Category: Blog

Restoring disturbed ground on Mt Ashland with native forbs

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June 2nd, 2019

We had a fantastic day on Mt Ashland on June 1st, working with a group of volunteers to plant out 4,500 native plant plugs in an area next to the Mt Ashland lodge that was recently disturbed by heavy machinery. Thanks to the folks at the Mt Ashland Ski Lodge for helping organize volunteers and providing snacks and drinks for everyone!

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The plants were grown by Silver Springs Nursery in the Applegate, from seed that we collected in 2018 on Mt Ashland. The species that were planted out included Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum), Coyote Mint (Monardella sheltonii), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Roemer’s Fescue (Festuca roemeri), Squirretail grass (Elymus elymoides) and Sulphur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum). Once grown in, these plants will create a beautiful meadow of wildflowers and native bunch grasses, and great habitat for pollinators and birds!

Post-planting care will involve regular watering for the first year, and ensuring that the area is cordoned off from the public so that the small plants won’t be damaged under foot. We look forward to monitoring the survival rate and growth of these plants, and enjoying the first flush of wildflowers next spring.

Thanks to the amazing volunteers!

AUTHOR:

Lilia Letsch
Rogue Native Plant Partnership

Growing plants for seed production at Long Shadow Fields

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April 25, 2019

Long Shadow Fields in Talent is one of a handful of local farms working with the Rogue Native Plant Partnership to develop a new model of native forb seed production. Seed for native forbs – herbs, and grasses – can often be hard to come by in the amounts required for local ecological restoration projects. Growing such plants out for seeds is often cost prohibitive due to the amount of time it can take for plants to develop to the flowering stage, and the amount of labor required to harvest the seed. But through a non-profit / small farm partnership, we are hoping to alleviate the risks and pressures of growing native seed for restoration projects in the Rogue Basin.

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Gary Kliewer at Long Shadow Fields grew a selection of native herbs and forbs from seeds that RNPP supplied from our wild seed harvesting events. A volunteer planting event was organized to help get a lot of the small native herbs in the ground. RNPP will continue to support Gary’s native seed production through volunteer labor, funding through grants, and technical support from a network of other experts in the Pacific Northwest.

The volunteer planting event on April 24th was a great success, we planted hundreds of native plugs and did some great networking and knowledge sharing. Thank you so much to everyone that came and helped! Keep an eye open for future events at Long Shadow Fields and other local farmers we are working with to grow regionally adapted native herbs and grasses for ecological restoration projects happening in our community.

Planting Wyethia into straight rows for ease of mechanical weeding.

AUTHOR:

Lilia Letsch
Rogue Native Plant Partnership