Another thing to try, which will help your plants both stand up and not dry out too fast - plant your garden somewhere that is protected from the wind. If you know which direction(s) the wind usually comes from you could plant in the lee of the house or other buildings, or put up a (fairly solid, not chain link . . ) fence. Even a low berm would help to deflect the wind up and over your garden, but that involves a lot of earth moving.
Also look into installing micro-irrigation or a soaker system on a timer, so that when you water you're not throwing water up into the dry air, where most of it will evaporate before it comes back down to the ground. Very important to water early in the morning every day, while the ground is as cool as possible, and the winds are usually the least as well. The most water will soak into the soil before the sun is up, and get your plants ready to withstand the hot dry day to come.
Adding as much organic material - preferably finished compost - to your soil before you plant will also help to hold moisture in the soil, as well as providing a bit of slow-release nutrients and nourishing the micro-biome in the soil. It's like adding tiny pieces of sponge to the soil, the cellulose fibers of broken down plant material expand to hold water, then slowly contract as they dry to leave tiny air spaces in the soil - a healthy situation.
Then, as Daisy already said, once you've amended and planted, mulch, mulch, mulch! It will hold moisture as well, keep the soil cooler for your plants' roots and also prevent erosion by the wind.
