I am a Master Gardener but my husband does all the food gardening for us. In SC, it gets really hot and we need more rain also. I saw an interesting way to plant lettuce; attach guttering (that goes on the eave of a house) to siding of a building or make a frame out of 2 x 2 to attach them and fill them with compost or potting soil and grow the lettuce in them. I would save ground space as well by doing that. I also bought my DH a small greenhouse ( 8' x 6') for Christmas from Harbor Freight because the squirrels always destroy his seedlings out side. He had taken cuttings last summer from our hydrangeas and azaleas and they were almost ready to go in the ground when the squirrels ravaged them and destroyed all his hard work. So now he is putting the greenhouse together and going to get ready for sowing seeds for early spring! Hopefully you can get 8 hrs of good sunlight to grow great tomatoes and other summer veggies. Good luck!!