St. Philip's Sussex Avenue
Community Garden

A starter community garden for the 2026 growing season

Applicant St. Philip's Episcopal Church · founded 1861
Site Lot between Fernhill Avenue and Sussex Street, Masten District, Buffalo NY
Programming partner East Side Stewards LLC · Tendaji Ya'Ukuu, Founder (they/them)
Distribution St. Philip's on-site Food Pantry · zero-mile last-mile pipeline

A-01

Sheet 1 of 1

Drawn April 2026

REV 02 · CHURCH ON WEST

Plan view, top-down
Approximate, not to scale
Verify dimensions on site

Plan view — bed layout reoriented for west-side church & south-facing sun

Sun analysis verified via SunCalc · 26 Apr 2026

Legend

Cedar raised beds (north-south oriented)4 beds, 4' × 8' × 12" deep, ~128 sq ft total. Long axis runs N-S so plants don't shade each other across the bed. Cedar selected for 15-year service life.
Late-afternoon church shadowWest half of lot receives reduced sun after roughly 3 PM as church casts shadow eastward. Mitigated by placing shade-tolerant crops in west beds.
Pollinator borderNative perennials along Sussex Street edge: echinacea, bee balm, black-eyed Susan. Habitat City compliant.
Mulched pathwaysWood chips from local arborist. 4 ft N-S spine plus E-W cross path. ADA accessible.
Gathering circle~12 ft diameter. Workshops, harvest gatherings, intergenerational workdays.
Rain barrel + spigotCaptures roof runoff at church downspout. Supplemental irrigation source.
Lockable tool binPlaced against church wall (shade is fine for storage).
3-bin compostPallet construction. Also placed against church wall in shaded zone.
Street-facing signageIdentifies project, partners, City of Buffalo Love Your Block recognition. Faces Sussex Street for sidewalk visibility.
Year 2 expansion zoneNorth end of lot. 2 additional beds, hoop house. Funded via 2027 grant cycle.

Sun analysis & bed strategy

Sun exposure by time of day

9 AMFull eastern sun across entire lot. Church wall does not block morning light.

1 PMPeak sun from south. Church casts only short shadow on its own footprint. Whole lot in full sun.

3 PMShadow begins extending east from church wall onto west third of lot.

5 PMWest half of lot in church shadow. East half retains afternoon sun.

7 PMMost of lot shaded. Only east edge near fence catches setting sun.

Implication for crop placement. The east beds (Beds 2 and 4) get the most cumulative sun and are reserved for heat-loving crops that need 6-8 hours of direct light: tomatoes, peppers, okra, squash, beans.

The west beds (Beds 1 and 3) get morning and midday sun but lose late-afternoon light to the church. This is actually an advantage for cool-season crops that bolt in extreme heat: kale, lettuce, chard, herbs, collard and mustard greens. The afternoon shade extends their productive season into the warmer months.

Dimensions & capacity

Lot footprint~ 35' × 95'

Lot total area~ 3,325 sq ft

Beds (Year 1)4 × (4' × 8')

Bed orientationN-S long axis

Growing area128 sq ft

Pollinator border~ 245 sq ft

Pathways~ 285 sq ft

Gathering area~ 113 sq ft

Yr 2 expansion~ 225 sq ft

Activated total~ 996 sq ft

Production estimate

With intensive square-foot planting on 128 sq ft of bed space, the site can reasonably produce 300 to 600 lbs of fresh produce in the 2026 starter season. Crops are matched to the sun zone of each bed for optimal yield.

Sun verification

Sun analysis confirmed via SunCalc using Buffalo NY coordinates near the lot corner of Sussex Street and Grider Street, on April 26, 2026. Solar azimuth 268° at sunset (due west), peak altitude 22° approaching solar noon at 13:13 local time.