My New Mind's Eye: Our Community Garden - Progress and Lessons Learned: Part 2

Well, it's been about a month and a half since the last post on the garden, and it should be clear from the headline picture that a lot has happened since then. Gone are the crazy days of mid-spring with the freezing temperatures and the high winds, and Richland is beginning to settle into a calmer, warmer, and sunnier summer pattern. That said, the weather remains unseasonably cool and wet. June has seen temperatures 5-10 degrees below average and 3 times the normal rainfall. The story was much the same for May. Normally we'd be dealing with temperatures in the 80's and 90s this time of year, but instead it is 70s and 80s, with some days still in the upper 60s.
I am generally up at the garden plot every 3 or 4 days, and it has been really stunning to observe substantial growth occurring in the short time since each previous visit. Work at the garden over the past month and a half has been mostly relegated to the task of weeding. Especially in May, I would leave for a few days and come back to see the garden almost overtaken with weeds. As I have continually kept weeding, the rate of new weed formation has dropped precipitously. All this weeding has been with the goal of minimizing competition for nutrients, water, and sunlight with the target crops.
Here is an update on the status of each crop type:
Corn: The big winner right now. Corn stalks are running 2-4 feet tall with leaves as wide as 5" They are forming tall, dense rows that have the side-effect of creating a shadow on some of the nearby rows of melons in the afternoon. No sign yet of any ears.
Cauliflower: A close second. Cauliflower plants range in diameter from 8" to 2 feet. They are all leafy right now. No sign of a central vegetable forming yet, but the leaves are prehistoric in size, so it should be only a matter of time.
Tomatoes: These warm weather lovers had a really tough time dealing with the cold earlier in the spring, and their growth seems to have been somewhat stunted. They seem to be getting their act together now, have shed their anemic pale green and brown leaves for bright green, healthy leaves, but remain a god bit smaller than some of the other tomato plants I see in other plots. It remains to be seen whether they will stage a full comeback, but there is plenty of growing season left!
Cantaloupe and Watermelons: The same comments for the tomatoes apply to the melons as well. They appear to be finally on the right path, but are very small. Some plants had a very hard time with the cold and may not make it. There is a nice open patch with no competition for sunlight, where the best melons are. These melons are still small though.