sun How important is direct sun?

[Wulf]

Is it viable to use a shaded area for growing peppers? I've got an area in my backyard by the house that never sees any sun, but is essentially wasted space. I assume it's good for growing though, as the grass grows there at least 3x faster than my front yard....

Will peppers produce with only reflected / ambient light, or do they need the full force of the sun on them hours per day? If not peppers, do any of you have any experience with berry bushes? Rasp/black/blue, etc, would they grow there? Converting it to something productive instead of a grass farm would be a double win for me.

 

[Joshuap2000]

Wulf;

I think it will be fine IMO, you cand also put a few containers over there and see how they grow. I got mine under my car port, but it does get the morning sun (east side of house) but once it hits late morning/early afternoon they are no longer and direct sunlight and have been growing just fine.

I have never grow without direct sunlight, but grown indoors under artifical light and they just did fine also. as long as the plants gets light source (direct or indirect) I think you will be fine.

 

[Dave2000]

Peppers love heat (up to a point) and sun. You'll have poor results there because of this issue and your short growing season, which is now 1/2 over. Use the area for herbs.

Yes you could get a plant to grow a little and produce a small amount of fruit, but pretty much a wasted effort considering you might get 20x as much in another climate with more sun... maybe even 50x as much or more as it may be hard at this point to get a plant and fruit to maturity.

If you really want to do this I suggest using a small pot and continuing to grow it inside once the nights get too cold.

 

[Prehensile]

My Chinese seem to do better in partial shade, the plants in 8 hours full sun fare not as well.

 

[Dave2000]

^ Sure but that's only because of your hot climate, in a more moderate climate 8 hours is still less than optimal.

 

[Wulf]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll throw one or two of my smaller plants in there just to see how they do, and see if I can track down something else worth growing to fill the rest of the space.

 

[geeme]

Pepper plants grown predominantly in shade will not fill out, but will stay rather scrawny. This affects production, since pods are only produced at the nodes (where branches split off.) Small, scrawny plants with few branches mean few peppers. If you're looking for a space filler, I agree - find something that likes the shade, instead.

 

[Dave2000]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll throw one or two of my smaller plants in there just to see how they do, and see if I can track down something else worth growing to fill the rest of the space.

I didn't realize you already had plants started, the extra (month?) time will make a difference. I'd pot it and put it where it receives the most sun instead of in the shaded area of your yard. Perhaps the grass is only taller there because the shade causes slower water loss and the rest needs more water to flourish?

 

[DatilDaddy]

If you have more than a few plants it never hurts to try right? Experiment and learn.

 

[Wulf]

The seeds hit the dirt on May 13th, I believe it was.

Only a handful of them are really taking off, I've got about 20 of them that are ~1-2 inches.

 

[Dave2000]

1-2" in 7 weeks isn't much, were they just starving for sun while inside?

Edit: Then again I'm not counting the time to sprout, if that took 4 weeks and it's a really thick bushy 2" plant I could see that...

 

[geeme]

Hm... if your plants have been in shade or just low-light conditions, be sure to harden them off rather then putting them out all at once.

 

[Wulf]

1-2" in 7 weeks isn't much, were they just starving for sun while inside?

Edit: Then again I'm not counting the time to sprout, if that took 4 weeks and it's a really thick bushy 2" plant I could see that...

I had a few early sprouters, but the majority of them took 3 weeks or so. Didn't make a note of the exact length of time.

I wouldn't call them bushy though, most of them still only have 2-3 sets of leaves.

First year growing though, so I'm just happy that they're not all dead.

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Wulf;

I think it will be fine IMO, you cand also put a few containers over there and see how they grow. I got mine under my car port, but it does get the morning sun (east side of house) but once it hits late morning/early afternoon they are no longer and direct sunlight and have been growing just fine.

I have never grow without direct sunlight, but grown indoors under artifical light and they just did fine also. as long as the plants gets light source (direct or indirect) I think you will be fine.

What do u think of this. It gets about 8hrs of sun... Should be fine or the shade cuts it down?!

Temps get to about 90 at times

 

[bravesfan]

If plants are in 4 hours direct sun is that enough? I think I will try and see what happens saw some habs for $1 a plant, can't hurt

 

[Dave2000]

^ you will get poor growth with only 4 hours of sun and in Wisconsin I doubt you'll get much yield starting this late. I'd pot them and place where they get direct sun as long as possible, then bring them in before the first frost.

What do u think of this. It gets about 8hrs of sun... Should be fine or the shade cuts it down?!

Temps get to about 90 at times

90F for 8 hours of sunlight will "probably" be fine given enough water, I'd try that and move them to shade if they seem to get extremely droopy or if a little droopy, if they don't recover at some point late in the evening.

 

[Lando]

^ you will get poor growth with only 4 hours of sun and in Wisconsin I doubt you'll get much yield starting this late. I'd pot them and place where they get direct sun as long as possible, then bring them in before the first frost.



90F for 8 hours of sunlight will "probably" be fine given enough water, I'd try that and move them to shade if they seem to get extremely droopy or if a little droopy, if they don't recover at some point late in the evening.

+1

 

[Beelzeboss]

What do u think of this. It gets about 8hrs of sun... Should be fine or the shade cuts it down?!

Temps get to about 90 at times

sry off topic

King is that 80% shade cloth?

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

sry off topic

King is that 80% shade cloth?

Not sure. Will check when I get home. Why do u ask?!

 

[romy6]

Here is what my pepper plant in the shade does. It is 7 feet tall and produces pods all day all year. So who was saying poor production? Don't believe everything you hear. Depends where you live and what you feed it.