Not under shade but afternoon shade or shade cloth.

Things that require afternoon shade or shade cloth during the summer months on your list....

Tomatoes
Strawberries

Things that can take full sun on your list....

okra
melons
Asparagus

From what I have heard beans depend on the type. Not that they won't survive in good soil if watered properly. Its just that many beans will not produce a crop during the summer. A lot of people plant beans right after the last threat of frost and harvest until it gets to hot for them to produce and then pull them out. Then they plant again in August or September and harvest until first frost. A couple of exceptions that will produce all summer are Black Seed Yard Long beans and Blackeyed Peas. I plan on growing a few varieties of bush beans and some Yard Longs. As soon as the bush beans stop producing I will pull them and plant something else.

when do you plant bush bean seeds? The extreme gardening book says mid march but that seems late to me. I tried yard longs last summer and couldnt even get them to come up. I plan to try again this year.

luvkuku the planting calenders I am looking at say they can be planted starting the first week of march. I'm finishing my drip irrigation system and will likely have them planted before the end of next week.

And when do you plant Yard Longs? They are Pole Beans, right?

I would plant them all at the same time but for one thing. I plan on using the Black Seed Yard Long Pole Beans as a shade barrier for other plants. I want those plants to grow without afternoon shade until it gets hot so I don't plan on planting the pole beans until April 15th.

However the long range forecast has a couple cold days in it. Perhaps too cold to plant beans without some protection. The critical factor is soil temperature. If the soil gets to cold the seeds will rot rather than germinate. Soil temps are higher than air temps even in the night hours. On a cold night doing something as simple as covering the seed bed with a sheet of plastic can keep them warm enough.

Below is a link to "Planting Soil Temperatures for Seeds" that you may find helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting Soil Temperatures

Okra - full sun
Tomatoes - full sun or afternoon shade
Melons - full sun (good grief, they grow in fields in Yuma!)

here ya go ;)

check their website, lots of info for we desert food gardeners ...

Low Desert Planting & Harvest Calendar:
"Brought to you by the Urban Farm, Matt Suhr and Greg Peterson
For information on classes and events offered on gardening and sustainability visit our website at www.urbanfarm.org and add yourself to our email newsletter or email Greg@urbanfarm.org or to contact Matt Suhr - happydirt@earthlink.net "

Here is a link that might be useful: Low Desert Planting & Harvest Calendar

I need some shade veggies for the summer for an area that only gets about 3-4 hours of sun. I'm planning on a bunch of basil. Any other ideas? Also, are any of the cowpeas pole variety or are they all bush style?