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Best spot in my yard for plants?

F

fusedpro

Hi all,
 
Now that it is getting close to plant out time, I'm wondering where the best spot would be to put the things. I've got 18 5-gallon fabric pots for now, but would like to get some raised beds in the future. This will be a two question topic, so hopefully we can knock out both.
 
First off, here is my house/plot --
 
iVfMlug.png

 
Hard to tell from that picture, but I do have a deck. As things are now, the front gets sun in the morning, the back in the evening. If I wanted them to get sun all day, I'm pretty sure I'd have to stick them out in the middle of my backyard somewhere. I'm not completely against doing that, but it would probably look tacky (just moved in, don't want my neighbors to hate me quite yet). My original idea was the deck, but as mentioned, they'd only get sun in the afternoon/evening and, with that, the railings cast shadow and would diffuse some of the light as the day goes on. So... where should my current crop go?
 
Other question. When I do build some raised beds, where would a good spot be? There is a slight east to west hill at the back right of the house from that picture, but it evens out as decently enough as you approach my plot line. It is a pretty deep backyard, so I'm not sure where the optimum spot would be to build them.
 
Any ideas/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Goodness, that's a lot of houses in a rather small area!  You really shouldn't tease the tornadoes that way....  :D
 
I suspect your deck will become light-starved as soon as the sun starts moving south in late summer.  When does first-frost arrive?
 
A good looking anti-rabbit fence way in the back yard shouldn't depress property values too much, and should keep your plants safe in ground level containers or planted in a garden.
 
Chile plants need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight a day for good production. 
 
I'm not sure about the time of day/season that pic was taken, but take a look at what happens with the house shadows throughout the course of a day. Also, I see one lone (small) tree between your house and the neighbor in the top-right corner of the pic. Consider that as a source of shade when it grows up. Do you or your neighbor in the lower-left corner have any plans to plant trees? Also, what is planned for the area behind your house, pass the far edge of your yard - more development? Try to think of all possible sources of shade - not just now, but those to come - and plan accordingly.
 
millworkman said:
I'd think about the very back of the property.
Click to expand...
 
I second this.  That way it doesn't divide the yard and in your climate and this time of year they can use all the sun they can get.  It won't look tacky, rather a buffer between your well kept lawn and the less well kept property bordering you on the north/rear... that is, so long as you weed it so it looks orderly.
 
The issue I didn't mention is whether you're going to water them or depend on rain.  Dragging water or a hose that far on a regular basis can get annoying.  Once the hotter weeks of summer arrive I just leave a hose strung out to where my plants are, but I can do that without it lying in a patch of lawn that I mow so I don't have to move it.  Then again if it is dry enough that they need the hose, the lawn isn't growing very fast.
 
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