April 2008

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Farmers Market How-to Manual From WSU's On Solid Ground With the start of spring, fresh food enthusiasts are anticipating their first visit of the year to one of Washington's 120 farmers markets. With today's increasingly competitive food and agricultural markets, more farmers are turning to direct market sales at rural, city and neighborhood farmers markets. Market board members and market managers are using a new tool this year to boost farmers' sales and nurture consumer interest to support a successful 2008 season for farmers markets. In cooperation with the Washington State University Small Farms Program, the Washington State Department of Agriculture is distributing a 90-page Washington State Farmers Market Manual that has everything one needs to know to run a successful farmers market. The collaborative project included support from members of the Washington State Farmers Market Association, WSU and other university specialists, market managers and outside experts. "It's a 'how to' manual that's suitable for market managers, board members and community members interested in improving their farmers market or starting a new market," said Marcy Ostrom, director of the WSU Small Farms Program. "We received lots of requests to package this sort of information into a useful handbook." The manual elaborates a step-by-step process for establishing a new farmers market, best market management practices for existing markets and a strategic planning process to strengthen existing markets. Download your copy of the Washington State Farmers Market Manual here: http://tinyurl.com/2vokku For a list of farmers markets throughout Washington, go to the Washington State Farmers Market Association Web site: http://www.wafarmersmarkets.com/   Workshops Offer Entrepreneurial Training By Bill Loftus, University of Idaho Business people, entrepreneurs, artists and artisans will gain valuable insights and contacts during a series of workshops beginning April 8 in Kendrick, Plummer and Kamiah through University of Idaho Extension. Each community will host the series "Small Business Workshops: Intro to Entrepreneurship." Three sessions will cover the basics of operating a business and creating community networks to sustain homegrown businesses. The sessions also will include specialized marketing training for artists, craftspeople and agricultural and hospitality businesses. Advance registration for the workshops is encouraged by April 4 to ensure space will be available. The three-workshop series will be held in Kendrick April 8, 21 and 28; Plummer April 9, 14 and 23; and Kamiah April 29, May 1 and May 6. The Hand Made in America initiative in North Carolina serves as a model for the workshop series, said Elizabeth Carney. After global competition and economic factors closed textile mills and other traditional industries in North Carolina's small communities, a survey showed arts and crafts could enhance tourism and provide a major economic boost, Carney said. The Idaho workshops will explore some small business basics and opportunities. "A major benefit will also be the opportunity to meet and network with people who can serve as mentors or have similar interests," she said. Individual sessions will cost $15. Registration for the series of three sessions will cost $40 in Plummer where scholarships are available from Horizons. Kendrick and Kamiah participants' registrations will be free. To register or for more information, those interested can contact Meri Guelld Joswiak, merijoz@uidaho.edu; Lorie Higgins, (208) 885-9717; or Elizabeth Carney at (208) 596-5975. The workshops are supported by the Horizons program led by University of Idaho Extension, the heritage tourism and entrepreneurial program Two Degrees Northwest, College of Business and Economics and Idaho Department of Commerce.   Finding A Needle In A Haystack? No Problem For The Montana Analytical Lab By Carol Flaherty, Montana State University Heidi Hickes' job is to find the proverbial "needle in the haystack," and she does so regularly. Actually, a needle would be easier to find. At least it is visible. Hickes and her team of 12 at the Montana Analytical Lab at Montana State University document the invisible within about 3,000 samples a year. Part of their job is to search for invisible threats in our water, in fertilizer put on our land or in the feed we give our pets and livestock. They regularly search for trace amounts of heavy metals, pesticides or prohibited substances, such as those that are suspected of causing Mad Cow Disease. The lab is part of both the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and the Montana Department of Agriculture. The state Department of Agriculture uses the lab to develop data for its enforcement of feeds, fertilizer, pesticide and ground water protection laws. The experiment station's use supports analytical services to farmers, ranchers, researchers and other state agencies on a fee basis. Twenty years ago, staff at the lab worked with a precision that regularly found a drop of contaminant in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, doing data analysis on the level of one part in a billion. Today the sensitivity of their work and equipment is 1,000 times greater. The standard "needle" now makes up just one part in a trillion. Think of that as a fraction with the numeral one over a one and 12 zeros. The USDA uses the Montana lab for its official Pesticide Data Program, and is set to recommend that the lab on the MSU campus be the USDA's only facility in the country to analyze surface water for pesticides. If that proposal goes through, a lab in Minnesota would do similar work analyzing ground water. "That lab is amazing," said Martha Lamont, administrative director of the USDA's Pesticide Data Program in Manassas, Va. "We started the Montana lab with a very small portion (of the work) to see how things would go. Those people took so well. They don't need guidance, they lead the way." The federal pesticide data program is designed to produce statistically reliable human consumption data on pesticides in drinking water, a program that can be highly controversial. For instance, a person may be concerned that their property would lose value if a contaminant is found in area wells. However, in many cases, the effect of such trace amounts of pesticides is not known. "With water, we have to be very careful," Lamont added. To provide reliability and consistency, the labs used for federal water testing regularly are sent standardized samples to test. "We send proficiency samples prepared by a third party, and Montana is always so good that last year we asked if they could expand their testing," Lamont said. To have earned that level of trust from Lamont, quality control at the lab is stringent. The water lab is kept separate from the lab working with soils and the one working with feeds. Glassware is heated to nearly 600 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours to burn off residues. Every machine is tested and calibrated with standard samples before every test. Some of the tests look for molecules, and some look for the basic elements from which molecules are built. Both data entry and the results of every test are double checked before being sent out. Not only is there a paperwork trail and a quality control officer, but "people give 110 percent here," Hickes said. "They know what they do is important." The work is not just important for finding pesticides, but also to Montanans in other ways. Its dual identity as the Montana Department of Agriculture's lab and the Agricultural Experiment Station's lab dictates that it provides a wide range of services, and testing Montana's water for pesticides is just the start. "Water analysis is about half of what we do," Hickes said. "The other half is verification of the label information on feeds and fertilizers, and providing nutritional information to farmers and ranchers on their own hay and grain feeds." The lab has a huge Montana-based groundwater testing program, and also tests samples of feed you would give to your pets. So on a given day, the Montana Department of Agriculture field staff may send in samples, or a livestock producer might send in a hay sample. Either way, the analytical lab will verify whether it has the proportion of ingredients that were advertized, whether the sample is free of contaminants or whether the nitrate level is safe for livestock. Mary Lee Cope, the lab's administrative assistant, says the importance of the lab's services to agriculture are what attracted her to work there. "I had been in ranching all of my life, and we sold the ranch," Cope said. "I wanted to go back to work in something ag related. I enjoy working here because the work seems to make a difference to the producers." Hickes says the staff's dedication is "critical for credibility." And, as the entire country looks more intently at the quality of its water and as courts order individuals and corporations to be responsible for keeping water clean, court is where some results from the Montana Analytical Lab are likely to end up. "We have the ability now to look for such extremely low levels of contaminants that scientists don't even know the significance of some of the data for human health," Hickes said. "But that's somebody else's job. Our job is to generate data that is accurate, reliable and defensible in court." Contact: Heidi Hickes (406) 994-6408 or hhickes@mt.gov, Martha Lamont lamont@usda.gov Wine Grape Growers Must Face Reality By Dennis Brown, Washington State University In order to grapple with one of the wine grape industry's rising concerns&emdash;how to deal with grapevine leafroll virus disease&emdash;a small group of wine grape growers, certified nurserymen, representatives from the Washington, Oregon and Idaho state departments of agriculture and Washington State University faculty recently gathered at WSU's Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser. Naidu Rayapati, WSU grape virologist. Download high resolution image. "Virus diseases like grapevine leafroll are firmly rooted here," said Naidu Rayapati, WSU grape virologist. "It's time to face reality and develop strategies to mitigate the problems caused by viruses." Grapevine leafroll disease, which is found world-wide, can cause a marked decline in grapevine vigor, grape quality, and productivity. The disease can reduce yields as much as 50 percent or even more, depending on the severity of infection. The meeting was one of a series organized to take stock of the current situation with regard to virus disease problems in wine grapes, develop a coordinated approach at the regional level to confront the challenges ahead and translate ideas and opinions in to action. A few years ago, it was estimated that nearly 10 percent of Washington's vineyards have grapevine leafroll disease. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the disease is more wide spread than previously thought, raising alarm among industry stakeholders. "If appropriate measures are not taken, the disease could have direct impact on the sustainability of the wine-grape industry in the state," Rayapati said. As part of an industry-led initiative, Rayapati was hired by WSU in 2004 to ramp up efforts to address virus diseases in wine grapes and set the direction of virus disease control programs Rayapati's research for the past three years has documented many grapevine viruses occurring as single or mixed infections. "Knowing what is out there is part of dealing with the problem," said Rayapati. "This information is critical for designing appropriate strategies to tackle virus diseases in our vineyards." Leafroll-virus nfected vines must be replaced because there is no treatment for the disease. While some growers are aggressively pulling infected vines at the first sign of disease, others aren't. "It's not everybody's practice," said Gwen Hoheisel, WSU Benton and Franklin County Extension educator. "Your first line of defense is to remove the infected vine and re-plant in that spot with a virus-free cutting. If your entire vineyard is infected, that is a different decision a grower has to make." While recent research in California has confirmed that the grape mealybug spreads the virus, humans are probably the primary means of spread&emdash;through the propagation of infected vegetative cuttings. The best insurance against the disease is to plant material that is certified to be virus free, Rayapati said. An anticipated shortage of certified planting material may tempt growers to take shortcuts by bringing cuttings from outside the state or using cuttings from existing vineyards. If growers buy certified material from other states, they should be aware of what viruses have been tested. Not all certified material is tested for the same viruses, Rayapati explained. "Certification has no real value if the cuttings are not tested for all currently known viruses using state-of-the-art technologies," Rayapati said. "That is where partnerships between regulatory agencies, certified nurseries, growers and scientists play a critical role to ensure planting virus-tested cuttings." "No doubt that grapevine leaf roll disease is a serious threat, if not contained," said Hoheisel. "The problem has been with us even before we realized, but it is something we need to learn to manage for the prosperity of the wine-grape industry. And the sooner the better." Rayapati is leading a WSU Extension issue-focused, team-based project on raising awareness and finding solutions for key viral and fungal diseases affecting grapes and other small fruits in Washington state. For more information on grape leafroll virus, please visit http://wine.wsu.edu/virus. For more information on Rayapati's virology research, please visit http://winegrapes.wsu.edu/virology/. For more information on WSU's efforts to provide growers with certified virus-free planting stock, please visit the Northwest Grape Foundation Service Web site at http://nwgfs.wsu.edu/. What's In A Name? An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great.  I would recommend it very highly." The other man said, "What is the name of the restaurant?" The first man thought and thought and finally said, "What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... The one that's red and has thorns." "Do you mean a rose?" "Yes, that's the one," replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?" Married Again A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy: "So I hear you're getting married?" "Yep!" "Do I know her?" "Nope!"   "This woman, is she good looking?" "Not really." "Is she a good cook?" "Naw, she can't cook too well." "Does she  have lots of money?" "Nope! Poor as a church mouse." "Well,  then, is she good in bed?" "I don't know." "Why in the world  do you want to marry her then?" "Because she can still drive!"   Did You Know? 491&emdash;The number of international students at the University of Idaho this semester. They come from 75 countries. Nearly 50 of them are in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Source: http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/ipo/intlstudents/

Imagine Tomorrow, Power The Future High school students are invited to win thousands of dollars for themselves and their schools by entering the Imagine Tommorow contest. And if your project has an agricultural focus, you could win a $1,000 scholarship from WSU's College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Demand for clean energy, the threat of global warming, and the question of how to transition to an economy based on alternatives to fossil fuels are concerns for everyone. These tough issues demand focused research and a commitment that spans communities, governments, and industries. But the best solutions start with great ideas&emdash;like yours. That's what this high school energy competition is all about. March 31 is the deadline to register. Get more information here: http://imagine.wsu.edu/default.aspx. Business Plan Guides National Animal Identification System USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today released a draft Business Plan to further the implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). AMS encourages participants in voluntary marketing programs such as the USDA Process Verified, the Quality Systems Assessment and the Non-Hormone Treated Cattle Programs to meet the inherent animal identification requirements by using NAIS. "The AMS Business Plan will allow for integration of the National Animal Identification System with AMS audit-based marketing programs," said Bruce Knight, under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs. "NAIS is a voluntary partnership among producers and government. This immediately provides the producer a twofold reward for a single investment. It ensures trace back of their animals for herd health reasons and provides benefits for marketing value-added animals domestically and internationally." Currently, all AMS partners that have approved marketing programs are actively encouraging the use of premise registration and NAIS compliant Animal Identification Numbers for these marketing program participants. Using NAIS, producers would at the same time meet the requirements for animal identification and traceability for these AMS marketing programs. Further, use of NAIS along with enrollment in these voluntary AMS marketing programs ensures that cattle are eligible for the AMS Export Verification Program for Japan with an opportunity for significant premiums for cattle producers. NAIS would single out product derived from these cattle so that it can be labeled properly when presented for sale at U.S. grocery stores, for American consumers. This helps meet the objectives of the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program by identifying the origin of cattle upon arrival at harvest facilities. Contingent upon the publication of a Final Rule implementing COOL for meat and poultry products, AMS and USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will coordinate efforts to develop a COOL "safe harbor" for NAIS participants: packers that rely upon NAIS to determine the origin of their livestock and poultry will subsequently be recognized by the Department as demonstrating compliance with the COOL program's record keeping requirements. Additional information about NAIS is available at www.usda.gov/nais and AMS voluntary marketing programs at http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/arc/audit.htm *Please note, due to a scheduled migration of the AMS Web site, this URL will change to http://www.ams.usda.gov/ARCAudits after 9 p m. on April 4, 2008. New Online Tools For Tree Fruit Growers From WSU's On Solid Ground Just in time for the 2008 growing season comes a new version of an old friend, "Crop Protection Guide for Tree Fruits in Washington." What's new with this standard reference work that has been in print since 1946? It's now online. "More and more, we hear from Washington producers that they want cutting-edge tools, such as easily accessible Web sites, in order to stay current with scientific progress and regulatory changes," said Jay Brunner, director of WSU's Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee. The "Crop Protection Guide" (both print and Web) is a synthesis of crop protection research conducted by WSU researchers specifically for Washington conditions. In addition, a wealth of useful information on pesticide issues is provided with help from the WSDA. The "Crop Protection Guide" is part of a new suite of online tools developed by WSU researchers and their industry partners for growers. Another valuable new tool is the online version of "Orchard Pest Management." "Orchard Pest Management: A Resource Guide for the Pacific Northwest" was originally published in 1993 by the Good Fruit Grower. The book gathered in one place all the life histories, descriptions, and management recommendations of both pests and beneficial insects important in tree fruit production in the region, information which had previously been scattered through dozens of WSU Extension Bulletins. The Web site contains all the information in the 1993 book, but with many new and enhanced features: new articles on brown mite, prionus root borers, weevils, apple leafcurling midge, and apple mealybug; many revised, expanded or updated articles; as well as more than 400 new insect and damage photos, in a new section of the site called the "Photo Gallery." The Web site draws on the expertise of over 45 authors from around the region. Antarctica's Coldest, Darkest Season Draws MSU Researchers By Evelyn Boswell, Montana State University News Service John Priscu normally works in Antarctica during its warmest and longest days. He usually shares the continent with scientists from all over the world. This year is different. The Montana State University scientist with an international reputation for polar research is spending his 24th season in Antarctica with no other researchers except the 17 members of his team. They're there for 2 1/2 months at the beginning of the coldest and darkest part of the year. During Antarctica's winter&emdash;also called the "Polar Night"&emdash;daylight disappears completely and temperatures can reach minus-55 degrees F. He was looking forward to it, Priscu said before leaving Bozeman in January. He had been planning the trip for nine years and said it is vital. He wants to get a more complete picture of what's happening in the lakes and liquid water that exist under Antarctica's glaciers, Priscu said. That's why he asked the National Science Foundation, which funds his research, if he could go at a different time of year. Spending a couple of months in Antarctica at the same time every year for decades is invaluable, but not good enough. "Antarctica doesn't stop in the winter," Priscu said. Priscu's team is working on several research projects, one of which is aimed at better understanding how microorganisms adapt to the loss of light. The researchers know that microbes stop converting sunlight into energy and start consuming organic carbon in the dark, but they want to learn more. The answers relate to global warming and carbon balance, Priscu said. Priscu typically goes to Antarctica in October and returns in December. This year, he and Barbara Vaughn left Bozeman on Jan. 29 to get married in New Zealand. After their Feb. 5 wedding and a week-long honeymoon, Vaughn returned to Bozeman and Priscu continued on to Antarctica to join some of his team members already in Antarctica. This year's team includes former MSU students, as well as graduate students and postgraduate students from England, Scotland and Canada. Two members are undergraduate students. Eighty percent of the team is women. One team member is Amy Chiuchiolo, an MSU research associate who has traveled to Antarctica six times in the past. Her latest trip ended right before Christmas. "It's hard to go away every year for a couple of months, but it's fun," she said. "You can't beat doing field work." The NSF supplies "extreme cold weather gear," which includes red parkas, hats, mittens, gloves and snow pants, Chiuchiolo said. She added that gloves get "pretty trashed" while drilling holes through 12 to 15 feet of ice to collect samples. Priscu said his team members flew through New Zealand to Antarctica where they landed in a C-17 military transport airplane on a glacier about an hour away from McMurdo Station, the largest community in Antarctica. Large-tracked vehicles then took them to McMurdo where approximately 500 people provide support services. To collect and process samples, the team members fly by helicopter to field stations near the lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Transantarctic Mountains. The field stations have one building where the researchers work with their samples, Priscu said. Diesel generators supply electricity. The researchers sleep in tents. To move around camp, they wear headlamps or carry flashlights when the auroras and the moon are not supplying light. "I have never had to turn a light on before in the field camp," Chiuchiolo said. The sun shines 24 hours a day during the height of an Antarctic summer. If conditions allow, the entire team will leave Antarctica on April 17, Priscu said. Priscu, 55, said he doesn't expect to return to Antarctica for another Polar Night. This one alone took almost a decade of planning. "This is not an old man's game," he said. He does plan to return as usual during the Antarctic summers. Evelyn Boswell, 406-994-5135 or evelynb@montana.edu How To Discourage Sowbugs And Pillbugs In The Garden By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Looking like tiny armadillos, sowbugs and pillbugs inhabit garden soil, dank basements and shady areas of the yard. They feast on decaying plant material and play a role in decomposing organic matter in the garden and compost pile. Though sowbugs and pillbugs feed on tender seedlings, young roots, flowers and fruits and vegetables laying directly on damp soil, sowbugs and pillbugs get blamed for more damage to garden plants than they actually do, explained Oregon State University Extension Service entomologist Glenn Fisher. "They are deemed guilty by association, as they are often found feeding in decaying or damaged garden produce," said Fisher. "Actually, diseases, slugs and other pests often inflict the initial damage. Sowbugs enter later to take advantage of the feast. They are great opportunists." Both sowbugs and pillbugs have seven pairs of legs and are dark gray, brown or almost black after molting. The type that curls up in a ball when disturbed is often called pillbugs. True sowbugs cannot curl up in a ball and have two small projections at their hind ends. Both are similar enough in lifestyle to be considered "sowbugs" by most biologists, said Fisher. Most active at night, sowbugs hide in dark, moist protected areas during the day, such as under flowerpots, decaying leaves on the soil surface, boards, mulches and ground cover. They thrive under sprinkler irrigation. They do no structural damage to homes and will not harm humans or pets. Fisher recommends the following strategies to reduce sowbug populations in the yard and garden: Limit moist, dark hiding places. Clean up organic debris, boards, boxes and piles of leaves around the yard and garden. Water early in the day so plants and the soil surface dries out by the evening when sow or pillbugs are active. Mulch with coarse materials, so water passes through to the soil quickly. Elevate fruits and vegetables off the ground with old strawberry baskets or pebbles. Black plastic mulches are good because they get too hot in the summer to provide desirable shelter for sowbugs. Seal cracks around the house and eliminate the dark, damp hiding places next to your foundation if sowbugs are entering your basement. Plant seeds deeply and do not water until seedlings have their first true leaves. Or start seedlings indoors. Then to maintain good drainage, transplant seedlings into the garden so that the soil around seedlings is higher than surrounding garden soil. Wheat bran-based slug and snail baits containing carbaryl among the active ingredients will also help control sowbugs. A less toxic method for sowbug control is to place a rolled up newspaper tube on the soil surface. Leave it overnight. In the morning, shake out the tubes into a pail of soapy water. Another less toxic method to control sowbugs is to sprinkle diatomaceous earth directly on the row where seeds have been planted to dry the soil surface enough to discourage sow bugs. Experiment with the amount of diatomaceous earth, as too thin a layer will not be effective and too thick a layer can become like plaster if it becomes wet. For The Biggest Onions, Plant Early By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University The earlier you get your onions in the ground in the spring, the better the chance they will have to grow nice big bulbs." Onions can be grown three ways: from bulbs, also known as "sets;" from smaller transplants (young, non-bulbing onion starts); or from seed, explained Deborah Kean, an Oregon State University horticulture researcher. Whichever method you choose, Kean said, you can plant onions as soon as the soil is dry enough to work. Kean and her colleague, OSU horticulture professor Jim Myers, test many of the vegetable varieties for home gardeners at the OSU Vegetable Research Farm in Corvallis. March through April is a good time to plant summer harvested onions in most areas in Oregon. And in Oregon's milder areas, overwintering onion seed can be planted in August to mid-September for harvest next June or July. These can be harvested as scallions all season long. Onions are biennial plants, meaning they take two years to reach the flowering and seed setting stage. Onions store food the first year in the bulb and, if left unharvested, will bloom and set seed the second year of growth. The onion lifecycle is sensitive to day length. Vegetable researchers call this characteristic "photoperiodic." "Most onions grown in Oregon are long-day onions," Kean said. "They will make top growth (the green part above the ground) until a critical day length is reached, triggering bulbing." Bulbing generally begins in long-day onions when there is about 14 hours of light per day, said Jim Myers, OSU vegetable breeder. If you plant your onions in the early spring, they will be fairly large plants when the days get 14 hours long. Large bulbs will result. If you wait to plant your onions until the end of April, when days reach 14 hours, bulbing will begin immediately and small pearl onions will result, explained Myers. "The size of the bulb is dependent on the size of the plant when bulbing begins," added Kean. "This is why early planting is critical, as well as plenty of water and fertilizer." Buy and plant onion sets early while they are firm and dormant. Onions can be harvested early for use as green onions, or they can be left to grow until late summer for mature onions. Plant transplants as soon as you get them, and look for plants that have not been damaged by decay or excess drying. After purchasing onion sets, sort them by size into two groups &endash; those smaller than a dime and those larger. Use the larger sets for green onions because they may flower early and not produce a good dry bulb. The smaller sets will produce large dry bulbs, since there's little chance they'll go to seed early. For scallions or small green onions, plant the sets 1 1/2 to two inches deep and an inch apart. They will be ready for eating in about a month when the tops reach eight to 10 inches. For larger onions, plant the sets about a half-inch deep and four inches apart. Plant transplants three to four inches apart in rows 12 to 15 inches apart. Planting onions from seed can be a bit more challenging, as germination is sometimes tricky. Keep the seedbed moist, but water lightly, as soil must not crust over. "Onions are shallow-rooted," explained Kean. "If allowed to dry out, they bulb early and small size is the result." Stop watering your onions when they reach the desired size and the tops have begun to fall over. Harvest them when most of the tops are down. Sun-cure them for at least a week before storing to make them last longer. With all this fuss, there is a payoff, Kean said. There are more varieties available from seed, often of better "keeping" varieties. The OSU Extension Service recommends the following varieties as performing well in Oregon: Yellow: Copra, Prince, First Edition, Millennium, Frontier, New York Early, Candy. Overwintering: Walla Walla Sweet. Red: Red Wing, Mars, Benny's Red. White: White Sweet Spanish, Superstar, Blanco Duro. Green bunching: Ishikura, Tokyo Long White, He-shi-ko. To help eliminate difficulties with onion seed germination, or to avoid waiting for soil to dry out or warm up in the spring, start onion seeds in flowerpots indoors. Transplant these when the tops are two to three inches tall. Use good potting soil, a container with a drain hole, and provide plenty of light. Seed-planted onions need a longer period of development than with onion sets. Plant onion seeds a half-inch deep at a rate of one to five seeds per inch. Thin seedlings after they are established. For large dry onions, thin seedlings to two to three inches apart; for medium-sized onions, one to two inches; and for boilers and green onions, a half inch to an inch. The key to getting good seed establishment is to keep soil moist so it doesn't form a hard crust. Onions can be grown in almost any type of soil as long as it has good fertility, drainage and tilth. Onions respond to both compost and commercial fertilizers. A handful of complete fertilizer, such as 16-16-16, applied along the row at planting time will get the plants off to a good start. A good compost or organic fertilizer will also supply the needed nutrients for onions. The OSU Extension Service offers a guide to help you grow root crops, including onions. EC 1231, "Grow Your Own Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Onions, and Similar Crops," is available online for no charge at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/ec/ec1231/ Or call 1-800-561-6719 to purchase a printed copy.

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