Master Gardeners started at Washington State University 50 years ago.
Watch videos from Master Gardeners and WSU commemorating this anniversary of the volunteer gardening program with such an impact. (Videos produced by the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences)
Seeds of a Movement
Making a Difference in Today’s World
Looking Ahead to Vibrant Future
He sought solace in the garden.
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 …
Louisa R. (Winkler) Brouwer (’17 PhD Crop Sci.) was one of three researchers at Washington State University who collaborated on “The History of Oats in Western Washington and the Evolution of Regionality in Agriculture.”
The 2016 study—written by Brouwer along with crop scientists Stephen S. Jones, director of the WSU Breadlab, and Kevin M. Murphy (’04 MS, ’07 PhD Crop Sci.)—appeared in the Journal of Rural Studies.
It was a precursor to her dissertation: “Building the Genetic, Agronomic and Economic Foundations for Expansion of Oat Cultivation in Western Washington.”
Recently, she discussed her work and oats with Washington State Magazine.
… » More …
From gruel to oatmeal cookies, here’s a roundup of historical and contemporary recipes spotlighting oats. What’s your favorite way to prepare this healthful grain?
Read more about oats in the Fall 2023 issue’s In Season.
First, light a fire. Here are some ways to prepare oats from the mid-eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. The first half-dozen recipes come from the 1747 Hannah Glasse cookbook: The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy, which far exceeds anything of the kind ever yet published.
To Make Plum Gruel
Take two quarts of water, two large spoonfuls of oatmeal, sir it … » More …
When the former executive director of the Washington State University Alumni Association asked Melanie Krause (’00 Spanish, Biol.) and Joe Schnerr (’99 Chem.), founders of Cinder Wines in Garden City, Idaho, near Boise, to design a trip for WSU alumni through northern Spain, they didn’t hesitate.
Not only are they proud Cougs, they’ve already visited the Rioja region, which “grows a lot of tempranillo, one of our focus grapes at Cinder. It’s also close to Basque country, and Boise has a lot of Basque descendants, so it’s a good fit for us on several levels,” says Krause, who “picked out beautiful coastal parts of Basque … » More …
Cameron Rushton is happy to sip other winemakers’ whites. But when it comes to crafting his own wine, he sticks to his specialty: robust reds.
Rushton (’10 Hort.), co-owner and assistant winemaker at Five Star Cellars in Walla Walla and creator of Cougar X, makes the wines he especially enjoys pairing with a juicy steak. Cabernet franc tops his list of varietals. Merlot is right up there, too. He also likes tempranillo, malbec, and sangiovese—big, bold, highly ageable reds.
“I don’t make a lot of white,” he says. “I’d rather drink everybody else’s”—Poet’s Leap by Long Shadows Vintners, for example. “I … » More …
