This year, for the first time, I'm using row covers. I find them difficult to work with. They tear easily and it's especially hard to remove all the ground staples to lift the cover to work on the rows beneath it. I uncovered one row yesterday and within an hour some critter munched on the leaves. Slugs?

Tiny lettuce plants -- front yard.

I'm using empty spaces in my flower beds to plant lettuce, chard and carrots.

I'm trying out straw bales for the first time. I found this article helpful. He gives instructions on prepping the bales. 
http://modernfarmer.com/2013/07/straw-bale-gardening/

Gardening with Straw Bales
Two weeks of conditioning and I'll be ready to plant in these bales. The tree limbs are from my stash and we wove them together. I packed clay soil around the bases of the poles. Next I'll wrap the whole thing in plastic to speed up the bale's breakdown. I use urine to break mine down.