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Summer 2005

A Building Full of Answers

Maybe it’s their nondescript building, one of a row of identical structures just off of Plum Street on the way into Olympia. Or maybe it’s their curious history, once a government entity, then oddly tossed to the budget dogs by an otherwise environmentalist governor. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s with Washington State University Extension, but doesn’t really cost us anything. Or maybe it’s all those 800 numbers connecting it to the outside world. And then again, maybe it was just me.

I’ve got to admit, I just didn’t understand the WSU Energy Program until I stopped in for a visit late last summer. Not … » More …

Summer 2005

Asparagus

Toppenish-area farmer Kevin Bouchey has an affinity for asparagus, which his family has been growing since 1979. “It’s a funny crop,” says Bouchey, who also farms wheat and potatoes. “In a given farm year, you usually grow a plant and then harvest the crop later. Asparagus is kind of backwards. But it’s a fun crop to raise.”

Asparagus is harvested in the spring, when its first shoots come through the earth, long before the plant has the benefit of maturing.

Asparagus officianalis comes from the lily family, along with leeks, garlic, and onions. It was first cultivated 2,500 years ago, and throughout history has been … » More …

Summer 2005

Shock Physics: Power, Pressure, and People

After the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear device, the U.S. determined that staying ahead in the arms race would require the best scientists and the best weapons. A new federal funding model emerged, channeling money into universities around the country for research and the training of the next generation of national scientists. By the late 1950s, WSU had started on shock-wave research. » More ...
Fall 2009

Washington potatoes

Judging by his occasional ribald references to the potato, Shakespeare considered the exotic tuber primarily as an aphrodisiac. Although the time of the potato’s introduction to Europe from the New World is not clear, recent scholarship has determined that the potato was grown in Spain as early as 1570. But the potato is an odd vegetable. Potatoes of that era were not uniformly oblong and smooth, but came in many colors and shapes, with odd protuberances that reminded some of, well, body parts. Although Indians had eaten them for thousands of years, Europeans were mystified, if not titillated.

But they got more adventurous. And the … » More …

Fall 2009

Foiling an invasive

Sometimes, figuring something out only deepens the overall mystery.

Take Pseudomonas fluorescens D7, for example.

Ann Kennedy, a USDA-Agricultural Research Service soil microbiologist at Washington State University, has isolated these native bacteria as a perfectly natural way to fight cheatgrass, also known as downy brome, scientific name Bromus tectorum. Recently, she and her colleagues were awarded a large grant to test the effectiveness of Pseudomonas fluorescens D7 for controlling cheatgrass in rangeland.

Cheatgrass, which was introduced in the late 19th century as a forage crop, is an aggressive invader, a grass that has, according to WSU botanist » More …

Fall 2009

Master Gardeners

"Cultivating plants, people, and communities since 1973" is how the Master Gardeners explain themselves. The concept has worked well. Washington, where it all started, now has over 3,000 volunteer Master Gardeners, who in exchange for training in turn give their knowledge and expertise to others in their communities. These communities have now spread across the United States and Canada. » More ...
Fall 2007

Celebrating a century at Seattle's liveliest landmark

It started a century ago, on August 17, 1907, when a small group of farmers set up stalls at the corner of First and Pike in Seattle and sold their produce right on the street. They claimed their little city-sponsored market experiment was born out of need. The local brokers had been price fixing, so farmers were being underpaid for their eggs and vegetables. Furthermore, consumers were paying high prices for food that was often old, bruised, and wilted.

The little corner market changed all that. Offering some of the most affordable fresh food in Seattle, it grew quickly and flourished through the Great Depression. … » More …