When Gary Chastagner was a kid in the 1950s, his parents typically displayed their Christmas tree for about a week. The tree went up on December 24—often after he went to bed—and came down after New Year’s Day.
Now, consumers want fresh-cut trees that can be displayed for weeks without losing their needles. Chastagner, a professor emeritus of plant pathology at Washington State University, has spent more than 40 years helping Northwest Christmas tree growers improve their product. For his work, Chastagner earned the nickname “Dr. Christmas Tree.”
In this episode, Chastagner talks about working on solutions to Swiss needle cast disease in Douglas fir … » More …
Spokane Valley was once famous for its cantaloupes.
In 1995’s The Spokane Valley: A History of the Growing Years, Florence Boutwell writes that Hearts of Gold cantaloupe melons became one of the area’s predominant crops around 1925, after insects and disease destroyed local orchards.
By the late 1970s, the prevalence of this heirloom variety, known for its deep-orange, aromatic, sweet, thick, and juicy flesh, had diminished in the region.
But an experimental, volunteer-run community garden in a Liberty Lake development—the 3-acre River District Farm—is bringing them back, growing Hearts of Gold and selling them at its seasonal stand.
Yards and gardens can really suffer in times of drought and heat. Washington State University Extension delivers a lot of advice to grow a beautiful and drought-tolerant landscape, including lists of plants, tips for reducing water usage, and more.
In the early 1990s, when he was going through treatment for cancer, Tim Kohlhauff found the time he felt “the best and connected or healthiest and most relief” was when he was in the garden—specifically the Japanese Garden at Washington Park Arboretum at the University of Washington.
“I was not as worried when I was there and that had a sort of longtime effect,” he says. “I recovered, but I found I wanted to spend more and more time in the garden.”
Cancer brought him to gardening. Gardening brought him to Washington State University Extension » More …
