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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2015)
3C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 NATALIE ST. JOHN — EO Media Group Debbie Haugsten cares for some of the flowering plants in her large greenhouse near Klipsan Beach. tering some of my plants like my collection of gerani- ums. And I can work in the greenhouse in the pouring rain. in the garden Q&A child. I do so enjoy being outdoors in my own yard planting, cleaning up, and — yes — weeding. I don’t like to weed but after an area has been weeded I feel I have accomplished something great. And my husband says that when I finish gardening for the day I look like I have been rolling around in the dirt with our dog — so that’s proof positive that I am having fun. Q: What has been your biggest gardening success? A: I would say my biggest gardening success is grow- ing plants from cuttings and seeds and then watching them flourish in my gar- I plant what den. I have grown a complete hedge of shrubs from cuttings. Propagating plants I love and do is almost magical to me. not concern with Debbie Haugsten Q: Tell us about your greenhouse and the advan- tages it provides your gardening? A: My greenhouse is a true sanctuary for me. I love being surrounded by the foliage and flowers. The big advantage of having a greenhouse for me is being able to propagate with cuttings and seeds with the luxury of protection and climate control. I also use it for overwin- Q: What’s the most recent garden- ing book you’ve read that you would recommend? A: “Back in the Garden with Dulcy” by Ted Mahar is a wonderful collaboration of gardening columns from The Orego- nian by the late Dulcy Mahar. Dulcy’s columns talk of her adventures in gar- dening in the Pacific Northwest, includ- ing gardening advice and some hilarious stories of her gardening successes and Q: What part of your personality is reflected in your garden? myself with A: My gardens are eclectic and diverse balance and just like the interior of my home. I plant what I love and do not concern myself symmetry. with balance and symmetry. My gardens exhibit many different textures, shapes and colors, especially with my flowers. I am slowly cul- failures. Debbie Haugsten, whose hobbies include gardening and tivating a good group of perennial flowers that return jewelry making, became a member of the Clatsop County every year — another bit of the magic for me. Master Gardeners Association in 2008. She is also a mem- Q: Describe the pleasure you gain from working in ber of the Peninsula Arts Association. She is married to Dave Haugsten and their family includes Ralph, a Golden Retriev- your garden. A: I have always loved gardening even as a small er. Poison hemlock often mistaken for edible plants `If you’re wrong, you’re in big trouble,’ expert warns what they’re about to add to a salad is delicious or deadly. “If you’re not a botanist ... I mean, you could give it to me and in the lab we could look at it under a microscope DQG WHOO \RX GH¿QLWLYHO\´ VDLG &LQG\ Riskin, master of environmental horti- culture, who wrote a press release for the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board warning the public of the dangers of misidentifying poison hemlock. Outside of a lab, though, foragers really only get to be wrong once about poison hemlock, Riskin said. “If you’re ZURQJ\RX¶UHLQELJWURXEOH´ By KATIE WILSON EO Media Group WASHINGTON STATE — So far this year, the Washington Poison Cen- ter has treated 10 people who have eat- en poison hemlock, an invasive weed IRXQGWKURXJKRXWWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW that can easily be mistaken for an edible plant. Though the reported numbers are average for any given year, not all in- cidents are reported and the 10 cases as of mid-May could be just the tip of the iceberg, said Dr. Alexander Garrard, the center’s toxicologist and clinic manag- ing director. Poison hemlock, or Conium mac- ulatum, is not related to the hemlock tree, but can be deadly. There is no antidote for the toxic alkaloids in poi- son hemlock, although the effects can be managed through supportive care. All of the plant’s parts can kill hu- mans and animals, even when dried, and it can easily be mistaken for more benign members of the carrot or pars- ley family (Apiaceae), including wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace), parsley, parsnip, sweet cicely, anise, fennel, wild chervil and caraway, as well as FREE PUBLISHED THE FIRST FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH January 2015 Widespread plant Poison hemlock is widespread in Washington state, growing along Courtesy of William & Wilma Follette/US- stream banks and roadsides, in vacant DA-NRCS PLANTS Database lots and construction sites, especially Poison hemlock is a common plant where the soil is moist. It even creeps in western Washington state, with into gardens. One person died in 1999 accidental poisonings most likely in Washington after eating the plant, to occur in the spring when it most and another died in 2010. The Greek closely resembles several other philosopher Socrates famously killed plant species, some of which may himself by drinking poison-hemlock be gathered for food by foragers. tea in 399 B.C. after being accused of refusing to recognize the gods recog- the toxic Western water hemlock, or nized by the state and “corrupting the watercress, which is in another fam- \RXWK´ ily. In Washington in 2012, approxi- In spring, a lot of these plants’ mately 17 people were reported to have OHDYHV ÀRZHUV DQG VHHGV ORRN VLPL- been exposed to poison hemlock — a ODU PDNLQJ LW HYHQ PRUH GLI¿FXOW IRU high number regional newspapers as- IRUDJHUVDQGJDUGHQHUVWR¿JXUHRXWLI cribed to the rising popularity of forag- ess in the Chronicling the Joy of Busin n Columbia-Pacific Regio striverbusinessjournal crbizjournal.com • facebook.com/coa Volume 10 • Issue 1 stry spo allenges Inside: Indu copes with ch Shellfish farm an conditions oce nging s optimistic despite cha tlight: Taylor remain ing for wild, edible plants. Once eaten, however, poison hem- lock quickly reveals itself to be much more than an attractive-looking salad green. The toxic alkaloids attack the nervous system, causing symptoms such as a burning sensation in the mouth, nausea, vomiting, confusion, rapid heartbeat, seizures and paralysis. For some people, even touching the plant may cause a severe skin reaction. People die from eating poison hemlock due to respiratory paralysis. One Bellingham-area man chopped up poison hemlock with garlic, carrots and onions in 2013, according to local news reports. Minutes after eating a small amount he said tremors began to run throughout his entire body. He spent four hours in the emergency room and felt fatigued for days after- ward, but suffered no long-term dam- age. A representative of the Whatcom County Noxious Weed Control Board said he was lucky. “Misidentifying poison hemlock or other toxic plants can have truly tragic UHVXOWV´VDLG$OLVRQ+DOSHUQH[HFXWLYH secretary of the Washington State Nox- ious Weed Control Board in a statement this month. “Learn from an expert be- fore foraging for wild plants, and if you think you have poison hemlock on your property, contact your county weed board, conservation district or WSU ([WHQVLRQRI¿FHWROHDUQKRZWRVDIHO\ JHWULGRILW´ Available at a newsstand near you NEWS County makes a splash PacifIc in the pot biz page 10 NEWS Seaside Muffler and Off-Road 21 revs up its reputation page BOAT OF THE MONTH The Sadie out of South Bend, Wash. page 24 Appearance changes As the poison hemlock continues to grow, it has more recognizable features though it is still all too easy to mistake it for something else. Telltale character- istics include purple spots on a smooth, hairless hollow stem that grows 2 to 12 feet tall accompanied by a musty VPHOO'XULQJLWV¿UVW\HDULWUHVHPEOHV a rosette of glossy, fernlike leaves and its stem may or may not show purple. In its second year, the poison hemlock pro- duces umbrella-shaped clusters of white ÀRZHUVZKLFKGHYHORSLQWRULGJHGVHHGV Wild carrot, for which it is often mistak- en, is usually only 3 feet tall or less and SURGXFHVRQHGHQVHÀRZHUFOXVWHURQD narrow, hairy stem, sometimes with a SXUSOHÀRZHULQWKHFHQWHU To any would-be foragers, Riskin advises to proceed with caution, go with a botanist or experienced forager, harvest any plant carefully, and check YDULRXVLGHQWL¿FDWLRQJXLGHV,IWKHUHLV any question about whether or not the plant is safe, leave it alone, Riskin said. Mushroom foragers are always encour- aged to only eat small amounts of wild mushrooms at a time since different people can react differently even to wild mushrooms generally considered safe. For a general guide to plants that SURGXFH ODF\ ZKLWH ÀRZHUV ² VXFK as poison hemlock — here is a handy guide: www.nwplants.com/informa- WLRQZKLWHBÀRZHUVZKLWHBFRPSDULVRQ html crbizjou rn a l.com