Washington County Fair to hold first noxious weed contest

Tag : Native Produce

The Argus
Gardeners without much of a green thumb, take heed.
Traditional county fair plant-growing contests award prizes for thebest botanicals, with hours spent fertilizing and pruning, hopingto produce the perfect blooming flower, that ideal head of cabbageor beautiful crop of blueberries.
But now is the time for the best of the worst to come forth for thefirst-ever Washington County Fair Invasive & Noxious WeedContest, sponsored by the Tualatin Soil and Water ConservationDistrict.
Normally, it's against noxious weed quarantine rules to propagateor transport a weed, but the state makes exceptions for educationalpurposes, said Tom Forney, project manager for the OregonDepartment of Agriculture.
In fact, the top prizes will be awarded to those who know the mostabout their weed, its native land, what problems it causes and howto get rid of it, said Fair Complex Marketing and Events ManagerLisa DuPre'.
Afterward, the weeds will have to be disposed of properly, Forneysaid.
TSWCD spokesman Dan Logan said the weeds will be treated like"radioactive waste." Organizers ask entrants to transport andpresent entries in plastic to prevent spreading the weeds.
"When they approached us about the idea for this contest, after westopped laughing, we told them we absolutely loved it," Dupre'said. "We're waiting to hear about people going out in their yardsand rather than getting rid of a big obnoxious weed, they're goingto nurture and take care of it in order to bring it to the fair!"
The winning weed must be on the Oregon State Noxious Weed List.Check out the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Web site atoregon.gov/oda/plant/weeds or the Institute for Applied Ecology:www.appliedeco.org - Invasive Species - Field Guide to Weeds of theWillamette Valley.
Weeds should be delivered to the Tualatin Soil and WaterConservation District booth at the fair for judging, Thursdaythrough Sunday, July 24 to 27, between 2 and 6 p.m. in the MainExhibit Hall.
Daily winners will be notified by phone. One entry per person,please.
Admission is free to the Spirit Mountain Casino Washington CountyFair, open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., July 24 to 27. Parking is $5per vehicle.
The Washington County Fair Complex is located at 873 NE 34th Ave.,in Hillsboro, directly across from the Hillsboro Airport offCornell Road. For more, visit www.faircomplex.com.