By Anza Muenchow
Special to The Voice

The calendar says it is spring now, but it still feels like winter as I write. The little peas are still just peeking out of the soil. We’ve transplanted onions, choys, broccolis, kales and hardy lettuce. They all
are alive, but not growing very fast. We will keep seeding trays of these same varieties for another month because we are expecting it to remain cold until May this year.

In April we’ll seed, indoors in pots, the summer and winter squash, cucumbers, corn, pumpkin and later lettuces to transplant out after Mother’s Day. By then weather should be warming significantly.
This month you should continue to plant outdoors all the green leafy vegetables you want on your dinner plates this summer: colorful tangy mustard, tender sweet spinach, bok choy and rapini or broccoli raab. These all provide interesting and varied stir fry ingredients. Usually we plant these seeds closely and then thin out the small ones for delicious early snacking. That will leave room for the remaining plants to mature without crowding.

These plants like a rich soil, with compost or another organic nitrogen source and lots of water, which our April showers provide. If you haven’t added lime in a few years, mix a handful into the soil before
you plant the Brassicas. How much lime should you add? Testing your soil is always a good idea. Lime is slow to break down in soil, so it is safe to add about a cup every five feet of raised bed.

But to really know the acidity of your soil, you can buy a new soil test kit each year or send in a soil sample to the University of Massachusetts. They have an inexpensive soil test that is very user friendly and accurate. Go online to www.umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest/ and download the form.

If you plan to send in a sample this spring, collect the soil and let it dry on a tray inside for a few days. That way you don’t have to pay as much for shipping the heavy damp cup of soil. I recommend the
soil test that includes checking percent of organic matter, as well as nutrients. Carrots can be planted this month, but they have a few pests to be aware of.

Firstly, the slugs enjoy the little seedlings. Also, the carrot rust fly will lay its eggs on the base of the stem for the larva to later feed in the roots. These maggots eat through the carrot leaving a trail of rust
colored tunnels.

Some people think that the wire worms (click beetle larva) make the rusty trails, but their damage leaves holes without the rust color. For slug and rust fly prevention, use a well anchored blanket of floating row cover as a barrier.

Carrots can grow under the fabric all season with the sun and rain passing through the cover. You’ll need to remove it to weed the carrots once or twice, but keep the row cover edges firmly held against the soil with rocks or piles of soil so the pests don’t get under to feed.

Keep growing.

Anza Muenchow is a farmer and a volunteer with P-Patch. You can reach her by e-mail at mahafarm@whidbey.com or on the Internet at www.mahafarm.com.

Shopping and cooking — fresh, affordable and vegetarian (mostly)

By Kristin O’Donnell
SHA Resident

There are a number of sources for fresh and frozen foods at local food banks, produce stands and free markets.

Fruits and vegetables
Food not Bombs free markets operate at Yesler Terrace at noon Saturday and at Cascade Peoples Center at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. There are many produce stands along Jackson in the International District, with a really big shop on 12th between Jackson and Weller.

Others include: McPherson’s at 15th S. and Columbian Way; Rising Sun at 15th and 65th NE; Top Banana at 15th and 65th NW in Ballard; Tony’s Market at 35th Ave SW and Barton in West Seattle.

Prices are less than half what one would spend at most grocery stores. Things from produce stands and free markets tend to be really ripe — don’t pick up food for a whole week, unless you plan
to cook and freeze it by the next day.

Farmers’ markets are so beautiful, so organic, so fresh, so fun, so local and so expensive — but can be a bargain for Women, Infant and Children (WIC) voucher-holders, and for some low-income
seniors, who can get coupons. There is a lottery for the senior coupons— apply to Senior Information and Assistance at 206-448-3110 beginning April 15.

Some vegetables, especially in winter, are cheaper and better if canned (especially tomatoes) or frozen (green beans, peas or corn). Buy store brands on sale.

Herbs and spices
A jar of curry powder or cumin seed costs nearly five dollars from the spice section at Red Apple. A plastic envelope of similar stuff in the Mexican food aisle is 79 cents.

Bulk herbs and spices (Pike Market, Fred Meyer, PCC, some other large groceries) are expensive per pound but much less expensive than the same thing in a jar — don’t buy more than you will use in a
month or so.

Fresher is better, and really fresh is best — a lot of herbs can be grown in a small sunny space, and you won’t need to buy an enormous bunch of parsley to get a tablespoonful.

Canned, packaged and frozen foods
Food banks often have canned and dried food — and if you want and use canned or dried beans, many food banks have an over-supply. Ask about it. Grocery Outlet at MLK and Cherry often — but not always — has canned, dried and frozen foods for far less than standard prices. (It also has a lot of interesting groceries that you are going to be buying even if you don’t need them if your consumer resistance level is not high — like Whole Foods, but very cheap!)

Bartell’s and Walgreens often have canned food and pasta for less than the prices at most grocery stores. Store brands and closeouts at regular grocery stores may be the best buy. The ‘best buy’ stuff is probably going to be on the lower or top shelves. Look for it. If you are nervous about buying a non-brand-name product, buy one package and check it out. It is often the same stuff with a different label.

Groceries like Viet Wah at 12th and Jackson may have excellent prices, and also interesting groceries. Much cheaper than Safeway, but do you really need that can of lychee nuts?