I would try tomatoes again. What kind of caterpillars? Around here in NH we can get tomato hornworms which can get huge before you find them because so much of a plant has been eaten. They aren't bad every year. If it is hornworms, keep your eyes open for some that look like they have white rice attached to them. The white rice is a parasitic wasp's larvae which will kill the hornworm. Let those worms live so your garden gets the benefit of the wasps.

Start a pizza garden with herbs like perennial oregano and annual basil. I also like to grow chives because they are so easy, perennial and have edible flowers. You can sprinkle chives on lots of things, mix into cream cheese, etc.

My family likes sugar snap peas but it might already be too late in your season. Your county should have a cooperative extension office that provides information on gardening and maybe some free classes. Google your county name + CA + cooperative extension.

I think onions are hard to grow from seed and carrots too but I think the secret with carrots is to thin them. If you don't, they never make carrots. What would the kids like to grow? I think beans are easy and we love to eat them but I like to have a trellis against the house for scarlet runner beans. The beautiful blossoms attract hummingbirds. Supposedly the beans are edible when they are young but I never eat them. My gardening friend in England says they are good.

Try to look at worms/caterpillars in a different way. I grow potatoes that require a lot of surveillance for Colorado potato beetles. Yes, it takes time, but it also makes me walk around the potato patch a couple of times a day. When I inspect the garden looking for problems, I'm getting fresh air plus I love the beauty of plants. And it's fun to grab a young bean or sugar snap pea to eat as I walk around.

Basil

Okra

A few things I think are easy to grow, but like cooler weather are peas and lettuce. Chives too, but they seem to like cooler weather too. They'll do fine in the 70 degree weather but not the 100. I'll second beans too. They'll do better in the heat.

Yulia (such a pretty name!). From the heat, it sounds like you might be in central or southern Ca.

Be careful with the perennial herbs! They can take over! I would try them in pots until you know what they are going to do!

Some heat loving veges are tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, okra.Basil is an herb that you make pesto from and though it loves heat, bolts (flowers) quickly with high heat!

Actually, the best thing is to contact your extension office. Ours have a planting schedule that can be printed out.

Happy gardening! Nancy

Re climate zones that are really meaningful for summer gardening, use the Sunset zones. As in, here ... http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones.

The USDA plant hardiness zones are about winter survival for perennials, and have little to do with summer gardening. They are basically how cold it gets in the winter, which doesn't necessarily tell you what it's like in the summer.

But just telling us WHERE in California you are would help a lot too. Up to 100F, you say. Central Valley maybe?

I agree that tomatoes are hard to beat. Get a hybrid cherry with disease resistance, and stand back.

Thanks everyone for your comments with the helpful information!

The zone number I'm at is 10b (35-40F).

I planted bell peppers and peas. My kids have been growing their broccoli plants since February and now they are big plants but I recently noticed inchworms started nibbling on the leaves. I just keep squishing them, I don't want to use any "natural" spray from Home Depot, and not sure what I can make at home that would be safe to get rid of the worms and put the netting over it afterwards.

I bought protecting netting and hopefully it will protect the strawberries I bought today and prevent the butterflies from sitting and laying the eggs.

Strawberries need insect pollinators. Don't use netting which excludes bees. And I don't know of any butterflies which lay eggs on strawberries anyway. You can use row cover on brassicas because they don't need pollinators

Zone 10b just tells us how cold it gets in the winter which, as I said, I think is irrelevant to the question you're asking. What are the weather conditions likely to be in your growing season? You don't need to tell us your street address, but just what part of California are you in? If you're in the central valley, peas aren't good. Those are a cool weather crop. You might have a chance near the coast.

Sorry for confusing...I wanted to use netting to cover broccoli to keep away from butterflies laying the eggs. And to cover the strawberries to keep the birds away but I'm still new at gardening and didn't even think about insect pollinators ☹️.

To answer another reply. I live in Southern California, Orange County.

I've been successful in growing succulents, African violets, geraniums, I am keeping journal with a picture of every plant I planted, written care info and other details. I just wanted to give it another try to grow plants but I think no matter what I do bugs, worms will still get on the plants.

Our grand kids like the cherry tomatoes. Very productive and fun for the kids. Nothing else seems to hold their attention very long. They're fascinated with dill and milkweed also. Our dill is the home to swallowtail caterpillars and monarch caterpillars on the milkweed. It's fun to talk to the kids about and observe the butterfly life cycle. Butterfly bushes are good for the kids but very invasive. We also plant sunflowers for the kids.

Shell 6A

I'd go for tomatoes and make hunting for tomato hornworms part of the fun. They hide really well, but if you find their poop, it usually leads right to them. (Google tomato hornworm poop for pictures. I think they look like tiny grenades...)

Defrost - it made me smile to see that scarlet runner beans are 'supposedly edible'. They are a key vegetable crop over here. One of the most popular for the home gardener. Seed companies offer multiple varieties. They are easier to grow in our climate than other pole beans.