Heat Reflected Off White Siding

[SteveSteve]

I made a raised bed that's next to a sidewalk in back yard... the side walk is avg. width, and its about 5 foot away from side of house... which is white aluminum siding... I was curious if this siding could be really adding sun or at least having a thermal effect on the bed... particularly making it difficult for greens to grow... Has anyone ever heard of this in community?.. this is my first season growing and Im trying to figure out why I can grow stuff inside with same soil, but the moment the plants go outside, in now milder temps, and despite EVERYONE saying kale and perpetual spinach LOVE sun, stuff just slows down growing in bed. The containers I have outside, I routinely put into the shade during midday and they grow fine... could it be the reflection of heat?

 

[Mr_Yan]

I made a raised bed that's next to a sidewalk in back yard... the side walk is avg. width, and its about 5 foot away from side of house... which is white aluminum siding...

So house with white siding - 5' of garden - paved sidewalk?

I was curious if this siding could be really adding sun or at least having a thermal effect on the bed... particularly making it difficult for greens to grow...

What direction is this facing?

The white siding will reflect light onto the plants. The aluminium *could* *possibly* reflect IR radiation back onto the plants but I guess it would be minimal.

The house and the pavement in the sidewalk will add thermal ballast to the microclimate making it slower to change temps (all other things held equal) than if the pavement and house were not there.

Has anyone ever heard of this in community?.. this is my first season growing and Im trying to figure out why I can grow stuff inside with same soil, but the moment the plants go outside, in now milder temps, and despite EVERYONE saying kale and perpetual spinach LOVE sun, stuff just slows down growing in bed. The containers I have outside, I routinely put into the shade during midday and they grow fine... could it be the reflection of heat?

Greens like kale don't like HOT. They will grow in some shade.
Transplant shock will slow plant growth.
Lack or water or nutrients will slow plant growth.

Is it the same soil? Did you take the container soil from this location? Is something else in that soil - winter icemelt salt. Was the soil ruined when the sidewalk was put in and it just never recovered (this happened to my side yard a few years ago - all the nice topsoil was mixed in and I mostly have sandy rocky subsoil at the surface now).

 

[SteveSteve]

thanks for reply... no, I made the soil a month ago or so... it's Mushroom compost, vermiculite and peat. I know how these plants work when I transplant or pot-up... for example, after planting in the bed, i redug 5 of them out, and put em in a yogurt container... same soil, etc... moved in basement with led's... in 24 hours, noticeably larger... like... i used a ruler etc. I cant understand it. I move stuff in shade and its all good. I cant figure it out. I understand the idea of the scientific method, and variable isolation etc... and i cant think what else could be the issue but somehow the siding..but no books or videos mention things like that regarding garden location choices... i dont know.