I'm puzzled. How do you manage to get plenty of sun in the spring and summer, and none in the winter? Is your bed right next to a big wall along the south that blocks wintertime sun? I guess if you're way up north, I could sorta see that. Not a lot that will grow well with no direct sun.

"Do I just cover up the beds during winter months or are there some veggies that I can still grow somehow? "

Cover them up? No although many will lay down a good layer of organic mulch to decompose over the winter and improve the soil. As to what if anything you can grow in winter, like Dan said - sun is still needed and all else depends on your climate, on where you live? Winter gardening works well in the south, not so in the north unless under cover like high tunnels or greenhouse.

Otherwise, like most of us your gardens - no matter what kind they are - lay dormant over the winter.

Dave

FWIW, I have a container in which I grow parsley under trees, some live oak. As a winter crop it maybe gets an hour or two of sun. Less in the summer. It is very lush, and only slightly leggy. Other herbs do pretty well there too. Actually, I simply can't grow summer parsley in full sun. Too hot. But I can't think of any major veggies that would grow well there.

I have this same issue in many parts of my garden. The sun is high enough that it is above the trees in the south during spring and summer, but come autumn and winter it gets behind the trees, one being a gigantic pine that never loses its leaves. Only a few key areas get around 6 h of full sun during the and winter, which is where I raise spring seedlings.

Now the sun shines on part of the opposite side of the yard which I have already landscaped. Bummer.

We have no idea where you are located so the feasibility of growing anything over winter (other than hardy cover crops) is a bit moot without that information. And how far north you may be will also affect how much direct sunlight that area may receive in winter. Up here at latitude 48 or so, winter sun is pretty low on the horizon, even at midday, and there are areas of mostly shade now - especially adjacent to a tall structure, like a fence - that are pretty much in full sun in summer.

I live in Elk Grove, Ca.

This site can be helpful, put your address into it: http://suncalc.net/#/51.508,-0.125,2/2018.02.10/18:21

Well, the good news is being in Elk Grove you can grow pretty much any vegetable your little heart desires. The sun in winter could be a problem for winter veggies. Leafy greens are easy to grow as a winter vegetable in your area (chard, kale, pak choi .. I have all 3 growing now under row cover and I'm a few zones colder than you). You can keep many herbs growing over winter (parsley, chives, oregano, marjoram). These can all be easily grown in part sun. But, they must get some sun. If some area back there does get some sun, you might plan your vegetable bed layout with one bed in the winter sunny spot and just plan to cover the additional beds over winter.

Yep, a big wall. That's what I was figuring. You can try greens, but the productivity will be low if they don't get direct sun. They'll survive, but not thrive. Of course, they're getting lots of indirect sun (skylight), but that's less intense. I have a bed on the west side of a house that gets NO direct sun until 1pm. If the temperature is 100+, that's a survival attribute. Works fine, here in Texas. If I were you, I'd convert the ground within a foot or two of the wall as just an access path around the rest of the garden, and keep the more shade tolerant crops (greens & etc.) close to the path.