Diggin' In: Progress Journal (3/14/12)

Diggin' In: Progress Journal (3/14/12)03/14/2012

 

3/14/12. Sun tracking results

Soil test in class tonight! We brought in a sample from the back and front yards. The back was a nice “clay loam”, needing a bit more organic matter to break it up. The front was all mulch which you can’t “do anything with”. But it happens to be organic matter, which we can add to the back yard soil! (That is if we decide to dig in vs build up)

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Suntrack Video Results - Hours of sun in zones

Back yard Zones 

• Zone 1: 10am - 5pm (7hrs)
• Zone 2: 11am - 3pm (3hrs)
• Zone 3: 11am - 5pm (6hrs)
• Zone 4: 12pm - 5pm (5hrs)
• Zone 5: 10am - 2pm (4hrs)

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Front yard Zones 

• Zone 1: 11am - 2pm (3hrs)
• Zone 2: 12pm - 2pm (2hrs)
• Zone 3: 1pm - 2pm (1hr)

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Side porch Zones 

• Zone 1: 9am - 11am (3hrs)
• Zone 2: 10am - 12pm (2hrs)
• Zone 3: 10am - 2pm (4hrs)

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Room Patio  Zones 

• Zone 1: 9am - 5pm (8hrs)
• Zone 2: 2pm - 5pm (3hrs)

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Roof Zones 

• Zone 1: 8am - 5pm (9hrs)
• Zone 2: 10am - 4pm (6hrs)
• Zone 3: 10am - 5pm (7hrs)

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Front house fence Zones

• Zone 1: 1pm - 4pm (3hrs)
• Zone 2: 2pm - 5pm (3hrs)

Of course these pictures were taken a week or so before daylight savings time...so the times are off and the season is changing. But the photos/video can show a general idea of where shade and sunshine are. Plus it was fun!

I’d like to share the definitions of sun and shade according to the Creasy book:

• Full sun = greater than 6 hrs of direct, unfiltered sunlight, including 2 hrs during peak (10am - 2pm)
• Partial shade = 4-6 hrs of sun a day, not a lot at mid day, lightly dappled sun off/on with some full sun
• Full shade = little full sun, no more than few hours of heavily dappled sunlight all day

*To check the shadow/sun ratio at noon, 6 months ahead - view the shadows at midnight on the full moon.*