gardening with extreme sun, pictures

[tomboy mom]

We have too many hours of sun, and too high temperatures, for many vegetables. I tried something different this year--

This is a raised bed with a lattice on top and a combination of shade cloth and lattice on the west exposure. Because this is still not enough shade for tomatoes in midsummer I planted two armenian cucumbers, one each on the north and south ends of the bed. I have trained them up through the lattice to shade the other vegetables.

It's working pretty well. My tomato plants are still alive and producing. I also have bell pepper plants, a regular cucumber and an eggplant in that bed that are doing well.

Other modifications,
about 6 inches of mulch,
clay pot irrigation,
wick irrigation. The wick irrigation is placed in the corners of the bed to reduce evaporation. I'm using recycled gallon bottles with socks and ducttape. Less fabric would be better really. Still learning.
I also added one picture of a second raised bed that is planted next to a block wall (west). This one I lined with plastic then puppy pads on the inside. not the first though--wish I would have. If I don't keep things alive through the winter I will definitely modify the inside of that first raised bed before next growing season.