This three-generation onion family isn't shedding any tears
Three generations ago, in 1890, Giovanni Arbini left Italy and came to the Walla Walla Valley in Washington. Today, the Arbini name is synonymous with the Early Walla Walla Sweet Onion.
Giovanni's grandson, Larry, admits that some people in the Walla Walla Valley may contest that statement. Back in Giovanni's day, there were a lot of Italian truck farmers in the region. And a lot of them grew sweet, early maturing onions.
A discovery
However, in 1923, Giovanni discovered that some onions matured earlier than others, so he began a process of bulb selection. By 1925, he had established the early Arbini onion. After several more years of experimenting and adapting the variety, he had the earliest maturing onion around.
A newspaper article in the July 11, 1937, Walla Walla Union Bulletin confirms this: ". . . the Arbini onion comes on the market fully matured about three weeks before other onions in the vicinity," the article states.
Besides that, a local historian, Joseph J. Locati, wrote a book called The Horticultural Heritage of Walla Walla County from 1818 to 1977. In it, he credits Giovanni Arbini with perfecting the onion. So naturally, the Arbinis lay claim to the statement that Giovanni is responsible for the Early Walla Walla Sweet Onion.
The next generations
No matter how debatable the origins of the onion are, one thing is for sure: The Arbinis think the onion business is pretty sweet.
All six of Giovanni's sons grew the onions. Each had a house and 4 acres of onions lined up side by side on "Arbini Avenue." Each made a living and retired on only 4 acres.
Of course, today things are a lot different. In 1966, Giovanni's grandson, Larry, began raising the onions with his dad, Anthony. He raises 30 acres.
He still farms some of the original Arbini ground. On that ground, he raises cucumbers and spinach.
He rents his onion ground. That's because of the problem with white rot. After about three continuous years of raising onions, little fungus that affects the onion family makes a field worthless for those crops.
The onion challenge
The white rot always starts in a small part of the field, often an entry point. To raise onions, you have to till the ground, because the bulbs need an even seedbed and lots of moisture. Each time you bring in a piece of equipment, the fungus spreads.
The only way to get rid of it is to fumigate. But that costs about $1,000 per acre, and three years later, you will probably have to do it again.
Arbini uses crop rotation and rented ground to avoid the problem. Because white rot only affects the onion family, it's safe for other crops. One of his landlords likes to put in wheat after onions, because of the high fertility and weed control that is left.
Another challenge is the high need for labor. After a machine undercuts the onions, hand laborers have to come in and do the harvesting. At any one time, there may be 60 to 70 workers in the field.
New harvesting method
Besides the continual challenges, there are also continual changes. Larry Arbini remembers raising onions when he was a boy on the farm in the 1950s. Back then, they didn't have packing sheds like today, so more was done in the field. At the shipping houses, federal inspectors would randomly check bags of onions for quality. Then, they would go on the railcar.
Today, there are new ways to ensure quality. This harvest, the Arbinis tried a new bagging method for the first time. Their bulk distributor, Fresh Pack, tried it last year and liked it.
As always, Arbini undercuts the onions with a machine. Then workers come in and "top and tail" (cut off the roots and tops). Here's where things change. Before, the onions would then sit on the ground for several hours. That was a problem if it rained or if it got hot and the onions burned.
With this new bagging method, the onions go immediately into 80-pound bags, but then they sit for five days. That allows them to cure in the field. The bags are waterproof, and they have good ventilation, so the onions don't burn. Each bag is weighed in the field to ensure quality.
The Arbinis are pleased with the method, especially because growing conditions were just right this year. Onion yields are based on 50-pound sacks, and in years like this, they average 800 50-pound sacks per acre.
A family affair
Most of their onions are sold in bulk, but each June, the Arbinis ship 300 to 400 gift boxes all over the country. It all started in late 1990 when the Fort Walla Walla Historical Society asked them about supplying gift boxes for tourists. "We talked about doing something like that before, but this was the push to get us going," says Gall Arbini, the driving force behind this.
They really had to feel their way through the first year, but now they are experts. "The confusion has been reduced somewhat because of all the help," she says.
The help comes from all sides of the family. Jennifer, Jason, and Andrew Arbini all jump in to help their mom and dad. Jason's wife, Molly, also gets time off from her job as a dental assistant to pitch in. Larry's mom, Helen, comes over to help, and nephew, Ryan Henderson, from Olympia, Washington, shows up each year.
Gail's nephew, Don Reiter, his wife Kelli, and their daughter Amy from Seattle, Washington, make onion harvest their vacation each year. "They say they are coming to the Onion Dude Ranch for their summer vacation," says Gail.
Over time, everyone has developed their own specialty. Each year Gail sends out advance notices. As the orders come in, she and daughter Jennifer log that information into the computer. About a week after harvest begins is when the gift boxes begin.
"I give Larry a week because of the confusion of getting started," says Gail. That extra week also lets them do some advanced sorting for size and quality. When it comes to the gift boxes, everything is done by hand.
Let the chaos begin
As soon as the time comes, everyone jumps into action. They have to move fast for two reasons: onion harvest only lasts for a few weeks starting in June, and sweet onions have a shorter shelf life than other varieties.
Gail, Jennifer, Molly, and Don Reiter handle packing the gift boxes. Kelli Reiter takes over the shipping and mailing duties at the computer. Everyone else helps with the actual harvest or pitches in where needed.
Usually, it takes three weeks to ship all of the onions. This year, they went into the fourth week. The first week is definitely the busiest. On the first Monday and Tuesday, they usually ship 80 to 90 boxes each day.
That's a good thing, because by the second week many of the helpers have gone home or back to work. Gail, Molly, and Jennifer are the only ones left to do the packing and shipping. By week three, it's just Gail.
And then it's all over. They can sit back, take a breath of sweet onion air, and think about next year.
Farm at a glance
Larry Arbini raises sweet onions, cucumbers and spinach in Walla Walla, Washington. He and his wife, Gall, have four children. Jarrod is an architect in Seattle; Jason works on the farm and aspires to be a fourth-generation farmer; Jennifer is a student at Western Washington University in Bellingham; and Andrew is a freshman at Walla Walla High School. They also have a daughter-in-law, Molly, and a granddaughter, Ashlyn, 2.
June is gift box time
The Arbinis have been shipping gift boxes (50-, 20- and 10-pound boxes) of sweet onions since 1991. For more information about the onions, visit their Web site at
www.arbinifarms.com or write to Arbini Farms, Rt. 1, Box 347, Walla Walla, WA 99362.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Meredith Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
