Post Irene

On Saturday morning, as Hurricane Irene approached NYC, we floated toward the beach farm with ease. Yet, on Wednesday morning, three days after its departure, I was stopped by a park ranger. Park's closed, he said, then, what's your business here? Garden, I said. Go on, garden's only thing open today. 

I wondered why. Meanwhile, military copters zig zag across the sky. The ranger, in earshot of the beach farm, was chasing away beach goers all morning. I bet they relished the opportunity to close Tilden beach so that it could be what it was intended to be -a shore bird sanctuary, not a hip, no lifeguards please, hangout. Although, it was a really nice beach day.

A few short minutes into straightening up the farm, I believe I discovered the reason the beach was closed, and possibly even the reason for the military -an invasion of hungry mosquitoes and biting flies! My ankles are still swollen with bites. Sometimes it seems that rain simply multiplies mosquitoes, as if rain was a cloning agent. I suppose that 10 inches of rain in two weeks is enough to create an army.

As for the farm, it really did take all the weather rather well, which appears to be the scenario across the NYC area if gardening bloggers' reports are any indication. I did lose a few tomatoes, too small to ripen, although one was large and ripening on the ground, unaffected by the drop. Not so many plums had dropped either. It does seem the plants are living in late September over late August, however. They are in a state of decline.

I picked a couple of stout carrots and some orange pixie tomatoes and, of course, a couple of pounds of green beans. I also began pulling bean plants to make room for more broccoli. I would say the peppers fared the worst through the storm, losing small, green peppers to the ground while heavy rains washed away soil from the roots. 

I think it is fair to say that peppers are finicky growers, difficult even, with the exception of the hot peppers like habanero. I got one orange bell out of the ordinary bell pepper plant and it had some circular rot spots. Others fell off prematurely, or had holes bored by insects. Even the poblanos have been poor producers. Meanwhile there are healthy looking pepper plants sprouting all over the side yard back at home -what gives? 

 The snap peas are beginning to poke through where cucumbers once reigned.