Muck About

EWWW, The Broom is in Full Bloom

I was  on Facebook commenting about broom after reading Tamara Sellman's comment about it. So I poked around and found this interesting article in the Oregonian about what could be done with the  noxious plant, Cytisus scoparius. If you haven't seen it in full bloom around here, you would have to be certifiably blind.

Last year I blogged about it after reading our local feed and nursery store's humorous sign. Someone complained about the message, but I howled with laughter. Hey, it beats crying over weeds.

They Call it Noxious Yellow

Anyway, this amazing young man from Tillamook, Oregon came up with making biofuel out of scotch broom:

"Sixteen-year-old Hayden Bush arrived in Houston last month feeling pretty darned good about his odds for doing well in the International Sustainable World Science Fair.

Then he got a look at the competition: more than 800 students from 51 countries and 38 states, most from elite math and science academies, backed by government and university sponsors and armed with professionally bound books defining their projects to the letter.

And there was Bush, a third-generation farmer, with a simple journal on his efforts to convert Scotch broom, a noxious weed found throughout Oregon, into an alternative fuel. He had a partial scholarship from the Oregon Fairs Association and the company of his agricultural sciences and technology teacher, Max Sherman.

"It was like, 'Wow,'" Bush says. "Overwhelming would be a good word. I was definitely feeling outclassed."

Read the rest of this amazing young man's accomplishment: Oregon teen scores with possible biofuel from Scotch broom.

They Call It Noxious Yellow

When Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) is in bloom, you can see with your own eyes how much this weed has taken over the Pacific Northwest.  Every empty lot or anywhere that the ground has been disturbed is covered in the butterscotch-yellow flowering shrub.  About the only place you don’t see it growing is in deep shade.  Not to worry though; ivy is invading there.

It’s a shame we introduce plants which become noxious weeds  displacing our native species.  The bad news is Scotch broom is a copious seeder, producing over 10,000 seeds per plant; the seeds remain viable for up to 60 years!  In addition, its seeds are toxic to humans and livestock.  Because they grow so densely, it's impossible to find a way through a stand of them. When the seedpods are dry, they make a crackling sound; unless you know what it is, this creepy noise can be disconcerting.

The good news is... um... err... actually, there is no good news.  However, Sacks, a local business in my hometown, is trying to keep us all in good humor while the broom is in bloom.