Thanks for the welcome. I researching options for builidng garden boxes and planting a garden. Two reasons for my research - 1) garden is in Palm Springs where summers routinely exceed 100 degrees and 2) what grows well in the large garden boxes.
Carol

Hi @cnelson
Here is a list of some herbs and vegetables that can tolerate drier conditions and higher temperatures.

Amaranth (harvest and eat leaf amaranth like spinach)
Arugula
Asian Greens (a wide selection here)
Asparagus. This is a perennial. You plant it once and let it grow in that same area. Don’t move it! A well prepared bed will produce spears for at least 15-20 years. And that is a cost effective bargain!
Beans (bush and pole)
Broccoli (Sun King Hybrid)
Cabbage
Chards
Chinese Cabbages
Cowpeas
Cucumbers
Dandelion
Eggplant*
Endive
Garlic
Leeks
Lettuces (leaf varieties, harvest young and early in the season)
Melons (cantaloupe, honey-dew, watermelons, etc.)
Okra
Onions (sets and plants)
Peppers* (sweet and hot peppers)
Pumpkins
Rhubarb. This is a perennial and another cost effective bargain. Again, plant it where it can remain for a number of years. If you need to divide or move it, do it as soon as it breaks the surface in early spring))
Spinach (New Zealand, Malabar)
Squash (summer and winter)
Sweet Corn (lots to choose from-white, yellow, yellow and white)
Sweet Potatoes (Georgia Jet, Vardaman, Wakenda)
Tomatoes (thousands to choose from-Solar Fire, Sun Leaper, Sunmaster, Equinox, many cherry varieties)
Woody stemmed herbs (Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Winter Savory)

Hi cnelson. Welcome to NGA!

You might like building small raised beds that are a lot like large boxes. If the raised bed sits in impermeable clay, it is exactly like a big box! I use concrete paving stones stood on end for walls. The 12" x 12" x 1" are the sturdiest, but 8" x 16" x 3/4" pavers let you chose 8" walls or 16" walls.

However, in hot country, boxes and raised beds let the soil heat up very quickly when the sun hits them. Paint them white or surround them with something white that lets air circulate while shading the root zone. And if loosely leaning concrete pavers let the soil dry out too fast, line the walls or at least the corners with plastic (leaving some drainage holes or slits).











Skip past all the "trenching" photos here to see a variety of "concrete paving stone beds". Page down 2/3rds of the way.
http://garden.org/thread/view_...

After I put that post together, I realized that I must have 10% mole ancestry.

That is a great list of hot weather plants! Thanks, @Moonhowl!

I have a small garden, so I don't grow a large variety all at once, but I do find that sesame and basil do really well in the hot part of the year for me (we have highs in the upper 90s and 100s for more days than I'd like to count). Okra is hit and miss for me, but I think that's more my soil than the weather, so it's also a good one to try.

The sesame is most delightful to harvest. The first time I tried growing it, I stuck some seeds in the ground after learning that Thomas Jefferson grew it as a hot weather plant, and had no idea what to expect. As the small seed pods kept growing, I thought I would never be able to harvest them all. Fortunately, I had a piano student from Africa at the time who knew all about this plant, and told me what to do: as soon as the plant starts to dry, cut off and tie up all the branches with seeds stalks into a bundle; let it dry right side up in a warm, dry place; when the branches are completely dry, put out a big bowl or a clean cloth or something to collect the seeds on, turn the bundle over, and watch it rain sesame seeds! I got about one cup of seeds per plant--I thought that was a pretty nice yield and use of space during the time of year when most people in my area don't grow much in their gardens because of the high heat.

Stupid question:
Palm Springs...California or Florida???

I'm assuming California. If California, most of the plants on Moonhowl's list would have bolted in January. In the summer, tomatoes, peppers (in the shade), melons and cucumbers (with some shade). In the winter: greens, chard, cabbage, broccoli...

Daisy

I figured on Palm Springs, CA. I thought perhaps a year round selection of plants that could take the warmer weather into fall, and some that would make it through the winter/spring.