Gardening in Ca Central Valley

[mermaidmama]

What fruits, veggies, fruit trees and herbs do well in direct, scorching sunlight? I have a fence I'd like to put raised beds or espalier trees along but, in the summer it gets full sun all day long. It is pretty hot. We gave up on the grass along it. I am in california's Central valley - zone 9 i believe? There is not much shade in my yard which, leads me to another question- how can I make more shade besides planting shade trees? I'd like it to look somewhat nice. Thanks a bunch!

[FarmerCathy]

You can plant a lot in that scorching sun.  I lived there up until June of this year and had a plentiful garden.  Most sun loving annuals love it.  Incorporating flowers along with the vegetables and herbs helps it look nice.  Tomatoes, okra, basil, peppers, parsley, dill, etc. love heat.  I usually started lettuce, beets, broccoli, kale, carrots etc. in February when we had a dry spell long enough to work in the garden.  Then in fall plant in July-early Sept. for more cold weather crops again.  In the spring along with my veggies and herbs I planted cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers (love the heat), bachelor buttons, bells of ireland, celosia, amaranth (elephant head is one of my faves), sweet william and the list goes on.  There is so much you can plant there in that climate.  Mulching will help a lot to keep moisture in  the soil in the summer.  I used irrigation to water the garden and that helps to water deeply for an hour or two a couple times a week or whenever its dry.  I love www.groworganic.com.  I don't know where you live in the central valley, but if you can find a company like that close they will help you out a lot.