22 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Master Gardeners teach garden
‘winterizing,’ hold plant sale
ASTORIA — It’s time to
give garden beds, pots,
perennials and trees a rest
by “winterizing” them.
Winterizing helps plants
survive winter and pro-
motes a healthier, more
productive growing season
for all plants the next year.
Clatsop County Master
Gardeners will show peo-
ple how to do this through
lectures, demonstrations
and advice for individual
garden problems 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30,
at the Clatsop County Fair-
grounds. Admission is free.
In addition, an all-day
plant sale will feature
plants ready for fall trans-
planting.
Bring your garden soil
in plastic baggies for soil
pH testing.
• 10:30 a.m. “Winteriz-
ing Your Garden”: Teresa
Retzlaff is an organic
farmer whose farm, 46
North, specializes in
produce, edible plant starts
and fl owers. She will teach
the most effective methods
for soil protection with
mulching and cover crops,
how and what plants to
cut back, overwintering
edibles, transplanting and
what to plant in the fall.
• 12:30 p.m. “Dahlia
Care & Winter Protection”:
Joanie Chapel, also known
as “The Dahlia Queen,”
grows more than a hundred
varieties of Dahlias. She
will share her expertise
SUBMITTED PHOTO
on preparing Dahlias for
winter survival, basic care
methods and the best dahl-
ia varieties for our growing
region. Throughout the
day, Joanie will demon-
strate dividing tuber plants
for overwintering.
• 2 p.m. “Cleaning,
Sharpening and Storing
Garden Tools”: Chuck
Meyers longtime Master
Gardener and garden tool
expert will discuss the
importance of caring for
and readying garden tools
for next year. Meyers will
also demonstrate effective
tool sharpening. Bring
your personal garden tools;
Meyers will be available
between noon and 2 p.m.
to sharpen them for a small
donation.
Plant sale: The all-day
Plant Sale will feature a
variety of native plants,
perennials, bulbs and trees
— all locally grown. These
plants are known to thrive
in our coastal growing
areas and are ready for
fall transplanting. Sedges,
silver weed, coastal straw-
berries, mature zebra and
maidenhair grasses and
herbs are a few featured
plants. Master Gardeners
will help you select the
best plants for your grow-
ing conditions.
Garden “treasure sale”:
Everyone needs more
“treasures”: gently used
garden tools, wood plant-
ers, books, art and even
items for the home. How
about a vintage outdoor
water pump or decora-
tive bicycle? It’s all here,
waiting for a new garden
home.
Garden fun for kids:
Crafts and learning activ-
ities to inspire growing
interests in gardening.
Kids will have several
choices to create and take
home garden crafts and
mini gardens.
2911 Marine Dr #B
Astoria, OR 97103
503-325-3276
Mon-Sat 10 am - 8 pm
Sun 11 am - 6 pm
Where Astoria Shops!
Professional, friendly service along with an always fresh selection of
the best Oregon brands and growers, including our own.
FR E E L E IVERY!
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PHOTO BY LYNETTE RAE McADAMS
By LYNETTE RAE
McADAMS
FOR COAST WEEKEND
B
eloved for their delicate
fl avor and fruity aroma
— not to mention
that marvelous golden hue
— chanterelles have been
a documented delight in kitch-
ens throughout the temperate
regions of the Northern Hemi-
sphere for at least 500 years.
Found nestled on the forest
fl oor, alone or in groups, this
hearty fungus has one of the
longest bloom times in the
mushroom kingdom — fruit-
ing from mid-summer all the
way through late fall. Rising
up from deep moss or leaf
litter, fi rm stalks brandish
tulip-like caps with wavy,
feminine edges — all glowing
with tones of deep yellow-or-
ange. Beneath the cap, long,
blunt ridges, known as “false
gills,” dance down the stalk.
Although the color and
size of chanterelles vary from
region to region, for the lon-
gest time, the schools of both
science and cuisine believed
these fungal delicacies to
all be of the same species,
specifi cally, Cantharellus
cibarius — the fl axen favorite
of Northern Europe.
But in recent decades,
innovations in DNA sequenc-
ing and genetic typing have
revealed more special, subtle
differences corresponding
to a mushroom’s native ge-
ography, proving them each
to be unique, though closely
related. In the Pacifi c North-
west, multiple species of
Cantharellus fl ourish side by
side, including C. formosus,
the Pacifi c golden chanterelle
— offi cial mushroom of the
state of Oregon.
No matter the mushroom’s
specifi c heritage, any edible
golden chanterelle is consid-
ered choice. Pairing perfectly
with pasta, chicken, rice or
fi sh, and taking equal pleasure
in a bath of broth, butter or
cream, this mushroom is an
easy palate pleaser.
In addition to their deli-
ciousness, chanterelles are
also exceptionally nutri-
tious, containing signifi cant
amounts of protein, potas-
sium, iron, and chromium,
along with eight different
amino acids. Perhaps most
impressively, they contain
absurdly high levels of
Vitamin D2, which helps the
human body absorb calcium
but also makes this mush-
room unattractive to insects,
slugs and other wildlife — a
benefi t for both the forager
and the connoisseur.
Though many attempts
have been made, it is still
impossible to cultivate
chanterelles — they can only
be gathered from an untamed
forest, where they form sym-
biotic relationships with trees
and certain shrubs. As with
all wild mushrooms, identifi -
cation is paramount, as poi-
sonous lookalikes do exist.
Never harvest mushrooms
without absolute confi dence
in their identity and never
eat a wild mushroom unless
it has come from an experi-
enced, trusted source.
To learn more about local
wild mushrooms, including
where to fi nd them, how
to pick them properly and
how best to prepare them
for eating, consider partic-
ipating at the annual Wild
Mushroom Celebration on
Washington’s Long Beach
Peninsula, which takes place
this year from Monday, Oct.
1, through Wednesday, Nov.
15. Visit wildmushroomcel-
ebration.com for more
information. CW