Walla Walla Sweet Onions Pt 2

Walla Walla Sweet Onions Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Sweet onion harvest is underway in Walla Walla and the crop is looking great in spite of the cooler, wetter spring we’ve experienced.

Fourth generation onion farmer and Chair of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee, Michael Locati says despite a slow start, the onions are looking really good …

LOCATI … “Yeah, can’t complain. Like I said, it was just a little bit of a weird start. We were going to start, boy, like the 10th or even the 9th and then it rained two inches, you know, so it took a little bit to get the fields dried out enough to go and they wanted to keep growing and all the normal stuff that happens with cool, wet weather.”

And the reddish Rose’ sweets, Locati says are off and

running as well …

LOCATI … “Yeah, yeah, we started on those yesterday so we’re, should start shipping, hopefully, next week. Yeah, they look good. You know, it’s been nice not to have all the sun so they’re not getting sunburned risk. So, hopefully it stays that way for the next little while.”

Not that sunshine, Locati says is necessarily a bad thing …

LOCATI … “But, you know, it’s better than being 120 degrees out, chuckles. No, we’re not complaining. No, no, we’re good. We got enough of that for a lifetime.”

Locati says the Walla Walla Sweets will probably cost a little more this year thanks to inflation, soaring input costs, and labor, but are worth every penny.

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