A Garden of My Own! (?)

I found my current apartment in Burbank because my landlord is also my horseback riding instructor.  She owns a few adjacent rental properties near the stables, including my building, and a guest cottage behind my apartment building's parking lot.  

Today we were chatting at the stables, and I mentioned that on Sunday night I'm going to another one of the film screening and potlucks hosted by Path to Freedom.  When she heard that I was interested in vegetable gardening, she encouraged me to convert the yard of the guesthouse into a garden!  Apparently anything that is currently dirt and not grass is fair game - how exciting!

I went to scope out the current state of the yard, and the available area for vegetable gardening is quite sizable:

There is also a small area abutting the cottage where I would like to set up a composter and maybe some planters with herbs:

I have a few concerns - namely my own lack of experience - but also the abundance of shade.  The entire garden area is lined with beautiful, mature trees, shown below.  While I personally prefer shade to sunlight, I'm not sure that most vegetables would feel the same way.  Also, while there aren't very many weeds on the ground right now, I suspect it's because the soil is thin and hard.  Putting in raised beds might be a good solution, but I will have to do some research on where to get low-cost building materials and soil.  I have seen ads for free dirt on craigslist before.  Now my Bokashi will be put to use right at my own home!

Unfortunately, even though I have immediate access to an abundant supply of horse manure and bedding - a highly compostable mix - I don't intend to use it for garden compost at this time.  Stabled horses take medications, supplements, and anti-parasitic boosters that would linger in the manure, and possibly also in the the vegetables that grow in the compost.