Actually, it's 6 hours. ;) It comes from the recommended minimal hours of direct sun exposure most vegetables require. You can determine the minimum for each by looking each up by name.

Tomatoes need 6-8 hours, 6 is minimum recommended and 8 is best, so 9:30 to noon won't cut it for tomatoes (or peppers). You'd have what is called a shade garden - leafy greens would do ok.

Dave

For best production of the sun lovers you really do need more than 6 hours of direct sun. 10 or more is even better.

Having said that, there is plenty that will grow in the area you want to use, just not a lot of veggies will do well.

Having said that I once veggie gardened in a shady area (had no other option). This was on the south end of my house, but a 100ft shade tree to the east blocked the sun until around noon, another tree to the north blocked evening sun and the house next door (2 story to the south) and their landscaping prevented some of the mid day sun as well. Maybe there was 5 hours of sun.

I was able to grow tomatos, but the yield was low. I wouldn't try any long season varieties, but early hybrid varieties you might get to work. I was able to grow lettuce. Peppers never produced anything other than sparse, tiny (1") peppers.

g'day richard,

yeh mate more like 6 at least hours the more the better, and also even distribution should be considered ie.,. each side of the plant getting some sunlight as the day progresses.

len

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

In addition to reduced productivity, tomatoes grown in less than 6-7 hours sun won't be as nutritious or tasty as they should be.

There are a lot of flowers that will grow with 5 hours of sun, like 4 o'clocks and bee balm. If you have a red brick garage, yellow 4 o'clocks would look good and they would come back year after year. You could try mixing in a little swiss chard. Just a thought.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website

Thanks for all the helpful replies--not what I wanted to hear but better now than later! Richard

One other consideration needs mentioned. If you plant alongside a sun, heat trap such as a brick wall, you will need lots of water. The heat can bake some of the plants during the hottest part of the summer. Just thought I'd mention this as it has happened to me as well. TiMo

If, indeed, the brick wall faces due East the extra heat early in the morning could be an advantage. (Watering, of course, being carefully attended to as rootdoctor mentions.) The plants will have the advantage of good light and extra warmth during those early parts of the day. Especially for early crops coming along before the trees leaf out.

If the sun doesn't hit 'til 9:30 you may be south of East.

You didn't say just what you wanted to plant. Surely, you could experiment with one or two of the real sun lovers like pepper or tomato. Next year you'll have a better handle on it.

I have tomatoes and they get 5 1/2 hours of texas sun from 9 till 2:45 is there no chance to get some tomatoes I grew sunflowers there last year they did good what can I do to help them out.

angie83,

if sunflowers did well in a spot, then tomatoes surely will too. Just think about sunflowers' native/original habitat/growing situation. Sunflowers were cultivated on by Native Americans on the great plains. Out on the plains, there's basically as much sun as there are sunlight hours in the day - there is no shade. SUNflowers really are a SUN-loving plant. Whereas as tomatoes are native to... well I'm not sure exactly what kind of area tomatoes are native to, I just know it's somewhere in South America in the Andes region, which I'm sure has more shade than the wide-open plains.