The growing season for the winter garden ends as June begins. I clean out all vegetation, leaving the dirt bare, and then I deep turn the soil. I dig down as far as I can with a long-handled shovel (about 14 inches), lift the shovel full of dirt, and turn it upside down so that the top of the soil in now 14 inches below the surface. As I work, I break up the clods as best as I can and leave a relatively smooth, soft surface. I avoid compacting the soil by walking on it. As a final step, I cover the soil with a thick layer of mulch. I use oak leaves that have collected along the fences during the winter and spring. Next, I place the insulation blankets I used in winter over the leaves, and I cover it with a big tarp.

The mulch covering, blankets, and tarp will remain through the summer. Hopefully, they will keep the soil cooler and moister than it would have been if I had left it exposed to the hot direct sunlight of summer.

I continue succession planting of lettuce once every three weeks in June, but I switch to three varieties of heat tolerant lettuce: Anuenue, Sierra Batavian, and De Morges Braun. These have worked best for me. I also shade the lettuce with screens when the sun is intense. Without the shade, the lettuce will wilt. The picture to the right was taken at noon on June 7, 2016.

I also start a small patch of Swiss Chard to act as insurance to guarantee that salad production lasts from mid August to mid September. I use a variety called Rhubarb Chard. Since it is the young chard leaves I want, I wait to plant the chard seeds until the last week of June. I soak the seeds for a few days before I plant them. Chard leaves are quite inferior to lettuce, but it's better than nothing if the lettuce should fail.

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