How to Make a Sun Chart

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Gather the necessary materials.

   To make this type of sun chart, you will need a piece of paper, a pen/pencil, three different colored pencils/crayons/markers (red, yellow, and blue), and a leisurely day where you can make regular observations of your yard.
2. 2

   Step 2: Choose a sunny day for observation.

   In order to make the most accurate sun chart you can, you want to make your observations on a sunny day.
   
   The time of year is also an important factor.
   
   Your yard will have more overall sunlight during the summer than during the fall.
   
   For maximum sun exposure, choose a sunny, summer day.
   
   You can repeat this sun chart exercise during the spring, fall, and winter if you want an idea of how much sun your garden gets throughout the year., Draw a basic map of the area that you want to use for gardening.
   
   Include the relative locations of anything large enough to cast a shadow such as buildings, fences, and trees.Scale is not important.
   
   Mark out the basic area of where you want to plant your garden as well. , At 9:00 AM look out at your yard and draw yellow lines marking out the area of the yard that is currently getting sunlight.
   
   Sketch the lines with a small space in between.Don’t draw any lines on the map that are in shade. , Repeat your observations four hours later with a blue colored pencil.
   
   If the sun is still shining in the areas marked yellow from the morning observation, add blue to that area.
   
   Make blue lines in the areas where the sun has shifted to as well.Again, if there is shaded area, leave that blank. , The 5:00 PM recording will be your last observation.
   
   Using the red colored pencil, make lines that represent the sun for that time of day.
   
   If the sun is still in the areas already colored yellow and blue, simply add the red on top.The areas that have all three colors will get the most sun during the day and be best for planting seeds that require at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.
   
   The areas with just two colors are best for plants that need partial shade and partial sunlight.
   
   Areas with one or no color are best for plants that need mostly shade.If you want a more specific sun chart, you can take recordings every two hours instead of every four hours and use more colors to fill it in.
3. 3

   Step 3: Sketch a map of your yard.

4. 4

   Step 4: Record observations of the sun at 9:00 AM in yellow colored pencil.

5. 5

   Step 5: Record observations of the sun at 1:00 PM in blue colored pencil.

6. 6

   Step 6: Record observations of the sun at 5:00 PM in red colored pencil.

Detailed Guide

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