of a south wall. Live and learn. It's not a thick, very solid fence. There is air space between the boards, it is painted a light color and I had a carpenter make some attractive, decorative cut outs at intervals this week. I'm going to watch it . It is only late April. Perhaps as the season progresses it will get more sun ? Will the little windows help ? I'm in the lower midwest ; Oklahoma. Our summer sun is quite strong but spring is long, shady and cold.

Well Daninthe dirt : this is a concern and I have learned the hard way. Yes, I open the gate and see all of that sunshine on the "wrong " side of the fence all day. The little windows are helping to bring over some dappled light. Maybe I'll stage a solstice celebration. But in the late afternoon , now, late April, after 4 p.m. I get sun from the west and that will surely increase as the days get longer.

The sun is in the west at 4pm? No surprises there. At 4:00pm CDT in Oklahoma, on this date, the azimuth of the sun is 247 degrees. You can look it up. That's 23 degrees south of due west. So it's shining on the south side of an EW fence as I said it would. At 6:20pm CDT, the sun will have crept to the north, and will be shining on the north side of the fence after that. But with the sun that low, you won't really get much light from it. Most of the day, it will be shining on the south side of that EW fence.

If your fence doesn't seem to be illuminated right, you might want to check your directions.

With a tree that will grow to some height - like a cherry - a 6' tall fence is not likely to be a big concern for too long. The tree canopy will grow above the fence top in just a couple of seasons and it will not really matter if the tree is planted on either the north or the south side of it. The amount of sunlight hitting the canopy should be the same.

Oh, I thought you were planting a garden. This is a Vegetable Gardening forum. You're talking about your fruit trees. Yes, that fence won't block the sunlight for long.

Daninthe dirt: I was just observing -not acting surprised- about the sun in the west at 4. But when it is in the west it is illuminating the north side of the fence as well as the south. As it is straight west.. And my directions are accurate. There are a lot of fences and outbuildings in that area-not all of them mine. I should actually be surprised that it is not the land of permanent , competing shadows. Gardengal48.: Thank you for the encouragement. They are dwarf trees though-not predicted to get taller than 6 or 8 feet.. But I hope that you are correct in thinking that they can rise above in a couple of seasons. Thank you both really-I'm struggling with a small city garden and no place for an orchard.