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Secret Garden Tour coming soon!

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New WSU research documents health benefits of organic soil

One of the hottest trends in gardening today is organic gardening which relies on natural processes to grow plants. There is now a growing consensus among scientists that organically grown fruits and vegetables may contain higher levels of nutrients than conventionally grown produce.

“Organic gardening is experiencing a surge in interest,” said Tonie Fitzgerald, state Master Gardener program leader for WSU Extension, “and there is more information about doing it correctly.”

Master Gardeners are university-trained volunteer educators who answer garden-related questions, teach gardening classes, and manage demonstration gardens on behalf of county extension offices across the state.

There is no question that organic gardening requires more work. Now there is growing scientific evidence showing that the extra effort may pay off in some nutritional benefits.

That was the conclusion of a panel of scientists at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this past February in Chicago. The scientists on the panel, which was organized by Preston Andrews, associate professor of horticulture at WSU, and The Organic Center, reviewed a decade of research comparing the impacts of organic and conventional farming systems on soil and food quality.

Among other studies, they cited research that has found that organically farmed tomatoes have higher levels of soluble solids and secondary plant metabolites. Most of the secondary plant metabolites are antioxidants, which help prevent human diseases.

Studies of 27 varieties of organically grown spinach found higher levels of flavonoids and vitamin C and lower levels of nitrates. Nitrates in food can form cancer-causing compounds.

Improved soil chemical and physical properties were seen in apples grown organically in research in Washington. Improvements in soil quality were shown to lead to added nutritional quality, taste, and storability.

Soil is made up principally of mineral particles, organic matter and microorganisms that break down organic residues into organic and eventually inorganic compounds. Organic matter is the residue of decomposing plant and animal material. Organic matter is the fodder for nutrient recycling in the soil, and it also improves soil structure and water retention.

What lessons can home gardeners learn from this research?
“Increase the organic matter content of your soil,” Andrews said. “I think one of the best ways you can do this is with compost. Feed the soil so that the soil microorganisms can provide readily available nitrogen and other nutrients that plants need, but in a more slow-release fashion than synthetic fertilizers do.”

Composting is the managed decomposition of plant and animal material, and is a way of speeding up what happens in the soil naturally. Yard wastes and vegetable scraps, which comprise as much as 20 percent of household garbage, can be recycled in the soil as compost, according to Craig Cogger and Dan Sullivan, authors of “Backyard Composting,” a free WSU Extension bulletin.

“With composting, you get some readily available sources of nitrogen and ammonium because the soil microorganisms produce them as the digest the proteins and then the amino acids that are broken down from the proteins,” Andrews said.

How long will it take to see benefits?

“It depends on the soil you start with and how greedy you are for producing something from the soil,” Andrews said. For depleted soils, he recommends planting a green manure crop, especially legumes which fix nitrogen from the air, then turning it into the soil and letting it decompose before planting a vegetable crop.

“You can add compost along with the green manure crop,” he said. “It really depends on the condition of the soil you start with and what you want to produce from it.”

“Backyard Composting” is available as a free download from WSU Extension at http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1784/eb1784.pdf.
WSU Extension Master Gardener can provide information on organic gardening and composting.

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Learn All About the Sweet Life…Beekeeping!

For the last time until Fall 2009, the popular 5-week Master Beekeeper apprentice level course will run in Everett starting April 6.

Don’t miss your last opportunity this spring to join WSU Snohomish County Extension and Beez Neez Apiary Supply as they sponsor the apprentice level course in the Master Beekeeper Program. This five-week course serves as a thorough introduction to beekeeping for novice beekeepers as well as a comprehensive refresher course for experienced apiculturists.

The course will be held Monday evenings, April 6 through May 4, 2009, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at WSU Snohomish County Extension, McCollum Park, 600 – 128th St SE, Everett.

Designed to build basic beekeeping skills, topics covered include bee biology, equipment, seasonal management requirements, identification and management of pests, as well as honey removal and processing. Overall focus will home in on the unique challenges and benefits to beekeeping in the Pacific Northwest.

A workshop manual complements the lectures. Participants completing the course and passing the Washington State Apprentice Beekeeper level exam (open book test) receive a certificate towards the Journey and Master Beekeeper levels. The instructor is local beekeeper and WSU Snohomish County Extension Entomologist Dave Pehling. In addition, Master Beekeeper Jim Tunnell, owner of Beez Neez Apiary in Snohomish, will provide testing assistance and expertise.

Space is filling fast and class size is limited. Register now to hold your spot. Cost for the five-week course is $50 per person. To register, contact Karie Christensen at (425) 338-2400, email klchristen@cahnrs.wsu.edu, or download the form at www.snohomish.wsu.edu/ag/workshops/beekeeping09.pdf and mail with your check.

For more information on the course, contact Dave Pehling, pehling@wsu.edu, (425) 357-6019.

Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Evidence of non-compliance may be reported through your local Extension Office. Persons with a disability requiring special accommodation can request accommodation 21 days before training at (425) 338.2400. If accommodation is not requested in advance, we cannot guarantee availability on-site.

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Bee Smart!

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WSU, Bee Industry Dedicate Funds to Study Colony Collapse Causes

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University scientists and Pacific Northwest beekeepers are joining forces to find out what is causing the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder that has wiped out thousands of hives throughout the region over the past several years.

Two large beekeepers in the Pacific Northwest – Eric Olson of Yakima and Tom Hamilton of Nampa, Idaho – have made donations as seed money for the research. Noyes Apiaries in New Plymouth, Idaho, the Idaho Honey Association and the Washington State Beekeepers Registration Fund also have made contributions. With those donations and dedicated funds from the WSU Agricultural Research Center, researchers will spend nearly $200,000 over the next two years to look at causes and possible treatments for the disease.

“Hive health is critically important to the bee industry in Washington, and bees are essential to pollinate many of our important crops,” said Ralph Cavalieri, associate dean in the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences and director of the Agricultural Research Center. “The financial partnership with the beekeepers will bolster our scientists’ work on this urgently important issue. This is a great start.”

The Washington State Beekeepers Association estimates overall statewide losses to the disease at between 35 percent and 50 percent in recent years. With eight of 10 of Washington’s most valuable crops – including apples – being “bee dependent,” Colony Collapse Disorder left unchecked could jeopardize the state’s agricultural economy.

Olson, who lost 4,000 hives worth approximately $1.2 million this spring, said investing in the research and paying for any treatment that is found will be well worth the expense. “The most expensive thing I have is a dead beehive,” he said.

Olson said the “smoking gun” for CCD appears to be Nosema ceranae, a microsporidium that attacks the bee’s ability to process food. WSU entomology professor Walter (Steve) Sheppard agrees that Nosema is a likely culprit. The men are working on a large-scale colony health survey that involves testing bees every 30 days for several major pests and pathogens. They started in January.

“We checked 24 hives in January, and it was stunning what we saw,” Olson said, describing a Nosema build-up in a majority of the bees sampled. He treated the hive with a mega-dose of the antibiotic fumagillin. “That should have caused the Nosema to either disappear or at least go down, but the levels went up,” he said.

Richard Zack, chair of the WSU department of entomology, said Colony Collapse Disorder is just the latest in a number of factors that have threatened the bee-keeping industry for many years.

“This is a long-term problem that started a number of years ago,” he said. “The people who can provide commercial pollinating services are disappearing, and if we solve this specific problem, another one will come along. The goal of this research is to build a program that can help the industry become sustainable again no matter what happens in terms of disease, nutrition and a thousand other factors.”
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