Abundant and essential but risky, yellow storage onions are a challenging, labor-intensive crop for commercial growers in Washington.
Weeding, done in part by hand, is essential to ensure the onions don’t have to compete for nutrients and can fully develop their pungent bulbs.
Thrips, tiny but rapidly reproducing insects that not only feed on onion leaves and other plants but also spread viruses, can reduce photosynthesis and overall production.
There’s not much to be done about the weeding, a necessary chore. But Washington State University researchers are working on behalf of growers to help control viruses, bacteria, fungal pathogens, thrips, and other pests. » More …
A silent slow burn consumes thousands of acres of Washington State every year and the tribal lands are no exception to this burn. This burn isn’t caused by a wildfire and doesn’t produce any visible smoke. It’s the encroachment of invasive species as they slowly consume native and beneficial vegetation.
Tribes in the Pacific Northwest rely heavily upon natural resources for income generation and sustaining a way of life. There are significant wildlife, agriculture, and rangeland impacts to the Tribal lands.
(The video below was produced by Nathan Moses-Gonzales, M3 Consulting Group.)
They seem native, growing wild wherever they want, thriving along riverbanks, roads, railroad tracks, and trails; inside state, county, even Seattle city parks.
These abundant berries—great for pie and jam—are synonymous with summer in Washington state, particularly on the west side, where they take over greenbelts and backyards, abandoned lots, urban alleyways, and logged lands.
They grow, as it were, like weeds.
Emphasis on weeds.
Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are not only not native, they’re invasive. And they’re not actually Himalayan.
Call them the state weed of Washington. The plump, juicy, deep purple, and delicious weed of Washington.
