Applegater Spring 2012 15
OSU County
Master Gardener Extension Classes
Feeling impatient? Need to scratch your
gardening itch? Relax. Help is on the
way! Just when you feel like you can’t
possibly wait another day, along comes
the annual …
Jackson County Master Gardener
Spring Fair
Saturday, May 5, 9 am to 5 pm
Sunday, May 6, 10 am to 4 pm
Jackson County Expo Center
Now in its 33rd year, the Spring Fair
is the largest event of its kind between
San Francisco and Portland. You’ll
discover an astonishing array of healthy
plants, quality products and priceless
expertise. You’ll also feel the buzz as
thousands of like-minded gardeners,
families and friends converge for two
full days of education, information and
celebration.
Hosted by the Jackson County
Master Gardener Association, the
Annual Spring Fair is the only place
in southern Oregon where you can
experience hundreds of growers, vendors
and garden experts—all under one roof.
Food is available, admission is $3.00 and
parking is free.
For information, call 541-776-7371
or visit http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
sorec/.
Also this spring, the Jackson County
Master Gardener Association will host a
series of informative Saturday and evening
classes at the OSU Extension Auditorium,
569 Hanley Road (between Jacksonville
and Central Point). This season’s topics
include:
Summer Care of Grape Vines
Saturday, May 12, 9 am – noon
This class will teach you how to
manage your backyard vines after pruning.
Topics include shoot thinning, controlling
head suckering, training for growth and
controlling crop load. Dress appropriately
for outdoor demonstrations.
Choose and Grow
Rock Garden Plants
Tuesday, May 15, 7 – 9 pm
Learn how to make the most of a
rocky growing site…or how to create
one. This inspirational class introduces
the basics of rock gardening, including
suitable plants, soils, containers—and the
Elegant tarweed
BY SuziE SAVoiE
Long before fields in the Applegate
were covered in nonnative and invasive
star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), they
were covered with the dainty, yellow, daisy-
like flowers of the native elegant tarweed
(Madia elegans).
Tarweed (see photo at right) is an
annual wildflower in the sunflower family.
It occurs in grasslands and open forest
below 11,000 feet in elevation. It flowers in
summer and early autumn, and grows from
northern Oregon through California and
the Great Basin, south to Baja, California.
The flowers curl up during the daytime
and open only in the late afternoon and
early morning. The foliage exudes fragrant
oil, and the plants are sticky, hence the
common name tarweed. It is an often-
overlooked native plant that deserves more
respect.
The seeds of tarweed are eaten by
many birds and small mammals, such as
mourning doves, quail, blackbirds, finches,
Oregon juncos, California horned larks,
western meadowlarks, American pipits,
sparrows, towhees, mice, ground squirrels
and chipmunks.
Tarweed seeds were historically used
as food by tribes such as the Dakubetede,
Takelma, Latgawa, Dagelma and Shasta
that inhabited the Applegate and Rogue
Valleys before European settlement. The
use of tarweed seeds by Applegate tribes
was recorded by early ethnographer John
best rocks to use. Features a photographic
tour of several local rock gardens.
Growing Vegetables and Herbs
in Containers
Wednesday, May 30, 7 – 9 pm
Find out how to grow fresh, delicious
treats—even when your time and space are
limited. This helpful class teaches about
containers and soils—and explains which
herbs and vegetables grow well together.
Ideal for renters, or anyone who’d like to
make their vegetable garden more carefree
and accessible.
Don’t Be Afraid of Perennials
Thursday, June 14, 7 – 9 pm
Tailored to southern Oregon’s weather
and growing seasons, this class takes you
beyond the ordinary perennial choices and
teaches how—with a little planning—you
can enjoy great-looking, long-lasting
blooms in your garden every month of
the year.
Introduction to Permaculture:
The Self-Sustaining Garden
Thursday, June 28, 7 – 9 pm
Join the movement of concerned
Harrington. Examples of how
tarweed seeds were historically used
include:
• Seeds parched and pounded
into flour.
• Seeds roasted with hot coals,
pounded or rolled into flour.
• Pulverized seeds eaten as a
dry meal.
• Seeds used to make pinoles.
Seeds roasted and eaten alone or
mixed with manzanita berries,
acorns and pine nuts.
• Ground tarweed mixed with
ground hazelnuts and camas.
Many people are familiar with
the use of camas and acorns for food;
however, small seed crops, such as
wild grass and tarweed, were also
vitally important to the indigenous
See tArwEED, page 23
home gardeners who successfully
reduce their “carbon footprint” through
permaculture. You’ll learn principles and
techniques that can increase your garden’s
vitality, while managing weeds and pests
in an environmentally sustainable way.
Growing Ferns in the Rogue Valley
Monday, July 9, 7 – 9 pm
The botany of ferns, including
their differences from other plants, will
be explained. Ferns native to the Rogue
Valley will be explored. Also included:
How to choose an appropriate fern for
your location and how to prepare the
soil.
Winter Veggie Gardens
Thursday, July 26, 7 – 9 pm
What can grow outdoors in winter
months? Garden maintenance, seed
starting, frost protection, varieties of
vegetables and herbs that will grow all
winter in our region will be covered.
Ornamentals will also be addressed.
Ad m i s s i o n t o t h e s e c l a s s e s
is $5; free to Master Gardeners.
For information, call 541-776-7371.
