Satellite Map of the Vegetable Garden: Plot Layout, Area, and Exposure

Drawing the Area You Want to Monitor

Locate your garden on the map, then place the points that define your plot. Verify the outline before saving it: it must correspond to the area you want to monitor. Drawing plots is one of the features presented in the App Store and Google Play listings.

The view serves as a reference to recognise the location. The Mapbox base layer combines aerial and satellite imagery, with sources varying by area and zoom level. This is not a live view of your garden. Mapbox Documentation

Reading the Area as an Estimate Based on the Layout

Binette calculates the area from the saved outline. If this outline includes a path, the area will also include that path: the calculation does not automatically distinguish cultivated square metres from walkways.

In practice, accuracy therefore depends first on your outline and what you can identify in the imagery. To prepare beds or purchase a frame with precise dimensions, measure lengths on-site.

To organise access and cultivated areas before transferring them to the app, consult the vegetable garden plan guide.

Understanding the Exposure Estimate

The assessment combines the interpretation of visible obstacles around the plot, theoretical solar data, and the information you confirm or correct. Trees, buildings, or hedges identified in the imagery are used to estimate potential shade.

The astronomical calculation starts from the centroid of the layout, a representative point of its geometry, to establish a monthly profile. This calculation point does not separately describe each corner of your vegetable garden. Observe separately the edges near a wall and open areas: they may receive different light.

Use this result to inform your choice of location, then compare it with your observations.

Correcting What the Imagery Does Not Show Clearly

An image may show a tree that has been felled since it was taken or may not yet show a recent construction. Mapbox specifies that updates depend on available data and do not follow a fixed schedule; no uniform age of imagery can be guaranteed. Mapbox Documentation

The height of an obstacle is also difficult to estimate from an overhead view. When reviewing the assessment, you can correct the obstacles and overall sun exposure before the summary. This corrected information serves as the basis for the summary.

Before confirming, compare the result with what you see on-site:

• Are the trees, hedges, and buildings still present?
• Is an obstacle missing, or does its height appear inaccurately estimated?
• Do the observed shaded areas correspond to the proposed exposure?

Record the date and times of your observations. A single visit to the garden does not describe the entire day or season. These observations on the ground help you interpret the map and identify estimates that need correcting.