4 Summer 2013 Applegater
Sanctuary One comes clean...
one cup of vinegar at a time
by becky owston
To say that the folks at Sanctuary One
are committed to caring for the earth is a
bit of an understatement. On any given
afternoon, a stroll around the property
reveals stewardship at every level: a corps
of sun-hatted volunteers lovingly tending
to permaculture-inspired gardens; interns
diligently adding vegetable scraps, manure
and other organics to compost piles,
working to create healthy usable soil from
materials that would otherwise be turned
into waste; groups of visiting schoolkids
enjoying up-close encounters with rescued
pets and farm animals. A cistern catches
rainwater for use in the garden, while a drip
irrigation system throughout the property
conserves as much water as possible. The
street-side commingle recycling bin is filled
with cans, glass jars and empty cereal boxes,
while two newly installed 30-gallon tubs
harbor items from baling twine to plastic
feed bags slated for fall’s plastic roundup.
And starting this month, volunteers
are taking Sanctuary One’s sustainability
efforts to the next level by creating
homemade cleaning products for use at the
farm. From herbal disinfectant to laundry
powder to sink and tile cleanser, the
possibilities for producing do-it-yourself
(DIY) safe, highly effective cleaners are
practically endless. And the benefits
are myriad: it’s yet another hands-on
opportunity at Sanctuary One, and a great
way for staff, interns and volunteers to take
ownership of one more important aspect
of farm duties. (You’d be amazed at the
amount of cat and dog towels, beds and
blankets that need to be laundered on a
regular basis!) Because all of the ingredients
can be purchased in bulk, fewer trips to the
store are required. And the cost? A fraction
of what you’d pay for a comparable product
at the supermarket.
Of course, special consideration
is required when using certain natural
ingredients in proximity to animals.
“Tea tree and some cedar essential oils,
for example,” says Dr. Jeff Judkins of
Animalkind Veterinary Clinic, “are toxic
to cats and should always be avoided.” As
for the efficacy of natural cleaning products
in an animal boarding facility? “The goal
is not to sterilize (it can’t be done), but to
sanitize,” says Judkins. “Lemon balm and
lavender oil have antiviral and antibacterial
properties and can be used just as effectively
as conventional disinfectants.”
The concept of homemade cleaning
products is nothing new. Folks have been
making their own cleaning supplies since,
well, the beginning of dirt. Long before
commercial household products were
Applegate has a lot to pull for
by barbara summerhawk
It’s not the zombie apocalypse that’s
going to get us, it’s those creepy invasive
aliens like star thistle, blackberries, garlic
mustard, Japanese knotweed, poison
hemlock and puncture vine settling into
our fields and roadways that will wreak
quiet havoc with our local flora (and
consequently fauna) that we should worry
about.
In order to educate local citizens about
noxious weed control, the Cooperative
Weed Management Association (CWMA)
is planning a “Let’s Pull Together” event
scheduled for June 15 from 9 am to 1
pm at the Coyote Trails Nature Center in
Medford. Two hours of pulling followed
by a barbecue and raffle will be informative
as well as fun.
“Mainly, we will be pulling ivy,
puncture vine and yellow star thistle,”
explains Sam Whitridge of the CWMA.
The CWMA, funded by the Bureau
of Land Management, holds monthly
meetings of its volunteers to coordinate
weed control, and an annual weed pull
that Whitridge hopes will “gather as many
volunteers as possible” in this outreach on
managing the noxious invasive.
Star thistle is no stranger to valley
residents. It is a native of Eurasia that
made its way via South America into
California about the time of the Gold
Rush. As most residents surely know, star
thistle infests roadsides and open areas,
rapidly depleting soil moisture. Lovers
of strong light, star thistle can have a seed
output as high as 30,000 seeds per square
yard. Control cannot be completed in one
season and has to be ongoing, according
to weed management authorities. Mowing
and cultivation types of control have to
be accurately timed. Burning, grazing
goats, sheep or cattle on star thistle
can also be effective. (Star thistle is,
however, poisonous to horses.) There are
also a variety of biological management
possibilities using certain insects.
The Himalayan blackberry, which
attracts pickers along Oregon roadsides
later in the summer, is a European shrub
that was introduced to the U.S. as a crop
in the late 19th century, but escaped
cultivation and invaded low-level stream
areas. Blackberries can provide some
erosion control and stream cover, but native
plants are superior for these purposes.
Management involves mowing or hand
slashing, then removing or killing the roots
and seeding native vegetation.
A summer annual broadleaf weed
native to southern Europe is the puncture
vine. It has a deep taproot system that
competes aggressively for soil water and
nutrients. Management can be achieved
through reducing the amount of seeds in
the soil by removing the plants before they
developed, cleaning was carried out using
natural products like vinegar, lemons, salt
and bicarbonate of soda. But around the
start of the 20th century, things began to
change. Commercial household products
started showing up on shelves, convincing
us of the need for harsh toxic degreasers,
defoamers, solvents, descalers, additives
and inhibitors to make our countertops
shine and our bathtubs sparkle.
But ironically, while keeping our
floors glossy and our socks perfumy with
these industrial-strength products, we’re
also exposing ourselves to some pretty
serious endocrine disruptors, carcinogens
and neurotoxins, which are especially
worrisome for people with allergies, asthma
and compromised immune systems. Not
to mention all the packaging we’re adding
to the garbage stream.
As we become increasingly conscious
produce seeds, at or before flowering. This
is usually accomplished by hand removal,
hoeing and raking.
Introduced from Europe as a food
plant, the garlic mustard is rapidly
becoming a serious concern in forests
across the land. Like the other weeds
mentioned here, garlic mustard has a
very high seed production rate and needs
to be controlled by hand-pulling entire
individual plants or by herbicides. Plants
can grow three feet tall and have small,
white, four-petaled flowers. The leaves
often smell like garlic when they are
crushed. Although mechanical control
(hand-pulling, hoeing, etc.) would be
ideal when thinking of environmental
impact, it may not be sufficient, making
herbicides an alternative for large, dense
infestations of not only garlic mustard, but
also all of these noxious invaders. Contact
the CWMA or the local county extension
office for recommendations on herbicides
and how to use them.
Poison hemlock is the beautifully
green, tall, white flowering perennial
commonly found near wetter disturbed
areas. This invasive plant looks like Queen
Anne’s lace, but don’t be fooled: this species
is toxic to humans and animals. Poison
hemlock can be eradicated by mechanical
means or hand-pulling, but be sure to wear
protective gloves and clothing.
Last to be listed, but not the final
invasive species found in the Rogue basin,
is the Japanese knotweed, which has
recently made its debut in the Applegate
Valley near the Williams Creek area. This
of what goes into our bodies, as well as the
impact we have on the planet, it’s good to
know we’ve got options. Of course, the
market is currently saturated with all sorts
of “eco-cleaning” alternatives for those who
strive for a chemical-free household, but
aren’t quite ready to take the DIY plunge.
But the high price of these products can
be prohibitive. And just because a product
has the word “green” on its label or in its
marketing verbiage, don’t automatically
assume it’s eco-friendly!
Think you might like to give
homemade cleaners a try yourself? An ideal
“gateway product” is a simple all-purpose
cleaner, one of the easiest sprays to make,
requiring ingredients you probably already
have in your kitchen. Simply create a 50/50
mix of water and distilled white vinegar. If
you like, add a couple drops of lavender,
lemon or other essential oil. Pour it into a
spray bottle et voilà—it’s that easy.
You can find lots of nontoxic household
recipes on the Internet. Just search around,
read other peoples’ comments and don’t
be afraid to experiment to determine
what works best for you. A good resource
is http://library.oregonmetro.gov/files//
green_cleaners_brochure_2012.pdf.
Another excellent resource is The
Naturally Clean Home: 150 Super-Easy
Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning by
Karyn Siegal-Maier.
Becky Owston
chickmunk@gmail.com
Note: Becky Owston is a volunteer at
Sanctuary One and a 2012 graduate of the
Jackson County Master Recyclers program.
Japanese knotweed, the latest noxious
weed to hit the Applegate area.
species will overrun native riparian buffer
plantings. The stems emerge in late March
to mid April and can be over six feet tall
before May. It is a spreading noxious
weed that has to be controlled through
the rhizomes.
Residents who want to read in depth
about these noxious flora can check out
the link on the Applegate Partnership
and Watershed Council (APWC) website
at http://www.apwc.info/news-events/
invasive-species-information/. We are
one of this year’s sponsors of the “Let’s
Pull Together” event in June and hope to
continue providing the Applegate Valley
with important information about invasive
weeds. The first level of management is
education, and by “pulling together” with
neighbors and friends we can learn how
to rid the valley of these noxious invaders.
The CWMA along with the APWC and
other sponsoring groups hope to see you
out there on June 15.
Barbara Summerhawk • 541-899-9982
Board Member, Applegate Partnership
and Watershed Council
barbsummerhawk@yahoo.com