East West or North South?

peppereater · March 19, 2007

Is one direction or another better for tomatoes? What about other crops? Is it a matter of morning sun drying off the dew, prevailing winds in certain areas, magnetic fields?

Most resources I've seen never deal with this topic.

Tomstrees · March 19, 2007

My rows go East to West -
I get plenty of sun for my tomatoes & peppers ~

Tom

feldon30 · March 19, 2007

For me, the choice of what orientation to plant is a matter of what shades what. If you could plant everything East-West and the sun never changed angle in the sky, it'd be a perfect world.

My first garden was tomatoes on the outside, and peppers and beans on the inside (near a fence). After 2 months of growth, the peppers and beans were completely shaded out by the fence, the neighbor's tree, and the tomatoes. They got maybe 3 hours of sun a day.

So I had to completely rethink things when I built my new beds. Now, I plant shortest-to-tallest from West to East. And I am trying potatoes, beans, and other things that can hobble along on 5-6 hours of sun a day. The tomatoes and peppers are positioned so they will get more like 6-8 hrs.

Fortunately in a subdivision I don't have to worry about growing crops as a wind-break like someone does if they are on a hill with no trees blocking wind in the area.

Ruth_10 · March 19, 2007

I grow in East-West rows. Our property slopes to the north, so I don't want north-south furrows that will become erosion ditches when it rains.

johno · March 19, 2007

feldon30 hit the nail on the head - shade is the thing you have to plan for.

With wide enough spacing between beds, it is less of an issue...

My beds are mostly N-S, but I also have several running E-W. It doesn't seem to make any difference, as long as the plants don't get shaded out.

March 19, 2007	#1
peppereater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 99	East West or North South? Is one direction or another better for tomatoes? What about other crops? Is it a matter of morning sun drying off the dew, prevailing winds in certain areas, magnetic fields? Most resources I've seen never deal with this topic. __________________ Dave

March 19, 2007	#2
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	My rows go East to West - I get plenty of sun for my tomatoes & peppers ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

March 19, 2007	#3
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	For me, the choice of what orientation to plant is a matter of what shades what. If you could plant everything East-West and the sun never changed angle in the sky, it'd be a perfect world. My first garden was tomatoes on the outside, and peppers and beans on the inside (near a fence). After 2 months of growth, the peppers and beans were completely shaded out by the fence, the neighbor's tree, and the tomatoes. They got maybe 3 hours of sun a day. So I had to completely rethink things when I built my new beds. Now, I plant shortest-to-tallest from West to East. And I am trying potatoes, beans, and other things that can hobble along on 5-6 hours of sun a day. The tomatoes and peppers are positioned so they will get more like 6-8 hrs. Fortunately in a subdivision I don't have to worry about growing crops as a wind-break like someone does if they are on a hill with no trees blocking wind in the area. Last edited by feldon30; March 19, 2007 at 11:18 PM.

March 19, 2007	#4
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	I grow in East-West rows. Our property slopes to the north, so I don't want north-south furrows that will become erosion ditches when it rains. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

March 19, 2007	#5
johno Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Arkansas zone 6b Posts: 441	feldon30 hit the nail on the head - shade is the thing you have to plan for. With wide enough spacing between beds, it is less of an issue... My beds are mostly N-S, but I also have several running E-W. It doesn't seem to make any difference, as long as the plants don't get shaded out.