Are there any guidelines for which direction to angle rows of a vegetable garden? Put another way, should the rows run north and south, or east and west? It may seem like a dumb question, but since the sun is slightly angled to the south I wondered if it might make a difference. It seems like that a row of tomatoes should run east and west and be planted on the north end of the garden so they don't shade other plants. True?

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Listen to Neil Sperry every week, take notes... and then do the exact opposite.

That's the gameplan for me. E-W at the northern most part solves several issues, it breaks the prevailing wind and gets more sun.

If interested you can put a N-S row of bush beans on the East side to increase nitrogen content for some of the bordering maters. The maters will shield them from the afternoon sun.

BTW who is Neil Sperry?

NM on the Sperry question. Did a quick google search. Suprised this guy never hit my radar, but I'm sort of new to this. I guess it's better I wound up here.

Thanks, Culdeus.
A note on Mr. Sperry, I can remember when he used to recommend using Vapam® before planting a veggie garden. Kills every living thing in the dirt. I'm sure he's a nice man, though.

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Listen to Neil Sperry every week, take notes... and then do the exact opposite.

[url]http://www.amvac-chemical.com/Images_two/PDF_Files/Label_MSDS/vapamhl_metam426_msds.pdf[/url]

Check out the MSDS on that puppy for those interested.

"Creates a poisionous gas if mixed with water"

That's good right.

I run my rows north and south with the taller heat-tolerant plants on the west side to shade shorter plants from the hot late afternoon sun of Summer.

The taller plants on the west side works really well, and that goes for okra, peppers and other sun/heat lovers. The shade they provide really helps in the dead of summer.

BTW - Yes, Mr. Sperry is a very nice man who does a lot of community service work around here. I listen to his show once in a while just to see what he's recommending these days. I count it a victory for all of us that he is much more likely to advise non-chemical treatment for problems than he was 10 years ago. I can remember listening to him and feeling sick to my stomach at what he recommended. It wasn't "check your watering" or "maybe you could choose a more adapted plant"...just spray it with whatever chemical came to mind first. Eeww!

Now at least he will advise the less-toxic methods first, but he still recommends things I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. At least his paradigm has shifted a little toward the right way. Let's hope he'll keep learning.

Kathe