A HOMESTEAD IN OREGON'S HIGH DESERT

Image Gallery Sagebrush growth indicates the better soil in Oregon's high desert.

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Mary Lou Harrsch tells of the struggles and rewards her family has found on . . .

Report from Them That's Doin'

W hen my husband and I sold our coastal Oregon house in 1978, we were afraid that we'd be unable to find an affordable farm without leaving our home state. Land promotions, calculated to entice wealthy retirees to the Northwest's seashores or fircloaked Cascades, had pushed land prices as high as $2,500 to $5,000 per acre throughout much of the Beaver State.

However, while scouring the Capital Press (a regional agricultural paper), we noticed an ad for eastern Oregon real estate . . . at only $85 to $200 per acre! It sounded too good to be true, but we packed up our two tots, hooked up a 16-year-old camp trailer, and headed for Burns . . . a small town on the sage-encrusted high plateau of inland Oregon.

Upon our arrival in the community (Burns's population is only 3,680), we obtained a copy of the local paper that confirmed the low land prices. Then-since we knew nothing about the climate, soil, or availability of water in this apparently arid country-we headed for the county extension office.

We were surprised to learn from the county agent that snow runoff creates a good water supply at no more than 100-200 feet below the ground. However, this same life-giving liquid also carries large amounts of surface salts that are deposited in lower, poorly drained flats, so we were cautioned to look for land with the high, silver-blue sagebrush that indicates better soil . . . while avoiding the bright green greasewood that thrives in alkaline soil.

The agent also revealed that boron could be a problem, if the substance were found in the water table in excess of four parts per million. The dissolved mineral is harmless to animals but builds up a toxicity in the soil that is eventually lethal to plants.

Armed with that little knowledge (and with estimates of well-drilling and electrical hookup costs), we then hit every real estate office in town . . . and were soon bouncing over back roads (or no roads at all) in search of a piece of "terra firma" with the qualities outlined by the county agent.

We rapidly discovered that the $85- to $125-per-acre land usually consisted of greasewooddotted alkali flats, but that -for between $150 and $200 per acregood sagebrush-covered property was available.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print