Beach Farm Holiday

At first glance the garlic plot is a tangle of healthy growth, probably near its peak before June's dry down begins. Shade caused by the tight row spacing keeps most weeds down, although plenty clover, lamb's quarters, and ragweed were found.

Navigating the rows is a minor challenge, mostly because I do not want to step on any stems or leaves, possibly tripping me up to fall squarely on the plants. This may have been the last weeding, but there will be a scape walk coming in the next few weeks.

As hard as I tried to give the under cultivated edge a boost, the Rocambole to the right still outperforms the Rocambole to the left by several inches in height and half an inch in girth. The edge garlic, here, looks healthy but small. The Marbled Purple Stripe "Siberian" on the opposite edge has been boosted by the amendments, but will never be as healthy as the others.

In fact the stems of the Rocambole "Killarney Red"are sizing up quite well. Beefy stems in May tend to indicate larger bulbs at harvest.

In the new plot, any remaining garlic has a chance to bulk up. Meanwhile, a curious hipster drops her shades. Speaking of Tilden's rampant visitors, the Fed has installed an eight-foot tall chain link defence along the edge of the dune zone. Instead of heeding the fence and heading to Jacob Reis Beach hardly a football field to the east, they hike westward, en masse to some unseen breach in the Fed's dune defenses. Around six pm they head back toward the bridge, but not without queuing outside the two toilet restroom beside the garden, waiting for what must seem like eons in bikinis and towels, wraps and oversized, colored frame sunglasses. Meanwhile, the restrooms at Riis, designed for the hoards that rarely materialize, sit vacant.

It was mostly hard luck in the new plot this season, but fortune has it that most of the Silverskin "Nootka Rose" and "Silverwhite" have held on, many doing better than their counterparts in the two previous seasons. These are the latest to harvest, so it may serve them to fertilize with fish at the end of the month and once again in mid June.

The French Grey Shallots looked weak a month ago, but have since come into their own, looking much more like their 2012 season counterparts. Warmer temperatures, copious blood meal, some potassium, calcium, magnesium, and a dosing of composted manure may have something to do with the brighter outlook.

We harvested lettuce and although it wasn't as large as can be, why not? We need fresh lettuce and no matter where you buy, the garden variety is freshest.