Choose one exact position
Record where the plant will sit, including whether the light passes through a window. Note the date, weather and any fixed obstruction. If you move to a second place, start another record rather than combining its observations with the first. Our sunlight sketch works with one spot at a time.
Mark only the interval you can describe
The tool divides 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. into half-hour blocks. Mark a block as direct sun or no direct sun only when your observation represents that interval. Leave it unrecorded if you did not check, or if a quick glimpse cannot describe the whole block. This intentionally produces an incomplete sketch when the evidence is incomplete.
Read the totals as a sketch
The marked sun total adds the blocks you selected; it is not a calibrated measurement of light intensity or a daily light integral. The unrecorded total remains visible. Zero marked sun with several unknown hours does not establish that the spot is fully shaded. Light outside the displayed window is not included.
Repeat when the question changes
A seasonal change, new obstruction or moved container creates a different observation. Keep the old date with the old sketch. Compare the resulting record with guidance for the named plant, considering the growing region and other conditions. Our tool does not recommend a crop simply from a block count.
Plant advice needs the species or cultivar, local climate, light and growing conditions. Photographs of a generated garden are mood imagery, not observations of a growing trial.
