With temperatures in the mid- to high 80s, good irrigation and a knowledgeable grower base, Walla Walla Sweets from Sweet Clover Produce have been “growing like gangbusters” and could even ship a bit early this season.

Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield, sales manager for the Walla Walla, WA-based Sweet Clover operation, said that his shipments of the official Washington state vegetable could begin mid-June.

“The last few years they’ve started the third week of June,” Mr. Brownfield said. “This early date isn’t absolute, but it is a possibility, depending on the heat units we get between now and then.”

Fernando Enriquez Sr. and Fernando Enriquez Jr. with Sweet Clover Produce’s Pat and Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield. (Photo courtesy of Sweet Clover Produce)He added that the Walla Walla Sweets are being grown primarily by the father-and-son team of Fernando Enriquez Sr. and Jr., although other growers in the designated Walla Walla growing region will also contribute to production volume in 2013.

“Quality looks very good,” he said. “And our other varieties are coming along really well, too.”

As the season ramps up, Northwest organic sweet yellows are expected to start shipping in mid-July, along with the new-crop Red Wing single-center reds grown in Quincy, WA.

New-crop whites, yellows, sweets and organics are currently available from the vertically integrated onion grower, shipper and marketer through its year-round sweet onion program that includes product sourced from outside growing areas.

Mr. Brownfield has emphasized the increase in production of Sweet Clover’s Northwest organic yellows, organic sweet yellows and organic reds.

The company is also certified for export to the European Union through an agreement struck by the United States and the European Union in 2012. GSI barcodes are on every onion sticker, and Sweet Clover provides complete traceability. Sheds are GAP-certified and are in compliance with state and federal food-safety protocol.