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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2018)
8 in other words april19 2018 Diggin’ in the Dirt: Weeds We Don’t Want By Chip Bubl Oregon State University Extension Service - Columbia County OSU Master Gardener’s™ Spring Garden Fair: Saturday, April 28 The OSU/Columbia County Master Gardener’s™ Spring Garden Fair at St. Helens High School Com- mons, 2375 Gable Rd. St. Helens, OR, will be held on April 28 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. The OSU Master Gardeners™ will sell roughly 5,000 tomatoes of more than 30 varieties, provide tomato and general gardening information, and have a number of educational displays. There will also be dozens of local vendors of- fering garden plants and other garden re- lated products. Watch for Vernonia’s own Spring Garden Fair on Saturday, May 12! The Vernonia Community Gar- den Group will be putting on the third annual Spring Garden Fair at the Verno- nia School Commons on Saturday, May 12 from 9:00 am-3:00 pm. There will be certified organic tomato plants for sale as well as other garden plants and gar- den related items from local and regional vendors. There will be an information table staffed with Master Gardeners™ to answer your garden questions. Note the posters going up around town and watch Vernonia’s Voice for more information. Weeds of the month: garlic mustard and gorse Garlic mustard is native to Eu- rope, and Central and East Asia. It was introduced to North America as a culi- nary herb. It is a biennial with a particu- lar talent for colonizing shady areas like the forest floor. Once there, it crowds out native plants through shading and chemical competition. It is a nasty piece of work. And it is blooming right now. Each individual plant can produce 5,000 seeds that remain viable for at least five years. Seed is easily spread by flooding, tires, hoofs, paws, or hikers. The plant in the immature stage is most confused with nipplewort. So far, there hasn’t been any gar- lic mustard in Vernonia but it could eas- ily show up. We have two populations in Columbia County, a small one in St. Helens that the city is helping to man- age and a larger one in the North Scap- poose creek area that the Scappoose Bay Watershed Council has their sights on. It won’t be easy. For more information on garlic mustard, go to https://www. kingcounty.gov/services/environment/ animals-and-plants/noxious-weeds/ weed-identification/garlic-mustard.aspx. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) is not a plant that many of you have seen in Co- lumbia County. The point of this article on gorse is that we want to keep it that way. You will know why soon. Gorse is native to Mediterra- nean regions of Europe. It has spread through much of Europe and is espe- cially abundant in Great Britain and Ire- land. It was introduced to the U.S. West Coast as an ornamental in the late 1800s and was first found in Oregon in 1916. There are now large stands of gorse along the southern Or- egon coast in Douglas, Lane, Coos, and Curry counties and fragmented infestations elsewhere. From a distance, especially when it is in bloom, gorse looks a lot like Scotch broom. Both plants are legumes, which means they can fix nitrogen and occupy rather nutritionally desolate ar- eas. Both prefer full sun but can do with some shade. Gorse, to my eye, is a bit squatter and less upright in comparison NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the Vernonia School District 47J, Columbia County, State of Oregon, on the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, will be held at 1000 Missouri Street, Vernonia Oregon. The meeting will take place on May 3, 2018 at 6:00 PM. The purpose of the meeting is to receive the budget message. This is a public meeting where deliberation of the Budget Committee will take place. An additional, separate meeting of the Budget Committee will be held to take public comment. Any person may appear at the meeting and discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee. The meeting for public comment will be on: Date: May 10, 2018 Time: 6:00 PM Location: 1000 Missouri Street, Vernonia Oregon in the library upstairs. A copy of the budget document may be inspected or obtained on or after May 3, 2018 at 1000 Missouri Street, Vernonia Oregon, school district office, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM 150-504-073-1 (Rev 01-15) to Scotch broom. Both are woody ev- ergreens and both produce yellow pea- like flowers about mid-May into June. Bloom can be earlier for both in coastal zones. One big difference is the spines that develop on gorse. These are wicked, needle-like structures from .5 - 2 inches long. I first made their acquaintance in Ireland many years ago and it was no fun at all. A subtle but consequential differ- ence is the resin content of gorse. The leaves, stems, and dried plant parts are highly flammable. Bandon burned in 1936, in large part due to the gorse fuel load that surrounded the town. Gorse produces pods that con- tain seeds capable of living for 50 years or more. It will not surprise you that gorse seeds germinate in response to fire or other soil disturbances. Mechanically removing gorse usually is followed by a dense stand of seedlings the next spring. Good management will focus on quick planting of an aggressive grass and le- gume cover on such sites. Once the cov- er is established, gorse seed emergence is largely suppressed. There are a number of Gorse herbicides that are effec- tive on gorse. The dead woody material remains flammable until enough decay reduces its oil con- tent. Several insect para- sites of gorse have been introduced with modest results. Livestock will graze newly emerged gorse seedlings but will not feed extensively on more mature plants. What we want is NO GORSE! Every site I know of that has been found in Columbia County had previously ex- perienced heavy equipment activity on the site (logging on several and BPA high voltage tower management equip- ment on another). Vernonia and Camp Wilkerson were two of the three sites. The clear implication is that seed was brought in on the equipment. All known sites were treated. For more information on gorse, go to https://catalog.extension. oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/proj- ect/pdf/ec1593.pdf. This is where you come in. Get to know the plants. Look at the pictures and go online for more information. If you are hunting (for deer, mushrooms, or both), just out hiking, or whatever, keep your eyes open and if you spot what you think is gorse or garlic mustard bring back a sample and/or a close-up pic- ture and note the location as precisely as possible. Then call the Extension of- fice (503) 397-3462 or the SWCD office (503) 397-4555. Take excess produce to the food bank, senior centers, or community meals programs. Cash donations to buy food are also greatly appreciated. The Extension Service offers its pro- grams and materials equally to all people. Free newsletter The Oregon State University Extension office in Columbia County publishes a monthly newsletter on gar- dening and farming topics (called Coun- try Living) written/edited by yours truly. All you need to do is ask for it and it will be mailed to you. Call (503) 397-3462 to be put on the list. Alternatively, you can sign up for email notification of when to find the latest edition on the web at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/colum- bia/. Contact information for the Extension office Oregon State University Extension Service – Columbia County 505 N. Columbia River Highway (across from the Legacy clinic) St. Helens, OR 97051 (503) 397-3462 Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the Columbia County 4H and Extension Service District, Columbia County, State of Oregon to discuss the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, will be held at the OSU Extension office, 505 N. Columbia River Highway, St. Helens, Oregon. The meeting will take place on April 18th at 12:15 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to receive the budget message and to receive comment from the public on the budget. This is a public meeting where deliberation of the Budget Committee will take place. Any person may appear at the meeting and discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee. A copy of the budget document may be inspected or obtained on or after April 18th, 2018 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm at the OSU Extension office at 505 N. Columbia River Highway, St. Helens OR. FOR TOWING EMERGENCIES IN AND AROUND THE VERNONIA AREA VERNONIA C H I RO P R AC T I C C L I N I C, I NC. VernoniaChiro.com Joseph Dombek, DC (971) 248-4055 Now Accepting New Patients 610 Bridge Street • Vernonia, OR 97064 • Kitchen & Bathroom Remodels • Finish Carpentry • Ceramic Tile Work • Custom Home Construction • Additions • Commercial Tenant Improvements Jim Morrison, Jr. General Contractor CCB# 112057 Police and County personnel are required to use a rotation of available providers, UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY ASK for a service by name. REQUEST TOWING SERVICE FROM Ph: (503) 429-0154 MorrisonRemodeling@hughes.net Vernonia, OR 97064 • Licensed • Bonded • Insured Shop Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00 - 6:00
