By Jeni Nugent, June 2024
Spring has fostered change at the Institute for Applied Ecology’s Northwest native seed farm in Corvallis, Oregon. It feels like just yesterday that the farm crew witnessed the first germinates in our new greenhouse facility and perennial emergence in our production fields. Now that the summer sun is shining, early spring blossoms are turning, seed pods are aging, and spikelets are hardening. A few of the first harvestable forbs at our farm are common camas (Camassia quamash), Tolmie’s star-tulip (Calochortus tolmiei), and Rose checkermallow (Sidalcea virgata). Several graminoid harvests are soon to come, such as Lemmon’s needlegrass (Achnatherum lemonii) and California fescue (Festuca californica). We are very much looking forward to the growing season marked by bountiful harvests.
