I think I'd be investing in a large piece of shade cloth and some poles if I was trying to grow veggies in a California heat wave.

Elaine, Veggies need sun. That's been in short supply (as is water) around here. Because of the length of Ca. , and the topography, we have many more climate zones than you in the south east. That's why we like Sunset. We have jumped from winter gloom and temps by 20- 30 degrees this week, with more to come. 3 days ago it was 69 with no sun until 4:00.Today it was 89, and it was sunny at 6:15 am. and there's no guessing when this will happen. I've had this happen in April, when I had put in new plants, which promptly fried, but last year our June Gloom lasted into Aug. Gardening is always a crap shoot here...especially in southern Ca.

I'm relatively new here in CA & don't know know my way around too well, except my local area, CT Carol. All I know is Los Angeles is south & San Francisco is way north. That's about it.
I was fortunate that when I recently bought my first home (condo), there were 2 good size palms that offered some shade to some of the flowers in pots that I attached to the inside fence. Went vertical with those & my veggies are in ground around 3/4 of the perimeter. There's alot of trees in my condo area that were recently trimmed; was smart enough to use the chips as mulch so the vegetables could retain more water. Here the dry, desert heat is a bit more tolerable than the disgusting humidity that is back home (I'm originally from New York). Glad I'm not there right now, although I do miss the season changes & the snow!

CarolHB said:And I'm just now discovering which pots need water at least once a day. My moisture meter has never worked so hard. I don't know why I bother - I still follow up with a finger to make sure.

Water them all everyday.

Debbie, Orange county is a tiny little county just south of LA, on the coast. Part of the 'LA basin'.

Another method is to walk around the area and see if there are any other gardeners. Then ask them for their opinion. I know southern California is not like the friendly Mid-West where you can strike up a conversation with just about anybody on just about any subject, but it may surprise you. Gardeners love to share successes and failures with other gardeners.

Sounds like you've been here, Paul.

Amen to that, ctcarol. If you think that way about the people here, back home in New York, its even worse. I think people are somewhat friendlier out here, but they have ulterior motives I have learned from past encounters. Not everyone is like that, I've met some caring & wonderful people also, it's like that no matter where you go.

Debbie, I've lived here since I was 10, but I've found that leaving the area is like entering a whole new world. The further you go north, the nicer the people...especially the drivers. I've heard that NY is worse but never had any desire to find out.

ChefDebbie said:Carol, success for me is having any plant live longer than one month! Anything beyond that to me, is a home run... albeit how small it is, but I'll take it! It just builds up my confidence that I can do this & further develop my green thumb. 😃

My celebratory cheer for my first few years gardening was: "They aren't ALL dead!! (yet)"

But it gets easier. I think it is all about habits At first you don't even know which habits are good, bad, or irrelevant. As you identify and cure the bad habits, plants mysteriously start living longer.

Advice from gardeners with very different climate may be helpful, or may be misleading. Someone in a wet-cold-winter climate may reveal the secrets that made them successful - some of which would kill all your plants in a hot, dry, summer.

When you include the opposite effects of clayey soil and sandy soil - it's a wonder that there are any gardening books at all. But REGIONAL advice can be relevant.

USA Sunset Zones:
http://www.sunset.com/garden/c...

Maybe the LA area, but you need to squint at the map and read some of the climate descriptions until you find the one that matches YOUR backyard. At that point, the Sunset Zone info becomes useful. Distance from the coast makes a big difference in climate.

http://www.sunset.com/garden/c...

ZONE 23: Thermal belts of Southern California’s coastal climate

Ctcarol, last time I went back home, I had rented a car... As I drove out from Kennedy airport, let's just say that for the first 10 minutes driving, I almost wet my pants. Then, it was like I never left. Had a scary time when I had to drive on the 405 for the first time! My knuckles are still white!
Mr. Corey, you are 100% right. I try to gather information from whatever source I can, & find out from there how & if it applies to me. Some of it may or may not have any relevance, but it still is expanding my knowledge in things. I'll always want to learn something new until I can't anymore. You never know what bits of knowledge will be useful someday!

That is much better than the USDA climate zones. I happen to live in the delta part of this tiny county that has strong coastal influence. 10 miles either east or south is very different due to the foothills and canyons, which get (a) more rain and (b) more frost. Every year is different, but the Sunset zones are much closer to "normal". Soil is all over the map in So Cal. I worked in landscape for the freeways for 20 years, and have seen it all. You can have hard clay in one spot, and sand 5' down the line.By the way, I came here from S.E. Washington.

Wow. I could definitely learn alot from you! You really know your stuff. California has a bit of everything! I could do quite nicely without the earthquakes, though. My very first one scared the pants off me so bad, I was ready to high-tail my butt back to NY. I'm 46, & I cried like a 2 year old & didn't want to be by myself. I've also been trying to learn about kinds of plants growing wild out here- how to recognize them & which ones are good & which are bad. My boyfriend who is a Marine, says it's good to know in case we go camping or need to bug out for any reason. Since I am deathly afraid of spiders & snakes, this New Yorker will be happy staying at home! Never dealt with that back home

They claim the Garden of Eden had a snake.

That was funny. I just bust out laughing. I needed that today!

You learn to adjust to your environment. We know there are Rattle snakes out there, so we don't go wading through the tall grass in sandals, and watch where we're walking on the beaches to avoid stepping on something that could hurt us. The earthquakes are a lot less scarey than tornados or hurricanes in my opinion....though I do get a bit nervous when one rattles the window that's right over my bed.

And I'm used to hurricanes- yes they're scary, but you have some warning. Along with gardening, I've really taken quite an interest in weather & how it really affects our gardens & how we can adapt. Good thing is if your utilities are knocked out, your garden can sustain you & the family until things are restored.

Oh Honey you are new to So. Cal! If the utilities go out you head to the mall!

You're hysterical! Half the people I talk to sometimes have a hard time understanding what I say, because of my accent. I understand myself completely! I get asked "is that a real New York accent"? So i always say "No, I bought it at JC Penney for $3.99". And the comeback is always "that sounds like a typical NY answer"... Well, duh. I gotta laugh at that! Gotta have a sense of humor... Keeps one young.

Debbie, knowing more about earthquakes will help. If its under a 6.0 it will shake and rattle a bit, or it might do a slow roll, but no particular damage unless you keep breakables too close to the edge of a shelf. Over 6.0 you need to stand in a doorway - do NOT go outside - and ride it out. If it gets up to 8.0 don't worry about a thing. If you don't die in the quake itself the tidal wave will wipe you out within about 20 miles of the coast. So every time you pay close attention to the news, get the numbers so you get to know how a 3.4 feels, compared to a 5.0, etc. Eventually you'll be a native and just sleep through it.