Site Placement Advice Please?

I think you have the right idea, protecting your plants from the worst of the afternoon sun. I'm in Redding, CA. Almost nothing can survive in direct sun all day, here. I plant everything in partial shade or under a shade cloth cover. I'm sure you'll here from others with more experience. Good luck and

you have the right idea.  East sunrise, west shade.  You have a nice wide area on the east side as your lots are wide.  Have you had a chance to read the 2nd or 3rd Edition of All New Square Foot Gardening?

I notice you have the concrete corner blocks that are 7 3/4" high.  If you use 2" x 8" lumber it will provide some insulation from the heat to keep the Mel's Mix cool during the summer, especially if you use mulch.  I recommend that you set down the frames and then line the inside bottom and up the sides to contain the Mel's Mix.  My husband and I just made a bed and set it on concrete board and I lined the bottom and sides with durable weed fabric and trimmed the excess after I fill with MM.



In dry, hot zones, overhead shade cloth is almost a must.  Sometime in June, my overhead shade cloth goes up and doesn't come down until September.  Then it is time to plant the winter crops! August.


Winter crops covered with bridal tulle to keep off the white butterfly and her green caterpillars.  

Also a consideration is the sun reflection off the house stucco and windows.  I erect shade cloth on the east side of the house to prevent reflective heat from my pole beans.

Mulch is important to slow surface evaporation.  I use bedding straw cut to 4-6" lengths.


Drip irrigation on timers can really help.  I also daily water the beds using the hose wand on the shower setting to keep ALL of the Mel's Mix wet, not just the area around a plant or in a strip.

Brainchasm had a nice thread with great photos of his Las Vegas garden.  Unfortunately, many of his photos were held ransom by a photo site that was free and then decided to charge for it. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t14727-newbie-in-las-vegas-year-1

I'm in Central California where the summer temps get over 100*F for days at a time.  Shade, water and mulch.  The summer plants produce a first flush of produce, then struggle to survive the heat, which causes the flowers to fail to set.  Then, produce a late season flush.  I have about 193 sq ft or equivalent square feet, in beds, 5-gallon buckets, and an amended 1'x50' foot strip of otherwise unused dirt.  It produces enough to put up a lot of canned, frozen or dried food and herbs.  https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t22075-sanderson-s-urban-sfg-in-fresno-california

Thank you.  No tutorial.  I just tried to make a house with gable roof design so that water would run off the roof instead of pooling on top the plastic like it did with my earlier version.  Much trial and error.   The 1/2" PVC frames are set down into "cup holders" made from Sch 40 1" PVC and held in place with plumbers tape and 1" wood screws.

The frames are not glued together because I want to be able to change them for different needs.  I do tie a string from roof peak to roof peak, like a tension wire.  You can kind of see one in the shade cloth photo.

As far as the strength of shade cloth, I use the 75% sun ray blockage in Harvest Wheat.  I do wash and dry them in October, and pin their labels back on.  I use para-chord to support them.