The Bottom Line
Pros
- Simple to Operate
- Accurate
- Can save you money in the long run
Cons
- More expensive than timing sun exposure with a watch
Description
- Simple guage to calculate sunlight
- Suncalc needs 12 hours to calculate sun exposure
- Use during the growing season
- List price $31.95
- Helps you match actual sunlight to plants' light requirements
Guide Review - Suncalc - An Easy Way To Calculate Sunlight For Container Gardens
If you're like me, you don't really know how much sun some areas of your yard, patio or deck get - you guess. The good news is that Suncalc can easily give you an accurate measurement of how much sun your container gardens are actually getting.
I'm always a little skeptical of gadgets but I was really impressed by Suncalc. It was a no-brainer to use (which is a good thing because I am seriously gadget impaired) and gave me accurate and surprising information on how much sun my container gardens were getting. I found out that my roses, which were looking a little peaked, weren't getting the full sun exposure that they needed.
The directions to use the Suncalc are very simple. You put the guage, which looks a lot like a giant plastic meat thermometer, in a flowerpot. You then place the pot in a spot where you want to know how much sun you are getting. You pick a sunny day and leave the Suncalc in its pot for 12 hours. At the end of that time you will see a flashing light next to the amount of sun that particular spot gets. You can then match your plants' sun requirements to places where they will thrive.
Suncalc has four designations, which are the same as the tags most plants come with:
- Full sun - 6+ hours of sun
- Partial sun - Less than 6 and more than 4 hours of sun
- Partial shade - Less than 4 hours and more than 1 1/2 hours of sun
- Full shade - Less than 1 1/2 hours of sun
Suncalc would be particularly handy when moving to a new location or situating new container gardens.
