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.

Zone 7

With lower elevations and longer days, a variety of vegetables will thrive in a Zone 7 garden. Lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts can be planted before the last frost. Carrots, beets, radishes, and parsnips will also do well. Onions, potatoes, peas, radishes, salad greens, and a variety of herbs can also be planted during this time frame. Most areas in zone 7 get moderate to high rainfall and many areas have little snowcover in winter. This makes zone 7 gardening an ideal gardening environment. Fall-grown vegetables, in particular, are usually of very high quality.

I studied these topics online for one year and participated in discussion. One practice we adhered to was posting our progress every few weeks. Canning, preserving, growing, gardening, harvesting, storing, recycling/reusing/repurposing, to-do list. We stayed busy and productive all year long.