How Much Sun Minimally?

GoDawgs · May 3, 2020

I've read where tomatoes only need about 6 hours of sun to produce and I need some input as to what real life experience says. After last year's fiasco of trying half of the tomatoes in buckets in full, all day Georgia sun where they got baked and broiled and were really unhappy, this year I changed that planting site to one higher up in the garden where they'll get some afternoon shade. Now I'm afraid that perhaps it's too shady.

It might be that the sunlight right now might be less than it will be as spring turns to summer and the sun moves around. We'll see. The problem is that I did no real prior sun study and relied on memory. I checked all my photos from last year but I can't get a sunlight handle on that corner of the garden because I didn't take many photos of it.

So how many hours of direct sunlight do the tomatoes really need to "be fruitful and multiply"? I can't change the location now as everywhere else in the garden is occupied and in full sun. So am I up the creek without the paddle and ruined it all or is there some hope? Fortunately the other half of the tomatoes are in buckets in a good situation up near the house but these in the garden are eleven new-to-me varieties.

May 3, 2020	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	How Much Sun Minimally? I've read where tomatoes only need about 6 hours of sun to produce and I need some input as to what real life experience says. After last year's fiasco of trying half of the tomatoes in buckets in full, all day Georgia sun where they got baked and broiled and were really unhappy, this year I changed that planting site to one higher up in the garden where they'll get some afternoon shade. Now I'm afraid that perhaps it's too shady. It might be that the sunlight right now might be less than it will be as spring turns to summer and the sun moves around. We'll see. The problem is that I did no real prior sun study and relied on memory. I checked all my photos from last year but I can't get a sunlight handle on that corner of the garden because I didn't take many photos of it. So how many hours of direct sunlight do the tomatoes really need to "be fruitful and multiply"? I can't change the location now as everywhere else in the garden is occupied and in full sun. So am I up the creek without the paddle and ruined it all or is there some hope? Fortunately the other half of the tomatoes are in buckets in a good situation up near the house but these in the garden are eleven new-to-me varieties.