Dan: The lumber I chose for my raised beds was construction grade pressure treated 2x6s. My brother's used them for his beds for a decade and they still look as good as the day he installed them. I know there could be some leaching but supposedly the new treatment is safe. My brother's family is healthy and vibrant so if it's good enough for him (he helped me design my garden), it's good enough for me. Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure!

Mulch to moderate soil temperature and retain moisture, and lots of different kinds of flowers blooming all season to attract bees and other beneficial insects. Amend your soil with good stuff too, like Happy Frog. This post was edited by haname on Sun, Mar 3, 13 at 19:41

In Phoenix? Googling "growing vegetables phoenix" showed a lot of good links including lots of when to plant what. It's a very broad topic, too broad for a single thread imo. How deep to make the soil? Meaning there's no soil in the box garden? Are you talking about bringing in soil? I'd imagine everyone would have there own opinion, but if you asked the plants they'd want rich soil 3, 6, 8 feet deep. But most people would do way less, all the way to just whatever soil their yard has...it will grow vegetables. I recommend not trying to implement everything you read about. I've seen people invest a lot of money but not master the basics like proper watering so it fails and the disappointment is magnified by the initial effort and money. For example, if you plant in regular backyard soil and get some result you'll better understand what to improve next season. I wouldn't worry too much about time tables, seeds are pretty cheap. You can still learn a lot. Can't beat experience.

For gardening with younger children, such as your daughter's age, I definitely recommend container-gardening. It generally yields better results and decreases the work (thus doesn't deter them early on - like for weeding). I can't think of any veggies that can't be grown in a container - even corn can be, though that one really is easier in the ground. For a toddler (and assuming no food allergies), I'd suggest the "basics"... and companion-planting Tomatoes - cherry or "tommy toes" as some call them are great for kids because they are a smaller size and great for eating right off the plant/vine. Companion Plants: Basils, Chives, Borage Cucumbers - a good heirloom slicer and for young kids, preferably a smooth or less "prickly" skinned variety. I can send you a "refrigerator pickles" recipe that you can help your daughter mix-and-make that doesn't require any canning, and you keep them in the fridge and eat them and make them as you have cukes available. (they are cool and make a great snack on hot days) Companion Plants - for cukes, are currently slipping my mind Melons - Several "types" to choose from that generally speaking would be more commonly known as "watermelon", "cantaloupe" and "honeydew" - these are common "Americanized" names/labels - not necessarily accurate BUT ANYWAY.... Melons can be grown in containers too and just provided support like a sturdy trellis or such to grow up/be trained on for their vines and you can make "nets" or "hammocks" for the melons that develop. "Sugar Baby", if memory serves, is a hybrid watermelon that is smaller than those bigguns you usually see in produce sections - Sugar Baby is round and I think like 5-7 lbs on average? Maybe smaller. Kid-size to be sure. Muskmelons (cantaloupe, honeydew) have a whole range of sizes - but as I'm sure you know, aren't like watermelon in the flesh. Melons can, obviously, also be grown out in the ground - and weeding them isn't usually as much work as other veggies because of how the vines grow - and you can always lay down newspaper under vines to inhibit weeds too. Pumpkin - if you do the All Hallow's Eve gig - most kids are inclined to growing pumpkins that they can carve (or have a parent or other adult or older sibling assist with) OR, draw or paint a jack-o-lantern on. We (speaking of myself and my husband and our four kids) haven't ever been inclined to the effort of harvesting a pumpkin's flesh for making our own pumpkin pie filling BUT, one of the annual thrills - if nothing else - is the carving or decorating and "gutting" pumpkins to clean the seeds - save some for the next season's planting, and roasting the rest of them and seasoning them (sea salt, garlic powder, or other spices/herbs)... love roasted pumpkin seeds. There are a vast array of different pumpkin cultivars/varieties - we've yet to grow a "monster" one, the kids and us adults have always ended up happier with smaller ones that were easier to lift and handle. :) Yellow Summer Squash - this is an EASY and generally prolific variety of squash - comes in straightneck and crookneck and lots of uses - from raw in salads to stir-fry to battered and fried and/or baked to used in with a hush puppy recipe for "squash puppies" (before I tasted squash-puppies, I disliked squash - squash-puppies made me a fiend for yellow squash along with the kids). Winter Squash - most kids get a kick out of "spaghetti squash"/"vegetable spaghetti". It's a neat/cool/weird squash that can get them more interested in veggies for eating if they aren't real thrilled about it. Others, like Acorn Squash - mine enjoyed thoroughly when baked with brown sugar... kind of like yams without the digging :) Eggplant - generally another fun one because it's prolific, I swear by the "Black Beauty" purple standard. Can bread it and fry it or bake it, eat it raw, etc. But probably the most use it gets with my crew is a wannabe "eggplant parmesan" (geesh, I don't think I spelled that right) - another EASY recipe to do WITH kids, even very young children. Can also replace meat in lasagne/lasagna Beans - Green Beans are probably the first intro for most kids... "snap beans" - either pole or bush variety (if you use pole beans and you plant corn the same season, wait until the corn is knee-high and then plant the pole beans at the base of the corn - the corn will function as the poles/support for the beans and won't be strangled by the vines). "Stringless" varieties usually less work intensive for kids when they are "snapping" them. Mine eat as much as they bring in from picking, right off the plants. Steaming is the preferred method for cooking them with my crew - and retains more of the nutrients. Peas - but these are a cool weather crop, so maybe think for later in the season. Mine are ape about snow peas and those with edible pods - moreso than out of the pod anymore. I recommend heirloom varieties for the best flavour - plus you can let pods go to full maturity, dry on the vine, and have your seeds for the next season. These are also easy in a container and provided with some support for those that "climb" - I'm sure there's some bush varieties, but I've always grown the climbing type (though they don't climb as much as pole beans) Carrots - unless you have "prime for rootcrops" soil - I strongly recommend growing carrots in containers where you can control the potting mix that goes in, insure good drainage but sufficient water, etc. Carrots usually don't last long around here even when growing - when small, they are soooo sweet. There's a bunch of types specifically designed to be picked small. Successive plantings is the key. You can also get a variety of colours - carrots aren't limited to orange :) If you and your daughter like "greens" - I'd recommend a coloured mix of Swiss Chard... Neon Lights, Bright Lights are two of the popular mixes - reds, yellows, oranges, greens, etc. in the stalks, with green foliage otherwise. Can give you more info on Swiss Chard for growing it if you're interested - think of it as a bulbless beet where you eat the greens instead of the root being the focus. Radish is easy - but not sure if you all like radish? Can be a bit hot for some youngsters. I'm trying a new heirloom this year that is supposed to "bite back" a bit less... Even if she doesn't like radish and you don't, they are SO easy that they are often a welcome harvest to be given to friends, family, neighbours, and most varieties are easy for kids to efficiently pull up from the ground (notably the rounded ones)... like carrots, successive plantings for continued harvesting since they develop pretty fast. Onions - from seed or bulb sets... Around all veggies in a garden - or around most in a container - Marigolds are a boon - they keep some soil-dwelling buggers at bay that will go for roots of veggies, and the flowers AND foliage is good for deterring skeeters and chiggers and other itchy/biting bugs that can make gardening less than pleasant. I'm hesitant to suggest peppers, even sweet bell peppers, because even the sweet ones can pack some heat on little fingers when harvested - or on the seeds when sown - and little fingers touch little eyes and then the burning begins... and that's a bad scene. Sunflowers - for sure - and if planting in the ground, you can plant in rows around an outline of a space with an "entry point" so that when the sunflowers grow up, your daughter has her own little "room" in the garden. Sunflower seeds are of course, edible - though you might just want to grow them to see the pretties with her.... if you want to save seed, you'll need to net or bad the heads when the seeds are close to ripe or the birds can strip them clean in no time flat. Edible flowers, such as nasturtium, are pretty and - well - edible... those are annuals, so you can not only grow them and eat them (peppery flavour) or candy the blooms (and preserve in the freezer for longer periods if you like) but can also watch as they produce seed and collect seed for the next season. Nasturtium seeds are fairly good sized - about like a small-to-avg pea, so little hands can handle them relatively easily. Herbs - I recommend a "good selection" of herbs and I am pro-container growing on those since many, while marked as annuals, can be brought in before first frost and grown indoors through the winter. Basils (also easy to collect seed from tho' small seeds), Rosemary (a must have in my book for poultry), Sweet Marjoram, Cilantro/Coriander (great with just about any "southwest" or "Mexican" dish but not limited to that), Chives/Garlic Chives (previously noted in companion plantig) and the list goes on and on. Herbs/spices are also a most excellent choice to grow with kids because you can help them make their own herb-infused vinegars & oils and herb-butters to be used "later" in cooking. I also highly recommend Parsley - a much under-used herb IMO... leave out in the ground growing, this one produces seed in its second year before dying, but rarely if ever produces seed in its first year - snip/harvest leaves as desired or preserve in ice cube trays with spring water to toss in soups, etc. later. (pregnant women should not ingest too much parsley) Oh just oodles of things, but without asking my kids right now myself, these are some of the basics that I find easy to grow/garden with kids, off the top of my head. Hope it helps! Hermit On The Hill P.S. Strictly for "fun" and possible use for crafts or wildlife, hard-shelled gourds are a good choice for growing...