Paving the way with fryer oil The heat, the petroleum fumes… No one likes to be stuck behind an asphalt paving truck on a sweltering summer day. But, for the last 100 years, asphalt has played an integral role in building a strong American economy, keeping us all connected via our sprawling, easily accessible web […]
Green Times is a monthly electronic newsletter for the friends and stakeholders of the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), WSU Extension and the Agricultural Research Center. Subscribe here. Flushed: redefining “waste” and exploring attitudes on compost Compost made from what’s flushed down toilets and drains can return important nutrients back to […]
Growing quinoa in the Pacific Northwest Growing quinoa where few have grown before, Hannah Walters and Adam Peterson are learning a lot about how the protein-packed seed crop fares in the Pacific Northwest: the importance of starting small in unfamiliar territory, using proper irrigation, understanding how much heat the plant can take. At a test […]
Tell Us What You Really Think We think it’s about time we ask our readers what they think. Would you please take five minutes to answer a short poll about our online newsletters? In appreciation, we’ll enter your name (if you so choose) in a drawing to win one of three prizes: The Crimson Spoon […]
The Spirit of Kulera Mike Whiteman grew up on a cattle ranch in Idaho, but he always wanted to go to Africa. That aspiration led him, most recently, to the small, southeast Africa country of Malawi, where both the people and environment depend on the region’s delicate state of natural resources to sustain life. “There […]
Tree Power: Poplars to Fuel Pacific Northwest Bioenergy Industry A biofuels industry is coming to the Pacific Northwest and it’s making partners out of gridiron rivals. Rick Gustafson is certain that poplar trees will soon power cars, trucks, and even airplanes. “It’s coming and it’s going to be huge. It’s too sound a process and […]
Banking on Local Greens It’s the frustration of every gardener in the Inland Northwest and other northern parts of the country: You plant lettuce as soon as you can work the soil in the spring, but the temperature takes a dive, and instead of providing an early harvest, your seeds rot in the ground. “Brown […]
Native Plants in the Vineyard: Enhancing Ecosystems Robin Dobson and Kathleen Perillo know they will have succeeded in designing a resilient farming system when the Western Meadowlark returns to nest under their grapevines. At Klickitat Canyon and Columbia Gorge Winery and Meadowlark Vineyard in the Columbia River Gorge near Lyle, Washington, restoring native habitat is […]
Saving Honey Bees Honey bees face a lot of challenges, according to Steve Sheppard, professor of entomology at WSU. Invasive mites can sap a brood’s strength and vector viruses. Pesticides can build up in the brood comb and gradually weaken the bees. And while the agricultural practice of monoculture provides a lot of food, it […]
Flower Power Helps Fight Pests Lessandro Gontijo, a doctoral student in the entomology department, sweeps for bugs. Washington State University researchers have found they can control one of fruit growers’ more severe pests — aphids — with a remarkably benign tool: flowers. The researchers recently published their study in the journal Biological Control. They found […]