Garden news. Crime blotter update.

It has been a little bit since I droned on and on about the garden plot. Here's a picture of what it looked like about a month ago. You can see the Black Seed Simpson lettuce I have been eating lots and lots of, as well as the potatoes, the carrots, the onions and broccoli that was moving toward ripeness at the time. Since this is a community garden plot, often someone else with the space adjacent to yours will making inappropriate plantings, such as the cucumber vines that are planted next to and among the potatoes. Or the squash that is next to the spinach and radishes in the upper left corner. Fortunately, the radishes had plenty of time to finish before getting overrun.
In the onion patch about in between the rows of lettuce was a very successful bulb growing. It was about the size of a baseball on Tuesday night, when I saw it last, poking above the ground. On the other end of its row was another beauty starting to call out as well.
This morning when I arrived to harvest and tend to the plantings, both were gone! Alas, another peril of the community garden has been shown. In some ways I am a bit perturbed. But on the other hand, I am pretty happy that the work I put into getting the ground ready and then tending to the plants was recognized by someone else. I am also glad that the produce was taken and consumed, rather than forgotten to rot in the dirt like much of the strawberries in the space to the south (left) of mine.
Anyway, the lettuce has been a bit bitter for a week or so. A fellow grower and good friend suggests cutting the plants to the ground and seeing if the new growth is also bitter. Glen suggests that perhaps the plants are a bit "mature" and hence are not as flavorful as before.
I have removed the inside most row completely. I had some carrots and the rest of those should be wonderful. The potatoes will come out next weekend as new potatoes, I think. There are only eight plants there, so that is only about 25 spuds. I may let them go 3 more weekends.
The remaining 2 onions will come out by next weekend, the carrots are about ready as well. I have some bell pepper transplants to get in their place but it may be too late for those to set fruit for the early crop. They may do better in the fall.
The are nine cantaloupe vines looking like they are setting fruit. We will have more cucumbers than we can eat and the zucchini, squash and beans look like the Fourth of July will have plenty of fresh vegetables! Okra is growing well, as is the basil and tomato plants.
This is WAY more fun than growing and cutting grass.