Gardening is not an exact science. Hello, tell me something I don’t know. But it is always a learning experience. Why do you think farmers are never bored?

This year I have learned a lot about not planting at a certain time if the weather isn’t right. But this is an impossible lesson for me to learn as I’m eternally optimistic and still keep hoping it will turn nice any day.

The first 11 days of June were the coldest in history with daily highs running about 10 degrees below normal and rainfall almost an inch above normal.

This year the garden is so far behind I’m not sure if some of the crops will recover at all.

Let me list the casualties of the cool, wet weather. Zucchini, cucumbers and acorn squash are dead or yellow and dying, when they should be twining their way out of the bed and into the lawn.

The delectable green beans, which I mentioned last month, are no farther along than then, and are also yellow and brown.

I’m afraid that since the plants are so weak, they will never be healthy enough for a good crop. So much for worrying about getting the strings put up.

The onions, Walla Walla and red, are puny and some are rotting in the ground.

Corn, what corn? Knee high by the Fourth of July- I’d settle for alive by the five of July.

And the weeds … the weeds, which apparently are more suited to this climate, have taken over some rows entirely and I can’t tell if the crop is there at all.

I can’t even talk about tomatoes without tears welling up in my eyes.

I bought myself a lovely collection of them on Mother’s Day and they are sitting in the green house with wilted and mottled leaves, no taller than when I planted them a month ago.

And my lovely and prized dahlias — short, short, short. I wonder if tears are good for the soil.

The herb bed at work is smothered in powdery mildew — usually more of a fall time plague. The combination of mild and damp weather and shade on the west side of Commercial Street is the perfect condition for this ugly and stunting fungus.

Two home remedies for powdery mildew: a few crushed cloves of garlic in a quart of water or 1 teaspoon baking soda and a few drops of liquid dish soap in a quart of water. Spray on tops and bottoms of leaves..

But all is not lost. The peas are finally flowering, the beets, carrots and parsnips seem to be doing OK and the spinach, butter lettuce and berries are thriving.

I made an incredible spinach salad for dinner a few nights ago. (I can hear the kids clapping all the way from Montana because they didn’t have to eat it.) My friend John had the original version of this salad, Insalata Spinaci, the other day for lunch at Bellissima — a la Danny.

Theirs also has pancetta and bacon, which I didn’t have, and Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses instead of Bleu cheese.

First you need three cups baby spinach leaves, washed and spun is the salad spinner. Place spinach in a large bowl.

Saute eight medium sliced mushrooms in olive oil until tender and slightly brown, place on top of the spinach. In the same pan, saute minced onion and garlic in bacon grease, to get a smoky flavor. When the onion is soft, add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and let it reduce by half. Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and whisk in olive oil for the dressing. Toss the warm dressing on the salad to wilt the spinach.

I topped mine off with toasted walnuts, a sliced, freshly boiled, brown egg from the neighbor and a divine Gorgonzola cheese from Slough Foods in Edison. Incredible.

Slough Foods is the best place I’ve found for interesting and different cheeses, including many Rhonda Gothberg selections as well as authentic European types, which I’ve never seen anywhere else, and the best Brie I’ve ever had. I highly recommend the aged Gouda if you like a salty, tangy cheese like Parmesan.

Go next door to the Breadfarm Bakery and you are set for a picnic at Bayview State Park — instant vacation and so close to home.

See, there is an upside to the gas crisis; it gives you the opportunity to explore your own region and spend more time with family and friends. But don’t forget boots and a raincoat.


Erin Earles works at Epicurious in Anacortes when she’s not tending her garden, family and horses in Bay View. If you have a column suggestion or comment, or a question about food or gardening, please e-mail her at