The overhead shade will help, but with the temperatures that were having right now, it's tough, especially for container plants. As far as light, there is probably plenty for them to survive. You will need to watch the water though, it can be tricky. You will see your plants wilt down in the afternoon and want to water them. Be careful. Plants will wilt because they can't take up enough water to keep up with transpiration from the leaves.If they haven't bounced back by late evening or morning they may need more water.If you over-water at these temperatures and the soil stays too moist you're inviting fungi and root rot. The lavender, rosemary and sage should do okay with less watering. Likewise the peppers. Tomatoes and cukes are a little more difficult. A moisture meter helps take the guess work out and they're not expensive. There are a few that have a light meter built-in. The plants that are lacking light will start to grow toward the light and start looking "leggy" rather that full. Rotate your pots every week or two to help keep the growth balanced. One way to help keep the soil temps down is to water with ice cubes anduse mulch in your pots to slow evaporation from the soil.Hope this is of some help.

Howdy, Esme! Welcome to the wonderful world of squarefooting! Ummmm, lessee. Veggies you can grow in Phoenix.... Fried potatoes, stewed tomatoes, popcorn (popped on the stalk, of course), boiled peas.... ;^D Seriously, pick varieties that say "heat tolerant." HIGH DESERT TIPS & TRICKS: I had a Squarefoot friend on another board who lives on the high desert. In a case even more extreme than Texas, he carried his heat-lovers into much of the summer by installing some raised beds under a carport. Other heat-challenged gardners have used the ancient trick of sunken squares, which provides a bit of relief to the plants, as well. (You dig a pit and put the mix at the bottom, or maybe stack a 24-inch wall of wood or cinderblocks, and put 8 inches of Mel's mix at the bottom--giving your plants some protection from sun and dry winds.) WHICH ALSO WORK FOR ME: His mint trick works wonders for my warmish, dry area as well: Get medium or large plastic storage tote. Fill with compost/dried leaves/Mel's Mix as appropriate. Drill a single 1/8-inch drainage hole in the side of the tote, 1 inch up from the bottom. (That is, NO bottom drainage.) This provides a permanent (sorta) damp spot for heat-stressed plants in 100-plus-degree temps. (Of course, in our sun-intensive areas, mint is a light-shade plant. Heh, I have a miniature rose blooming on a North-facing patio under a balcony, with a large shrub to block morning light. And I'm going to have to move the Meyer lemon away from the Western corner--the hour or so of afternoon sun is, um, overly generous. The ginger, tucked in the back center shade, needs a very long, thin parasol, I think. It is experimenting with horizontal growth, to hide behind other plants....) This same shadey spot has seen any number of herbs and flowers bloom and maintain flowering--so I suspect the top shade idea would probably work for you, too. HAPPY BEGINNING HEAT GARDENER: I started a Texas friend out with 6-inch deep plastic tubs, using the single side vent. (I also supplied coir and expanded shale instead of peat moss and vermiculite.) She reports good growth and flowering, and some harvest already from her first gardening attempt, which she started rather late in the season. Watering has not been the horrible issue for her that many report by this time of the summer in North Central Texas. She took the storage bins when the family moved, and set them on a patio that gets a little sun. She has a ton of male blooms already on the squashes. HEAT-PROOFING IN PHOENIX: You will want to mulch deeply (at least 3-4 inches, up to 1 inch from the plant stems) as soon as the plants are large enough to hold their own (2-3 inches tall, with several true leaves, perhaps). I strongly recommend the coconut coir and expanded shale rock, as well as an underlayer of dried leaves--which doesn't even have to be mulched--just stomp it down and expect settling. Dried leaves composting under the 6-8 inches of soil mix emit a gas that drives off bug pests. Do use completely finished compost (dark, sweet-smelling stuff that seems like dirt--no big chunks or strong odors). Do not use any form of yard dirt, sand, clay, or "topsoil." (You can get away with potting mixes that are made of Mel's Mix ingredients, but no dirt.) Your soil will still be better the second year--which will be good, because you'll be ready to really crowd those plants to Mel's numbers. DO plant things close together (giving room for the hefty growth of heat lovers, as noted in this forum). You WANT the leaves to shade each other and shade the soil, just to combat the heat. DO plant shade-tolerant herbs, lettuces, etc. in the shade of the summer stuff to get established--they'll get plenty of sun in time for their fall harvest. If your eggplants turn bitter, keep the fruit picked--they will recover when the weather cools a bit. Once cucumbers turn bitter, pull the plants and replace them after God turns the oven temps down--cukes never forgive. *wry grin* Take full advantage of winter gardening - you are the one who can be pulling fresh salads and root veggies all winter long (even if you have to take a high-summer pause for a few weeks). Explore the advantages of shade cloth in the summer and remay cover fabric in the winter. Above all, have fun and enjoy the challenges and rewards of your gardening experience!

Hi lazy, I had luck with C, so I'll answer that one and defer to the more experienced on the other two. I have been compiling a list of determinates for your A request. I'm probably going to experiment in a plot that fits 40 plants. Narrowing types to 20 (2 of each) gives me a headache. We share the same mindset on the concentrated early set though. I'd like to clear out that garden by the 4th of July next year. I had good results with cherries. Sungold and Super Sweet 100s as usual suspects. Both have a reputation for cracking. I saw little, maybe 1 in 50? I may pick earlier than most. Azruss in Tucson had good results with Gardener's Delight and I'll put in one or two of those next year. Juliet gets good reviews for our conditions. Mine was a weak plant from the start and the fruit is plain in comparison. I keep going back to this, but Porter's Dark Red Cherry Hybrid is healthy and still setting fruit. The flavor suffers a little in high heat, but it's still good. Like some other crops, pick it early in the morning before the heat messes with it. Rather than being a sweet sugary marble like the others it has a nice bigger tomato taste. It is a bit larger too. 4 Husky Red Cherries acted like determinates, which is okay for us. They're small plants, 3 feet high, very compact and stout, and they covered with dozens of nice size delicious cherries that some (mom and sis) felt were the best I grew. They stood up to the sun, delivered heavily for a month+ and perished. I could have cared for them better. It came the closest to ripening clusters evenly per your request. Starting as early as you said, these could be staggered every two weeks for about six weeks into mid march and give you a strong steady supply through mid July, I think. I'm also thinking they have what it takes for a fall crop. The type I am trying currently is not up to this heat, but that husky bull of a cherry plant may do much better. It was my earliest cherry. Another project for next year. As the cherries go, I feel emboldened to try just about anything. I have seed for all above but the Husky and Sungold plus Black Cherry, Chocolate Cherry, Large Red Cherry, Orange Cherry, Green Grape, Red Grape, and Black Plum. I'm looking for more varieties and want great big plants. I'm happy to send you a few seeds if any interest you. I'd like to spread them around hard core desert conditions like ours and see other results.

Hi and welcome to the forum :) I'm making an assumption here but it looks like you used pure bagged mix for those plants? I don't know if that's the case, but it's most likely the root cause of the plants dying. (no pun intended) The pure mix will drain very fast and become hydrophobic (meaning it won't hold water anymore) in our summers. That white stuff is fungus that has grown from the excessive watering that that type of soil would need to keep even a little moisture in it. Plus the surrounding soil would become very bog-like and contribute to the fungus. Some types of fungus in the soil aren't bad for plants, but with that much fungus the conditions were probably ideal for lots of bacteria to thrive too. You want to mix that bagged stuff with native soil when you plant something, even in raised beds (not containers though, but that's a different topic). The *most* I will add to soil is about 50% compost (depending on how fine it is), and that's for something that needs very fast draining soil (not fruit trees), and the soil will be shaded by something, and the ground will have lots of mulch applied to it. Usually annuals like Pumpkins or root vegetables will grow well in this type of mix. Otherwise I use around 10-25% compost or none at all. You may still be able to save the trees. I would wash all the roots off, remake the soil for the planting area with lots of native soil and very little compost added. You don't need to do this, but if I had extra time I would bake that mix (put it under a clear plastic sheet out in the sun for a few weeks) before I used it again, otherwise I'd just buy new mix.