Monday, May 3, 2010
Raffle!
I am a big supporter of the Constitution and all of our rights! I value freedom over all other things. What good is life if you are not free? Of what use is wealth if you are not free? Is vibrant health of value if you are locked up? We created this government to secure our rights. We have allowed this government to become an overbearing monster from which we must get permission before we can catch a fish! I am a republican because I believe in freedom! This nation became great because of our freedoms! We must do what ever each of us can do to protect our freedoms. One after another one administration after another our rights are being stripped away! We are having a raffle to help fund congressional pest removal. I have a really hard time asking for donations. I just feel wrong. I have not actually managed to just ask. I am told everyone know how expensive running a congressional campaign is and that you need funds to pay for printing, website, signs the list seems endless! So we are having a raffle http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?version=18 Springfield Armory 1911 PX9 152LP. It is a thing of beauty. If you are interested in purchasing tickets you can email me at Delia@dlopezforcongress.com we have several people selling them in the Portland OR area. The legal transfer will be handled by the Gun Zone and the winner must be able to pass the back ground check and be legally able to accept the firearm. For an out of area winner the weapon will need to be shipped to a licensed dealer near you for back ground check and legal transfer. We will be selling 1999 tickets at $5 (if we are able to sell every single one of them) and having the drawing on the 4th of July a day recognized as celebrating our FREEDOM! Winner need not be present to win. If you want to purchase a ticket or (100?) you may do so on my website. The donate button accepts credit cards or checks or? Please put raffle in comments and add your phone number. We will be drawing the ticket and calling the winner so we will need it. I promise not to call you otherwise!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Planting out from NW Connection
April is when many gardens really get growing! April 6 is our last anticipated frost date and April 26 is considered safe. If you are following along with me your seedlings should be growing along nice and stocky and ready to plant out! Your fruit trees and blueberry bushes are in the ground and growing and it is time to put our garden plan into effect. I know it sounds a bit weird to suggest you map out your garden but hey this is Portland, we are weird! That is part of our charm, I know I personally am not often called normal. I start with a piece of graph paper and actually make a little map. Noting North south etc. You don't want to plant corn on the south side of your garden or you will block out the sunlight! So I always plan my corn for the far north side I add green beans the pole variety not bush around my corn the beans climb up the corn saving space and as a legume they actually improve the soil for the heavy feeding corn. I add a squash to ramble around the corn as well. One of my favorites is Pink Banana the pack I started with said not for the space conscious. It should have stated that once planted in Oregon vines may reach Kentucky. I like to plant squashes so I can be more self sufficient. They are very easy to save seed from, can be stored in an unheated garage or shed for months as long as they don't freeze, are high in nutritional value and are so easy to grow. Acorn squash is another one that fills the bill, I have a great recipe I got from famous chef Capriol and adapted for my style I make it vegan and use vinegar and apple juice instead of sherry, who has sherry?
I like to grow root crops that are easy to store as well. I plant onions and carrots together. Carrot fly's don't like onions and carrots roots themselves have an exudate that is great for peas. I prefer snow peas I am a fan of stir fries the whole shelling deal with me never happens. Potatoes do well by the bean/corn area and can take some shading. I use 6' sections of cattle fencing to surround my tomatoes to hold them up off the ground and I can cover it with clear plastic to protect from frost. For me that is the easiest way to stake anything! I use smaller circles to have my cucumbers or acorn squash or melons climb as well. I use a straight section of fencing for my peas. I generally plant snow peas on Feb 14 valentines day and potatoes on Mar17 St Patty's day. I soak my pea and corn seeds in warm water while I prep the area for planting it helps speed germination. If they germinates rapidly they are less likely to rot in the cool spring soil. My biggest garden problems are animals deer, turkeys and rabbits are my issues. My soil was originally red clay stains like crazy (everyone tried Bio-quest laundry soap?) We would haul in garbage bags of leaves and they were tilled in in the spring and horse manure from cleaning out my barn. So I have very high fertility rates now and the dirt has turned into a black loam with thousands of worms. I cover my garden area with black plastic to keep the rains from washing the nutrients away and save me from much weeding. It also helps to warm up the soil and improve growth.
I do the basic map for my garden and I am not much for plant rotation, many things end up where they were the year before. Part of the reason for my maps is tags that tell what variety of tomato or what ever is always seem to disappear either gremlins run off with them or the writing fades out and I can't read it. So the map saves the day. I have a garden note book an old fashioned 3 ring binder I bring into the garden and keep notes on as well as the map. I have a basic garden map I make copies of and fill out as I go along. My garden is not too tidy, I start with the map and then end up sticking a fever few here or a few beets there or? I only have 800 words here so my garden calender and amount to plant guide will have to be added to my blog, http://dlopezforcongress.blogspot.com/ with my medicinal herb cheat sheet. Next month will be on medicinal herbs growing and usage. If you have any questions I can be contacted at Delia@dlopezforcongress.com
I like to grow root crops that are easy to store as well. I plant onions and carrots together. Carrot fly's don't like onions and carrots roots themselves have an exudate that is great for peas. I prefer snow peas I am a fan of stir fries the whole shelling deal with me never happens. Potatoes do well by the bean/corn area and can take some shading. I use 6' sections of cattle fencing to surround my tomatoes to hold them up off the ground and I can cover it with clear plastic to protect from frost. For me that is the easiest way to stake anything! I use smaller circles to have my cucumbers or acorn squash or melons climb as well. I use a straight section of fencing for my peas. I generally plant snow peas on Feb 14 valentines day and potatoes on Mar17 St Patty's day. I soak my pea and corn seeds in warm water while I prep the area for planting it helps speed germination. If they germinates rapidly they are less likely to rot in the cool spring soil. My biggest garden problems are animals deer, turkeys and rabbits are my issues. My soil was originally red clay stains like crazy (everyone tried Bio-quest laundry soap?) We would haul in garbage bags of leaves and they were tilled in in the spring and horse manure from cleaning out my barn. So I have very high fertility rates now and the dirt has turned into a black loam with thousands of worms. I cover my garden area with black plastic to keep the rains from washing the nutrients away and save me from much weeding. It also helps to warm up the soil and improve growth.
I do the basic map for my garden and I am not much for plant rotation, many things end up where they were the year before. Part of the reason for my maps is tags that tell what variety of tomato or what ever is always seem to disappear either gremlins run off with them or the writing fades out and I can't read it. So the map saves the day. I have a garden note book an old fashioned 3 ring binder I bring into the garden and keep notes on as well as the map. I have a basic garden map I make copies of and fill out as I go along. My garden is not too tidy, I start with the map and then end up sticking a fever few here or a few beets there or? I only have 800 words here so my garden calender and amount to plant guide will have to be added to my blog, http://dlopezforcongress.blogspot.com/ with my medicinal herb cheat sheet. Next month will be on medicinal herbs growing and usage. If you have any questions I can be contacted at Delia@dlopezforcongress.com
Garden Calender
Garden Calendar
This information can be used as a guide; but you may need to adjust it for your local circumstances. The average last frost has been on April 6th, while the average first frost arrived October 2nd. Late July temperatures (max/min) are around 81F/54F. Temperatures for early January are typically 50F/35F.
I have found that the garden beds that have been covered by my chicken coop cleanings will be the most fertile. I add it to the soil in early spring and put the heaviest feeders, like brassicas, in first. After those are harvested, plant the medium heavy feeders. Plant the least heavy feeders like carrots and potatoes last of all; these get hairy roots or scab if the soil is too fertile.
Many people “put in” the garden one weekend in May. I generally plant a little every month. For example, I put 6 broccoli plants and 8 lettuce plants out from the “starts” grown in the garage once a month. I will do that until July. I plant more in July to overwinter or for storage.
In my dreams I grow everything we eat; in reality, I don't even come close! Reality is that turkeys keep digging up the corn seed. Before I figured out that the turkeys were pillaging my garden, I really could not understand the lousy rate of germination! Then I caught on to the fact that the turkeys were well fed and that is why the corn production was puny. Chickens get out and eat the strawberries and the Blueberries, I find eggs hidden under the tomatoes, by stepping on them, but we keep trying.
January
Lettuce, spinach, onions and mustard can all be started indoors. Remember that mustard is photoperiodic, so don't set the timer on your lights for too long of a "day length"! I also have a small glass house that I nearly always have some greens growing in. I also have 2 coffee trees, a small lemon tree and a yerba mate in it.
February
If you are growing asparagus from seed, start it now. The seeds can take up to three weeks to germinate even if kept warm. Prune your cherry and plum trees. The sour cherry tree tends to be spreading and can be pruned to a bowl shape. Sweet cherry trees are best pruned like apple trees. Plum trees vary in their growth habit, but are often pruned to the bowl shape.
Sow broccoli, cauliflower and onions indoors about mid-month. If you use 2" pots, and keep them growing on the cool side, they'll be ready to go out under a cloche about April 1. If you planted some inside last month they can go out at the same time and will be harvest sized sooner. Late in February is a good time to start artichokes. They can be overwintered with care, but Green Globe and Imperial Star are both easy to grow like annuals as well!
I plant peas on Valentine’s Day 2/14. However, in the Maritime Northwest it's important to pay attention to the winter weather. Some years my soil isn't dry enough for any planting until mid-April! Other years, peas can be planted as early as January. I have piled sand and potting soil over my pea area to plant the seeds into and improve drainage in the seed area. It helps to get them in the ground early. Since powdery mildew is the worst problem, plant resistant varieties. Peas planted earlier have less likely hood of getting powdery mildew.
Last year I planted my peas in a different location. I had dug up a strawberry patch that had very sweet but tiny strawberries; they were too small for my tastes. I planted my peas along that fence where the strawberry patch had been. They were shaded by the garage wall during the hottest part of the day and extended my harvest. So, if you have an area that is sunny in the morning with afternoon shade give it a try for snow peas.
March
By the first week of March, the threat of severe cold blasts is usually over. Cold-weather crops will grow, but rain is a constant and must be compensated for. I use my PVC cloches to prevent the rains from rotting away my produce. I don't bring the plastic all the way down to the dirt on the beds where cool weather crops are planted. This way, the air circulates to prevent rot and water gets into the raised beds. Cool weather crops would include the brassicas, greens, carrots, onions, beets and potatoes.
Late winter is the best time to prune peach, nectarine and apricot trees because fall and early winter pruning may expose trees to winter injury and canker infections. The delay permits the grower to adjust the severity of pruning to the percentage of fruit buds that survived the winter. Strive to develop a bowl-shaped or open-center tree.
Plant fruit trees as soon as the ground can be worked and as soon as possible after arrival from the nursery. (Protect roots from drying out or freezing.) In backyard plantings, the sod beneath trees should be turned under and cultivated to prevent competition for moisture and nutrients. I mulch heavily to avoid turning and weeding. Thoroughly water the trees. (Wait to fertilize until the after the tree starts to leaf out)
Use dormant spray on stone fruit (prior to fruit bud swell). Be sure to read labels carefully before applying plant pest control materials. I generally use dormant oil. It smothers the pests that my chickens miss. I use it very early in the morning to avoid killing my honey bees. They usually stay in the hive until it warms enough for them to come out. Apply fertilizers just before bloom to maximize plant uptake and minimize leaching. I use aged horse manure.
Fertilizer Rates
Fruit / lbs. of 5-10-10 (1 lb. = 2.5 cups)
Apples (1 - 4 years old)
1/2 lb. per tree per year of tree
Apples (over 4 years old)
Omit fertilizer unless by leaf or soil analysis (or terminal shoot growth is less than 15 inches)
Peaches, Cherries & Plums
3/4 lb. per tree per year of tree age
Mid March, transplant out, under a cloche, those salad greens you started in January. Lettuce, spinach, and mustard seeds can all be sown into a cloche, and can be counted on to germinate. Beets will come up, but may bolt later in summer if March ends up being cold. Early Wonder Tall Top is a good variety for these early sowings. I like to plant a handful of tall top beets every month when I plant salad greens both for the nutritious greens and the baby beets delicious easy to grow and store. Scallions can be sown now. Note that they will probably bulb in July, but you will get a harvest.
Brassicas can be a bit dicier. Kohlrabi will usually come up if sown in a cloche, but broccoli and cauliflower normally will have to wait until April for the soil to be warm enough for seeds to germinate. Carrots can be started this early, but the soil is often too wet to be worked as well as carrots require. Shorter types are better bets because they don't have the same requirement for deep loose soil. I plant onions and beets in the same bed together. Lime the carrot bed well. Start tomatoes and peppers. If I start them in 4" pots, they are ready to go outside in mid-May. I can put them out earlier using wall o waters or covering my fence cages with clear plastic with clothes pins to secure.
Plant your potatoes on St. Patty's day! Actually potatoes can be planted out without a cloche anytime from this point onward; but sowing them now (and then again in early June) will give you two harvests, if you use an early variety such as my favorite potato, Yukon Gold. If you don't plant corn and let your pole beans climb them (corn is more difficult to grow and takes a lot of space so gardening for food value corn should not be a priority) beans and potatoes grow well together. Cabbage and potatoes grow well together also but not beans and cabbage. Both Cabbage and potatoes can be stored for use during the months when growing food is difficult with little effort, pile in a box in a cool area that does not freeze. Replant peas if seeds have rotted and did not germinate.
April
Plant out cool season crops and others if using cloches and wall o waters for frost protection. Broadcast 1.5 lbs of 5-10-10 (or equivalent amount of organic fertilizer or another complete fertilizer) in a ring around each newly-planted tree. Keep fertilizer away from base of tree. I use aged horse manure.
Measures to control weeds should begin early in the season. Maintain a weed-free area 4 feet from the trunk of young trees. Plant grass outside this weed-free area but keep it closely mowed. Sow more salad veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, and radishes. They don't really need a cloche at this point, but will probably grow better in one if it's rainy (and when isn't it rainy around here in April?)
Start your eggplant inside right around April 1st. If you started broccoli or cauliflower indoors in February, move it to the garden. You can still start tomatoes and peppers, but you'd better hurry! If you haven't already done so, turn under the green manures in the beds where you'll want to grow your summer crops (corn, squash, cucumbers). Soils are still pretty cool, so even nitrogen-rich plants need several weeks to break down.
Try eating kale blossoms! They are really tasty if the buds haven't opened yet. Beets and chard can be sown directly in the ground now. They actually will germinate if sown in March, but if the weather is too cold they will bolt (this is because they are biennial, and can be fooled into thinking they have overwintered). Sow kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower directly in the ground. Remember that brassicas tend to be fairly heavy feeders, so plant them in well fertilized beds. If your garden has problems with the cabbage maggot, cover the bed with a cloche made with a floating row cover like Agro-fabric P10.
Peas can still be sown. However, since they will mature in hot weather, plant enation-resistant varieties (enation is spread by aphids which become more active once summer hits). Tomato plants can be set outside during the day on nice days. They will do much better if given the protection of a cold frame, unless it is unusually warm. Bring them in at night. Enjoy the abundant harvests of sprouting broccoli! Start basil inside around the 15th of the month. If you grow it in 4" pots, it'll be ready to go outside right about when the nights are warm enough. Now is a good time to plant bulb onions. Depending on the variety, these will be harvested in August or September. Remember that onions like warmth early in their lives, so using a cloche or row cover fabric will benefit them.
Hard-grown tomatoes can be planted outside under a cloche late in this period. Do NOT try this with store-purchased plants, or plants that have been grown in warm conditions (even if you've hardened them off). They do well by asparagus and can be planted among them once the asparagus is done producing for the year and just has spears growing. I have a stinging nettle in an open bottomed tub dug into the ground next to my asparagus bed and it is supposed to help tomatoes store better when grown by nettle because is a medicinal herb.
May
It's the first of a new month, and it's time to plant more salad stuff. Once a month is easy to remember, and it will keep you supplied with salad.
In early May I begin to keep a closer eye on the weather. The danger of frost is basically over, but soil temperature can vary quite a bit. If we are blessed with a sunny week in May, I like to gamble with early sowings of corn and beans. Don't plant your entire crop, and don't be too disappointed if they fail! If they germinate, though, they probably will make it.
In most years the soil will have dried out somewhat by now. If that's the case, put in your main carrot planting. Carrots do much better in raised beds, and love deeply-worked soil. But you don't really need to use a tiller; I've gotten good results just working the bed over with a spading fork.
Because soil temperature can vary so much this time of year, I usually plan on starting my curcurbits indoors. Sow squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons directly into large pots around the 15th of the month. Squash and pumpkins are very vigorous, so be prepared to move them to the garden within two weeks. All curcurbits are touchy about transplanting, so you might want to use peat pellets (I've had reasonable success with plastic pots, as long as I am very careful when I transplant them).
Even store-bought tomato plants can be put into the garden now. It is still a good idea to use a cloche. Plan on sowing your dry beans if a stretch of sunny days is forecast. They will need time to mature and dry down. Even with an early sowing, you may end up putting a cloche over them in September. Take inventory of the vegetable seeds you'll use for your winter garden. A lot of them are sown around the first of June, and it'll take at least a week to receive any you mail order.
June
Same as before - start more salad greens.
June 1st is my target date for sowing Brussels sprouts and cabbage. If direct-sown, they will germinate quickly and grow fast. However, if June is wet the slugs can quickly decimate these brassicas, so I usually start them indoors now. Any late-season corn should go in now, in order to have time to mature. Even if it's cloudy, June's long days mean the soil won't be too cool. Sugar-enhanced varieties may still need a little help, though, so consider using clear plastic over the bed if the sun isn't cooperating.
Fall broccoli and cauliflower should be sown during this first half of June. I like to grow them under a tent. This protects them from both the cabbage maggot and the cabbage worm. Cucumbers grow rapidly, and will produce even if they are started at the end of this month! It's a good thing, too. Cukes need warm soil to germinate, and that's not always the situation earlier in the month. Using a cloche, or covering the bed with clear plastic, will usually generate the necessary extra heat.
Summer squash can be direct-sown anytime now. I guess you don't really need me to tell you that. Move your peppers and eggplant out into the garden now. They will do a lot better if you provide a cloche. These two cousins grow much better with warm daytime temperatures, and the inside of a cloche will easily add 10 degrees on a cloudy day. In all likelihood, the basil you started earlier will start running to seed soon. Early June is a great time to start more. With the warmer temperatures, the basil won't go to flower nearly as fast.
Early to mid June is a good target for starting a late bed of potatoes. Yukon Gold, put in now, will give you a nice harvest in fall. Take a deep breath. Look around. The second half of June is time to get caught up in your garden. If you've been too busy, or the weather has just not cooperated, you can still get those early June chores done and still be successful. It might also be worthwhile to consider starting some of the early July winter root crops a few weeks early. June's weather is often more cooperative than July's when it comes to keeping slow-germinating seeds moist.
July
The weatherman will tell you that July 12th is the date (on average) that summer arrives in the Maritime Pacific Northwest. It's also when the bulk of your winter garden has to be started as well! You might feel a bit funny getting sunburned while sowing winter carrots, but you'll get used to it. Sow salad greens one more time. Be sure to keep some seeds for next month, when the winter greens have to go in.
Winter beets, such as Lutz or Winterkeeper, need to be sown before the 15th to be successful. Try to get it done around the 1st if you can. You can be more flexible with carrots. Between the 10th and 15th is ideal for most winter-cropping varieties, but sowings as late as the 31st will still give you useable (but smaller) roots. Earlier sowings will work as well.
You can still plant pole beans: It's better to get them started in June of course, but it's still not too late! I've had the most success with kohlrabi if I sow it around the 15th, although Territorial recommends a date between July 20th and August 10th. Try two different sowing dates, to get a handle on what works best in your garden. The timing will be affected by your exact location, soil fertility, and the relative abundance of cabbage maggot flies.
In my garden I need to get the overwintering cauliflower and (sprouting) broccoli started by the 15th if I want a decent harvest the following spring. July 15th is usually a safe starting date for most of the day length-sensitive mustards. If sown now, they are unlikely to bolt. Your leeks are probably about ready to shift to their final location. Try to pick a rainy day if you can, but how likely is that in July?
August
Summer may start on July 12th, but sometimes it ends well before August 31st! The days are starting to get noticeably shorter, and sometimes we can get surprised by a very cold night. Frost, however, is still at least a month away. Winter lettuce will size up best if sown during the first half of this month (later sowings will still work, but the plants will be somewhat smaller going into winter). The various chicories (endive, escarole, radicchio, etc.) need a good amount of time to mature, especially if they are the heading types. Right now I'd recommend a sowing date of August 1st for all of these. Be aware that I've only tried winter radicchio a handful of times, so I don't have the best sowing date nailed down yet. Spinach can be started now. It matures faster than most of those other greens, and can be successfully sown as late as the 31st.
I like to start corn salad (mache, or lamb's lettuce) right about the 15th of August. Arugula, if put in between mid-August and early September, will size up without bolting. Okay, without bolting immediately, at least! Play around a bit with overwintered onions to find the best starting date. I try to start mine about the 15th. If you haven't grown them before, consider making three sowings (on the 1st, 15th, and 30th) and go from there.
September
The days are quickly getting shorter, but there's still time to plant! This is a perfect time to sow arugula, or some of the fast-growing Asian greens. Try a couple different sowing dates to see what works best for your garden. Walla Walla onions, which dry down later than most other overwintered onions, can be started as late as mid-September - I've gotten good bulbs in July after sowing Walla Wallas that late. You can still get away with sowing lettuce and spinach - but the plants will be much smaller going into winter. Space them accordingly.
Plant some radishes. You should probably still protect them from the maggot fly using a row cover. Leave your winter squash and pumpkins on the plant for as long as you can. Remember that a fully ripe squash will have a hard stem. If frost or disease severely damages the leaves, though, harvest them. As you clean up after your summer crops, prepare the beds for next year. Lime the beds with dolomite and add organic matter, such as leaves or compost. It's not too early to sow a cover crop either. Garlic can be planted anytime that the ground isn't hard, but I prefer putting it in toward the end of September. That way it's sure to get established, and it'll even show some top growth this fall.
October
Planting time is mostly over, but that doesn't mean it's time to take a break! Covering your beds will help build your soil up for next year, and protect it from all the rain that'll be falling over the next six months...
Prep your beds as they become available. This is when I clean out my chicken coop and prepare the girls’ house for winter. I use the chicken manure/ shaving mix to cover my beds for the winter. Have you planted your garlic yet? Usually the second half of October displays a marked deterioration in the weather. If you've got cauliflower and broccoli that are still going, consider setting up some sort of cover for those plants. They are cold hardy enough to last through November - but constant rain will ruin them. It's also a good time to start protecting your winter greens from the rain. If the weather is nice, though, they'll appreciate some unfiltered sun.
November
If you've got tree leaves available, remember that they make good mulch for unused beds. They can also be used to insulate crops that aren't slug prone, such as leeks - these are much easier to dig if the soil isn't semi-frozen! Apply lime in accordance with soil test recommendations. For best results, incorporate lime with the soil. One ton/acre =about 50 lb per 100 sq ft (32 x 32 ft)
Remove apple root suckers. My secret fertilizer is horse apples in a tub filled with water with an aquarium pump & air stones in it. The bacteria grow in it and seem to help with damping off. My orchids in the house bloom well with this. I have drip systems and timers everywhere. I set them up when the weather dries out. To help me remember, I schedule things in my brain like this: on the 8th of the month plant salad greens, beets, transplants out or new starts in garage. Every Tuesday after my radio show I connect the drip system to the hose to water the orchard, and water the orchids. I have the original calendar with all these details in my garden binder where I keep my map and other notes.
This information can be used as a guide; but you may need to adjust it for your local circumstances. The average last frost has been on April 6th, while the average first frost arrived October 2nd. Late July temperatures (max/min) are around 81F/54F. Temperatures for early January are typically 50F/35F.
I have found that the garden beds that have been covered by my chicken coop cleanings will be the most fertile. I add it to the soil in early spring and put the heaviest feeders, like brassicas, in first. After those are harvested, plant the medium heavy feeders. Plant the least heavy feeders like carrots and potatoes last of all; these get hairy roots or scab if the soil is too fertile.
Many people “put in” the garden one weekend in May. I generally plant a little every month. For example, I put 6 broccoli plants and 8 lettuce plants out from the “starts” grown in the garage once a month. I will do that until July. I plant more in July to overwinter or for storage.
In my dreams I grow everything we eat; in reality, I don't even come close! Reality is that turkeys keep digging up the corn seed. Before I figured out that the turkeys were pillaging my garden, I really could not understand the lousy rate of germination! Then I caught on to the fact that the turkeys were well fed and that is why the corn production was puny. Chickens get out and eat the strawberries and the Blueberries, I find eggs hidden under the tomatoes, by stepping on them, but we keep trying.
January
Lettuce, spinach, onions and mustard can all be started indoors. Remember that mustard is photoperiodic, so don't set the timer on your lights for too long of a "day length"! I also have a small glass house that I nearly always have some greens growing in. I also have 2 coffee trees, a small lemon tree and a yerba mate in it.
February
If you are growing asparagus from seed, start it now. The seeds can take up to three weeks to germinate even if kept warm. Prune your cherry and plum trees. The sour cherry tree tends to be spreading and can be pruned to a bowl shape. Sweet cherry trees are best pruned like apple trees. Plum trees vary in their growth habit, but are often pruned to the bowl shape.
Sow broccoli, cauliflower and onions indoors about mid-month. If you use 2" pots, and keep them growing on the cool side, they'll be ready to go out under a cloche about April 1. If you planted some inside last month they can go out at the same time and will be harvest sized sooner. Late in February is a good time to start artichokes. They can be overwintered with care, but Green Globe and Imperial Star are both easy to grow like annuals as well!
I plant peas on Valentine’s Day 2/14. However, in the Maritime Northwest it's important to pay attention to the winter weather. Some years my soil isn't dry enough for any planting until mid-April! Other years, peas can be planted as early as January. I have piled sand and potting soil over my pea area to plant the seeds into and improve drainage in the seed area. It helps to get them in the ground early. Since powdery mildew is the worst problem, plant resistant varieties. Peas planted earlier have less likely hood of getting powdery mildew.
Last year I planted my peas in a different location. I had dug up a strawberry patch that had very sweet but tiny strawberries; they were too small for my tastes. I planted my peas along that fence where the strawberry patch had been. They were shaded by the garage wall during the hottest part of the day and extended my harvest. So, if you have an area that is sunny in the morning with afternoon shade give it a try for snow peas.
March
By the first week of March, the threat of severe cold blasts is usually over. Cold-weather crops will grow, but rain is a constant and must be compensated for. I use my PVC cloches to prevent the rains from rotting away my produce. I don't bring the plastic all the way down to the dirt on the beds where cool weather crops are planted. This way, the air circulates to prevent rot and water gets into the raised beds. Cool weather crops would include the brassicas, greens, carrots, onions, beets and potatoes.
Late winter is the best time to prune peach, nectarine and apricot trees because fall and early winter pruning may expose trees to winter injury and canker infections. The delay permits the grower to adjust the severity of pruning to the percentage of fruit buds that survived the winter. Strive to develop a bowl-shaped or open-center tree.
Plant fruit trees as soon as the ground can be worked and as soon as possible after arrival from the nursery. (Protect roots from drying out or freezing.) In backyard plantings, the sod beneath trees should be turned under and cultivated to prevent competition for moisture and nutrients. I mulch heavily to avoid turning and weeding. Thoroughly water the trees. (Wait to fertilize until the after the tree starts to leaf out)
Use dormant spray on stone fruit (prior to fruit bud swell). Be sure to read labels carefully before applying plant pest control materials. I generally use dormant oil. It smothers the pests that my chickens miss. I use it very early in the morning to avoid killing my honey bees. They usually stay in the hive until it warms enough for them to come out. Apply fertilizers just before bloom to maximize plant uptake and minimize leaching. I use aged horse manure.
Fertilizer Rates
Fruit / lbs. of 5-10-10 (1 lb. = 2.5 cups)
Apples (1 - 4 years old)
1/2 lb. per tree per year of tree
Apples (over 4 years old)
Omit fertilizer unless by leaf or soil analysis (or terminal shoot growth is less than 15 inches)
Peaches, Cherries & Plums
3/4 lb. per tree per year of tree age
Mid March, transplant out, under a cloche, those salad greens you started in January. Lettuce, spinach, and mustard seeds can all be sown into a cloche, and can be counted on to germinate. Beets will come up, but may bolt later in summer if March ends up being cold. Early Wonder Tall Top is a good variety for these early sowings. I like to plant a handful of tall top beets every month when I plant salad greens both for the nutritious greens and the baby beets delicious easy to grow and store. Scallions can be sown now. Note that they will probably bulb in July, but you will get a harvest.
Brassicas can be a bit dicier. Kohlrabi will usually come up if sown in a cloche, but broccoli and cauliflower normally will have to wait until April for the soil to be warm enough for seeds to germinate. Carrots can be started this early, but the soil is often too wet to be worked as well as carrots require. Shorter types are better bets because they don't have the same requirement for deep loose soil. I plant onions and beets in the same bed together. Lime the carrot bed well. Start tomatoes and peppers. If I start them in 4" pots, they are ready to go outside in mid-May. I can put them out earlier using wall o waters or covering my fence cages with clear plastic with clothes pins to secure.
Plant your potatoes on St. Patty's day! Actually potatoes can be planted out without a cloche anytime from this point onward; but sowing them now (and then again in early June) will give you two harvests, if you use an early variety such as my favorite potato, Yukon Gold. If you don't plant corn and let your pole beans climb them (corn is more difficult to grow and takes a lot of space so gardening for food value corn should not be a priority) beans and potatoes grow well together. Cabbage and potatoes grow well together also but not beans and cabbage. Both Cabbage and potatoes can be stored for use during the months when growing food is difficult with little effort, pile in a box in a cool area that does not freeze. Replant peas if seeds have rotted and did not germinate.
April
Plant out cool season crops and others if using cloches and wall o waters for frost protection. Broadcast 1.5 lbs of 5-10-10 (or equivalent amount of organic fertilizer or another complete fertilizer) in a ring around each newly-planted tree. Keep fertilizer away from base of tree. I use aged horse manure.
Measures to control weeds should begin early in the season. Maintain a weed-free area 4 feet from the trunk of young trees. Plant grass outside this weed-free area but keep it closely mowed. Sow more salad veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, and radishes. They don't really need a cloche at this point, but will probably grow better in one if it's rainy (and when isn't it rainy around here in April?)
Start your eggplant inside right around April 1st. If you started broccoli or cauliflower indoors in February, move it to the garden. You can still start tomatoes and peppers, but you'd better hurry! If you haven't already done so, turn under the green manures in the beds where you'll want to grow your summer crops (corn, squash, cucumbers). Soils are still pretty cool, so even nitrogen-rich plants need several weeks to break down.
Try eating kale blossoms! They are really tasty if the buds haven't opened yet. Beets and chard can be sown directly in the ground now. They actually will germinate if sown in March, but if the weather is too cold they will bolt (this is because they are biennial, and can be fooled into thinking they have overwintered). Sow kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower directly in the ground. Remember that brassicas tend to be fairly heavy feeders, so plant them in well fertilized beds. If your garden has problems with the cabbage maggot, cover the bed with a cloche made with a floating row cover like Agro-fabric P10.
Peas can still be sown. However, since they will mature in hot weather, plant enation-resistant varieties (enation is spread by aphids which become more active once summer hits). Tomato plants can be set outside during the day on nice days. They will do much better if given the protection of a cold frame, unless it is unusually warm. Bring them in at night. Enjoy the abundant harvests of sprouting broccoli! Start basil inside around the 15th of the month. If you grow it in 4" pots, it'll be ready to go outside right about when the nights are warm enough. Now is a good time to plant bulb onions. Depending on the variety, these will be harvested in August or September. Remember that onions like warmth early in their lives, so using a cloche or row cover fabric will benefit them.
Hard-grown tomatoes can be planted outside under a cloche late in this period. Do NOT try this with store-purchased plants, or plants that have been grown in warm conditions (even if you've hardened them off). They do well by asparagus and can be planted among them once the asparagus is done producing for the year and just has spears growing. I have a stinging nettle in an open bottomed tub dug into the ground next to my asparagus bed and it is supposed to help tomatoes store better when grown by nettle because is a medicinal herb.
May
It's the first of a new month, and it's time to plant more salad stuff. Once a month is easy to remember, and it will keep you supplied with salad.
In early May I begin to keep a closer eye on the weather. The danger of frost is basically over, but soil temperature can vary quite a bit. If we are blessed with a sunny week in May, I like to gamble with early sowings of corn and beans. Don't plant your entire crop, and don't be too disappointed if they fail! If they germinate, though, they probably will make it.
In most years the soil will have dried out somewhat by now. If that's the case, put in your main carrot planting. Carrots do much better in raised beds, and love deeply-worked soil. But you don't really need to use a tiller; I've gotten good results just working the bed over with a spading fork.
Because soil temperature can vary so much this time of year, I usually plan on starting my curcurbits indoors. Sow squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons directly into large pots around the 15th of the month. Squash and pumpkins are very vigorous, so be prepared to move them to the garden within two weeks. All curcurbits are touchy about transplanting, so you might want to use peat pellets (I've had reasonable success with plastic pots, as long as I am very careful when I transplant them).
Even store-bought tomato plants can be put into the garden now. It is still a good idea to use a cloche. Plan on sowing your dry beans if a stretch of sunny days is forecast. They will need time to mature and dry down. Even with an early sowing, you may end up putting a cloche over them in September. Take inventory of the vegetable seeds you'll use for your winter garden. A lot of them are sown around the first of June, and it'll take at least a week to receive any you mail order.
June
Same as before - start more salad greens.
June 1st is my target date for sowing Brussels sprouts and cabbage. If direct-sown, they will germinate quickly and grow fast. However, if June is wet the slugs can quickly decimate these brassicas, so I usually start them indoors now. Any late-season corn should go in now, in order to have time to mature. Even if it's cloudy, June's long days mean the soil won't be too cool. Sugar-enhanced varieties may still need a little help, though, so consider using clear plastic over the bed if the sun isn't cooperating.
Fall broccoli and cauliflower should be sown during this first half of June. I like to grow them under a tent. This protects them from both the cabbage maggot and the cabbage worm. Cucumbers grow rapidly, and will produce even if they are started at the end of this month! It's a good thing, too. Cukes need warm soil to germinate, and that's not always the situation earlier in the month. Using a cloche, or covering the bed with clear plastic, will usually generate the necessary extra heat.
Summer squash can be direct-sown anytime now. I guess you don't really need me to tell you that. Move your peppers and eggplant out into the garden now. They will do a lot better if you provide a cloche. These two cousins grow much better with warm daytime temperatures, and the inside of a cloche will easily add 10 degrees on a cloudy day. In all likelihood, the basil you started earlier will start running to seed soon. Early June is a great time to start more. With the warmer temperatures, the basil won't go to flower nearly as fast.
Early to mid June is a good target for starting a late bed of potatoes. Yukon Gold, put in now, will give you a nice harvest in fall. Take a deep breath. Look around. The second half of June is time to get caught up in your garden. If you've been too busy, or the weather has just not cooperated, you can still get those early June chores done and still be successful. It might also be worthwhile to consider starting some of the early July winter root crops a few weeks early. June's weather is often more cooperative than July's when it comes to keeping slow-germinating seeds moist.
July
The weatherman will tell you that July 12th is the date (on average) that summer arrives in the Maritime Pacific Northwest. It's also when the bulk of your winter garden has to be started as well! You might feel a bit funny getting sunburned while sowing winter carrots, but you'll get used to it. Sow salad greens one more time. Be sure to keep some seeds for next month, when the winter greens have to go in.
Winter beets, such as Lutz or Winterkeeper, need to be sown before the 15th to be successful. Try to get it done around the 1st if you can. You can be more flexible with carrots. Between the 10th and 15th is ideal for most winter-cropping varieties, but sowings as late as the 31st will still give you useable (but smaller) roots. Earlier sowings will work as well.
You can still plant pole beans: It's better to get them started in June of course, but it's still not too late! I've had the most success with kohlrabi if I sow it around the 15th, although Territorial recommends a date between July 20th and August 10th. Try two different sowing dates, to get a handle on what works best in your garden. The timing will be affected by your exact location, soil fertility, and the relative abundance of cabbage maggot flies.
In my garden I need to get the overwintering cauliflower and (sprouting) broccoli started by the 15th if I want a decent harvest the following spring. July 15th is usually a safe starting date for most of the day length-sensitive mustards. If sown now, they are unlikely to bolt. Your leeks are probably about ready to shift to their final location. Try to pick a rainy day if you can, but how likely is that in July?
August
Summer may start on July 12th, but sometimes it ends well before August 31st! The days are starting to get noticeably shorter, and sometimes we can get surprised by a very cold night. Frost, however, is still at least a month away. Winter lettuce will size up best if sown during the first half of this month (later sowings will still work, but the plants will be somewhat smaller going into winter). The various chicories (endive, escarole, radicchio, etc.) need a good amount of time to mature, especially if they are the heading types. Right now I'd recommend a sowing date of August 1st for all of these. Be aware that I've only tried winter radicchio a handful of times, so I don't have the best sowing date nailed down yet. Spinach can be started now. It matures faster than most of those other greens, and can be successfully sown as late as the 31st.
I like to start corn salad (mache, or lamb's lettuce) right about the 15th of August. Arugula, if put in between mid-August and early September, will size up without bolting. Okay, without bolting immediately, at least! Play around a bit with overwintered onions to find the best starting date. I try to start mine about the 15th. If you haven't grown them before, consider making three sowings (on the 1st, 15th, and 30th) and go from there.
September
The days are quickly getting shorter, but there's still time to plant! This is a perfect time to sow arugula, or some of the fast-growing Asian greens. Try a couple different sowing dates to see what works best for your garden. Walla Walla onions, which dry down later than most other overwintered onions, can be started as late as mid-September - I've gotten good bulbs in July after sowing Walla Wallas that late. You can still get away with sowing lettuce and spinach - but the plants will be much smaller going into winter. Space them accordingly.
Plant some radishes. You should probably still protect them from the maggot fly using a row cover. Leave your winter squash and pumpkins on the plant for as long as you can. Remember that a fully ripe squash will have a hard stem. If frost or disease severely damages the leaves, though, harvest them. As you clean up after your summer crops, prepare the beds for next year. Lime the beds with dolomite and add organic matter, such as leaves or compost. It's not too early to sow a cover crop either. Garlic can be planted anytime that the ground isn't hard, but I prefer putting it in toward the end of September. That way it's sure to get established, and it'll even show some top growth this fall.
October
Planting time is mostly over, but that doesn't mean it's time to take a break! Covering your beds will help build your soil up for next year, and protect it from all the rain that'll be falling over the next six months...
Prep your beds as they become available. This is when I clean out my chicken coop and prepare the girls’ house for winter. I use the chicken manure/ shaving mix to cover my beds for the winter. Have you planted your garlic yet? Usually the second half of October displays a marked deterioration in the weather. If you've got cauliflower and broccoli that are still going, consider setting up some sort of cover for those plants. They are cold hardy enough to last through November - but constant rain will ruin them. It's also a good time to start protecting your winter greens from the rain. If the weather is nice, though, they'll appreciate some unfiltered sun.
November
If you've got tree leaves available, remember that they make good mulch for unused beds. They can also be used to insulate crops that aren't slug prone, such as leeks - these are much easier to dig if the soil isn't semi-frozen! Apply lime in accordance with soil test recommendations. For best results, incorporate lime with the soil. One ton/acre =about 50 lb per 100 sq ft (32 x 32 ft)
Remove apple root suckers. My secret fertilizer is horse apples in a tub filled with water with an aquarium pump & air stones in it. The bacteria grow in it and seem to help with damping off. My orchids in the house bloom well with this. I have drip systems and timers everywhere. I set them up when the weather dries out. To help me remember, I schedule things in my brain like this: on the 8th of the month plant salad greens, beets, transplants out or new starts in garage. Every Tuesday after my radio show I connect the drip system to the hose to water the orchard, and water the orchids. I have the original calendar with all these details in my garden binder where I keep my map and other notes.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Debate! April 3, 2010 7-8 pm
Benson Polytechnic High School auditorium, 546 Northeast 12th Avenue in Portland
Delia Lopez (R), Michael Meo (PGP) and John Sweeney (D) Three candidates for congressional nominations in the 3rd District will debate the Economic Meltdown, Health care and the environment. This should be an interesting event!
In my opinion all of the problems our nation is facing at this time are because we have stopped following the Constitution as the law of the land, and we the people have allowed the government to grow and control everything!
Delia Lopez (R), Michael Meo (PGP) and John Sweeney (D) Three candidates for congressional nominations in the 3rd District will debate the Economic Meltdown, Health care and the environment. This should be an interesting event!
In my opinion all of the problems our nation is facing at this time are because we have stopped following the Constitution as the law of the land, and we the people have allowed the government to grow and control everything!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Campaign kick off rally March 27 Portland
Campaign kick off rally Central Library US Bank room 801 SW 10th Ave., Portland, come meet Delia!
Then over to the park Simon and Helen Directors Park Enjoy the sunshine and get a chance to meet and mingle with Delia Lopez Congressional candidate for Oregon's district 3 Multnomah and northern Clackamas county. Bring your questions and find out how more freedom and less government can improve our environment, economy and cut spending and give us more opportunities. Simon and Helen Director Park is located between Southwest Park and Southwest Ninth, and Southwest Taylor and Southwest Yamhill.
912 Meet and mingle
American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222
March 27, Saturday - Meet & Mingle Click for Details and RSVP Here http://oregon912project.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=15 7 - 9 pm Oregon 912 Project American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222 Highlights of the 912 Convention: Where Do We Go From Here? Mingle with fellow 912ers Meet with committees and contribute your ideas Coffee and Light Refreshments (No outside beverages may be brought in.) Bring friends!
dlopezforcongress@yahoo.com 503-954-4080
Then over to the park Simon and Helen Directors Park Enjoy the sunshine and get a chance to meet and mingle with Delia Lopez Congressional candidate for Oregon's district 3 Multnomah and northern Clackamas county. Bring your questions and find out how more freedom and less government can improve our environment, economy and cut spending and give us more opportunities. Simon and Helen Director Park is located between Southwest Park and Southwest Ninth, and Southwest Taylor and Southwest Yamhill.
912 Meet and mingle
American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222
March 27, Saturday - Meet & Mingle Click for Details and RSVP Here http://oregon912project.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=15 7 - 9 pm Oregon 912 Project American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222 Highlights of the 912 Convention: Where Do We Go From Here? Mingle with fellow 912ers Meet with committees and contribute your ideas Coffee and Light Refreshments (No outside beverages may be brought in.) Bring friends!
dlopezforcongress@yahoo.com 503-954-4080
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Liberty Candidates! Lets get to work!
What is the Function of Government?
Will we choose to subject ourselves to the despotism of bureaucracy; controlling our every act, destroying what equality we have attained, reducing us eventually to the condition of impoverished slaves of the state? Or will we cling to the liberties for which man has struggled for more than a thousand years? It is important to understand the magnitude of the issue before us. If we do not choose to have a tyrannical, oppressive bureaucracy controlling our lives, destroying progress, depressing our standard of living, then we must force the federal government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Should it not be the function of the government to limit its activities to those which it is constitutionally authorized to deal? For example; the Constitution lists national defense, maintaining law and order, protecting life and property, preventing dishonesty, and guarding the public against vested special interests as legitimate activities for government.
Politicians Seeking Donations vs. Serving the Public Interest
Politicians seeking campaign donations have created tax systems to tilt the playing field to benefit the politically connected at the top, while forcing small businesses to pay for it. Increasing taxes on small companies, while creating specialized tax situations for large corporations, this practice has put thousands of Americans in the unemployment lines. Creating regulations, licenses and insurance requirements for the smallest of businesses has stifled entrepreneurial spirit and prevented people from starting small businesses, eliminating for many the best opportunity to work their way out of poverty.
Politicians seeking campaign donations, and multinational corporations have together formulated trade deals so that corporations can speculate across borders with currency, food and natural resources. They do this even as, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 1.02 billion people on the planet struggle with hunger. Globalization has obliterated the ability of many poor countries to protect food staples such as corn, rice, beans and wheat with subsidies or taxes on imported staples. The abolishment of these protections has permitted the giant mechanized farms to wipe out tens of millions of small farmers, bankrupting many and driving them off their land. The wealthiest governments and corporations use institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization like pit bulls to establish economic supremacy.
The contrast between huge bonuses for managers at the top and the income of two-job workers below seems far too common in a globalized world. For three decades, the elite consensus of politicians and corporate leaders have insisted that third-world debts could not be put aside in a sort of bad debt reserve without betraying Globalism’s essential principles and moral obligations. These principles and obligations included an unwavering respect for the sanctity of international contracts. It took the same people about two weeks to abandon that sanctity and propose bailouts for their own far larger debts in 2008 and again in 2009 with the working class Americans footing the tab.
Storm Troopers, why?
Look at the extreme militarization of our police. Consider the increasing number of police on the roads and the military gear with which they are equipped. FBI statistics show that violent crime is at its lowest rate since 1964. The police that were preplaced in Pittsburgh for the G20 meeting looked like storm troopers from Star Wars movies. The armored vehicle that pulled out between the "Storm Trooper" looking police, looked surreal on American city streets. Why, in this time of budget crisis, are we spending money for such things?
Banker Bailouts, how’s that working for you?
The power elite grasps, even if we do not, the massive fraud and theft being undertaken. This is all to save a criminal class on Wall Street, and international speculators of the kinds who were executed in other periods of human history. They know the awful cost this plundering of state treasuries will impose on workers, who will become a permanent underclass. And, they also know that once this is clear to the rest of us, rebellion will no longer be a foreign concept. Our global economy, like our political system, has been hijacked by a tiny oligarchy, composed mostly of wealthy men who serve corporations.
Our corporate media perpetuates a left-right split, calling people who are protesting banker bailouts of Wall Street billionaires "Racist Tea Baggers" claiming they are wildly distorting the truth. Media outlets lead with propagandized stories to make people think a financial scam, a tax that will be forced on all the workers of the world, could in some way save our planet. This has already made Al Gore the first Carbon Billionaire. Gore has made over a billion dollars for himself pushing this new tax. I fail to understand how super- rich people making even more money will help anything.
Why We’re Running
During Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign Dr Paul suggested that if people really wanted to help him restore our republic, they should run for congress. Several brave individuals stepped forward and actually did something none of them probably ever imagined they would do; they ran for congress! It was an uphill battle, a late start for many of them, people that had never run campaigns before stepped up, often in opposition to the Republican Party many of them were running in.
This year in 2010 many of those brave souls are running again and many more have joined in the fight. Imagine if congress was made up of individuals that had held jobs, run businesses and actually understood the constitution, the idea that government was created to secure our rights! The possibility excites me. This year, there are several different groups all volunteering to help these candidates I am including a list of them so any of you can go to these sites and see if there is a candidate in your area you can volunteer to help. Even if you do not live near a candidate, you can still help.
How You Can Help
If you have an extra $5 send it; contact them and see if they have a phone bank set up so you can make calls and talk to people about the idea of freedom! If we all commit to $10 or 2 hours a week, we can make a difference in our country. Tea party patriots and 9/12 members are getting active and joining our cause. Lets take time to educate ourselves on the wisdom of a non-interventionist foreign policy as recommended by our founding fathers. Our numbers are growing and with it, our strength. We are winning small victories across the country. In Douglas County, Oregon, the County Commissioners wanted to add global warming legislation onto all land within the county, all 3 commissioners were in favor of it. On the night the commissioners were to vote, hundreds of citizens showed up to rally in protest. They voted it down!
Scott Brown in MA was the republican and Martha Coakley was a shoe in until the people got involved. A phone bank was set up, and people from around the Nation started to call in and support him. Scott Brown's win sends a loud message to congress. We need to make sure they understand that this message was not, “We want Republicans,” the message is, “We the people do not want more government controlling our lives.”
Most of the Liberty candidates are running entirely grassroots campaigns so join onto a team. There are so many ways you can help to get a Liberty candidate elected, even if you have no money and live far from them. Offer to manage their Wikipedia page, build one for them if they don't have one, monitor it to counter changes added by political opponents. Send “Tweets” to friends and neighbors about events where they will be speaking. Have a bake sale or bottle round up and donate the proceeds to them. What talents do you have? Do you make fliers? Make up fliers based on the information on their web page and send them the pdf file. Graphics artists, send them art to use for campaign signs or fliers. Do you build web pages? Have a server? Put together a chart showing the voting record of their opponent and send it to them. Has their opponent been involved in several scandals, or questionable fund raising activities? People have a right to know! Start a Facebook page or blog detailing the actions you feel are questionable, and send a link to the candidate so they can more easily stay abreast of their opponents actions. Is your English excellent? Volunteer to proof read or write speeches. All of these things can be done over the Internet and would free up time for the candidate.
We must force the Federal Government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Government’s main goal has become to preserve government, not the rights of the individual. Unless we, as individuals, join together and commit to work for freedom for everyone, our Government will continue encroaching into more areas of our lives. The latest attack is the healthcare bill. After the swing to the right to get Patriot and FISA passed, we swing to the left to get a national ID and health and financial records on everyone. Also, a huge new Government program “Cap and Trade,” looms ahead. We have ended up with the pendulum swinging back and forth taking our freedoms on each pass as one political party and then the other has taken power by making promises it had no intention of keeping. The party in power then quickly breaks those promises leaving people upset and active. Now is our opportunity, to finally get people to work together and forget the left/right nonsense of party politics. Won’t you help us?
Check out the different sites listing liberty candidates
http://gigibowman.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/hello-world/
http://americanbuilt.us/news/2010-Liberty-Candidates.shtml
www.libertyslate.com
http://www.rlc.org/endorsements/2010-endorsed-candidates/
http://www.retakecongress.com/
http://congressofhope.com/
www.Liberty-Candidates.org
Delia Lopez
US Congressional Candidate
www.dlopezforcongress.com
"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."
Thomas Jefferson
Will we choose to subject ourselves to the despotism of bureaucracy; controlling our every act, destroying what equality we have attained, reducing us eventually to the condition of impoverished slaves of the state? Or will we cling to the liberties for which man has struggled for more than a thousand years? It is important to understand the magnitude of the issue before us. If we do not choose to have a tyrannical, oppressive bureaucracy controlling our lives, destroying progress, depressing our standard of living, then we must force the federal government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Should it not be the function of the government to limit its activities to those which it is constitutionally authorized to deal? For example; the Constitution lists national defense, maintaining law and order, protecting life and property, preventing dishonesty, and guarding the public against vested special interests as legitimate activities for government.
Politicians Seeking Donations vs. Serving the Public Interest
Politicians seeking campaign donations have created tax systems to tilt the playing field to benefit the politically connected at the top, while forcing small businesses to pay for it. Increasing taxes on small companies, while creating specialized tax situations for large corporations, this practice has put thousands of Americans in the unemployment lines. Creating regulations, licenses and insurance requirements for the smallest of businesses has stifled entrepreneurial spirit and prevented people from starting small businesses, eliminating for many the best opportunity to work their way out of poverty.
Politicians seeking campaign donations, and multinational corporations have together formulated trade deals so that corporations can speculate across borders with currency, food and natural resources. They do this even as, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 1.02 billion people on the planet struggle with hunger. Globalization has obliterated the ability of many poor countries to protect food staples such as corn, rice, beans and wheat with subsidies or taxes on imported staples. The abolishment of these protections has permitted the giant mechanized farms to wipe out tens of millions of small farmers, bankrupting many and driving them off their land. The wealthiest governments and corporations use institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization like pit bulls to establish economic supremacy.
The contrast between huge bonuses for managers at the top and the income of two-job workers below seems far too common in a globalized world. For three decades, the elite consensus of politicians and corporate leaders have insisted that third-world debts could not be put aside in a sort of bad debt reserve without betraying Globalism’s essential principles and moral obligations. These principles and obligations included an unwavering respect for the sanctity of international contracts. It took the same people about two weeks to abandon that sanctity and propose bailouts for their own far larger debts in 2008 and again in 2009 with the working class Americans footing the tab.
Storm Troopers, why?
Look at the extreme militarization of our police. Consider the increasing number of police on the roads and the military gear with which they are equipped. FBI statistics show that violent crime is at its lowest rate since 1964. The police that were preplaced in Pittsburgh for the G20 meeting looked like storm troopers from Star Wars movies. The armored vehicle that pulled out between the "Storm Trooper" looking police, looked surreal on American city streets. Why, in this time of budget crisis, are we spending money for such things?
Banker Bailouts, how’s that working for you?
The power elite grasps, even if we do not, the massive fraud and theft being undertaken. This is all to save a criminal class on Wall Street, and international speculators of the kinds who were executed in other periods of human history. They know the awful cost this plundering of state treasuries will impose on workers, who will become a permanent underclass. And, they also know that once this is clear to the rest of us, rebellion will no longer be a foreign concept. Our global economy, like our political system, has been hijacked by a tiny oligarchy, composed mostly of wealthy men who serve corporations.
Our corporate media perpetuates a left-right split, calling people who are protesting banker bailouts of Wall Street billionaires "Racist Tea Baggers" claiming they are wildly distorting the truth. Media outlets lead with propagandized stories to make people think a financial scam, a tax that will be forced on all the workers of the world, could in some way save our planet. This has already made Al Gore the first Carbon Billionaire. Gore has made over a billion dollars for himself pushing this new tax. I fail to understand how super- rich people making even more money will help anything.
Why We’re Running
During Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign Dr Paul suggested that if people really wanted to help him restore our republic, they should run for congress. Several brave individuals stepped forward and actually did something none of them probably ever imagined they would do; they ran for congress! It was an uphill battle, a late start for many of them, people that had never run campaigns before stepped up, often in opposition to the Republican Party many of them were running in.
This year in 2010 many of those brave souls are running again and many more have joined in the fight. Imagine if congress was made up of individuals that had held jobs, run businesses and actually understood the constitution, the idea that government was created to secure our rights! The possibility excites me. This year, there are several different groups all volunteering to help these candidates I am including a list of them so any of you can go to these sites and see if there is a candidate in your area you can volunteer to help. Even if you do not live near a candidate, you can still help.
How You Can Help
If you have an extra $5 send it; contact them and see if they have a phone bank set up so you can make calls and talk to people about the idea of freedom! If we all commit to $10 or 2 hours a week, we can make a difference in our country. Tea party patriots and 9/12 members are getting active and joining our cause. Lets take time to educate ourselves on the wisdom of a non-interventionist foreign policy as recommended by our founding fathers. Our numbers are growing and with it, our strength. We are winning small victories across the country. In Douglas County, Oregon, the County Commissioners wanted to add global warming legislation onto all land within the county, all 3 commissioners were in favor of it. On the night the commissioners were to vote, hundreds of citizens showed up to rally in protest. They voted it down!
Scott Brown in MA was the republican and Martha Coakley was a shoe in until the people got involved. A phone bank was set up, and people from around the Nation started to call in and support him. Scott Brown's win sends a loud message to congress. We need to make sure they understand that this message was not, “We want Republicans,” the message is, “We the people do not want more government controlling our lives.”
Most of the Liberty candidates are running entirely grassroots campaigns so join onto a team. There are so many ways you can help to get a Liberty candidate elected, even if you have no money and live far from them. Offer to manage their Wikipedia page, build one for them if they don't have one, monitor it to counter changes added by political opponents. Send “Tweets” to friends and neighbors about events where they will be speaking. Have a bake sale or bottle round up and donate the proceeds to them. What talents do you have? Do you make fliers? Make up fliers based on the information on their web page and send them the pdf file. Graphics artists, send them art to use for campaign signs or fliers. Do you build web pages? Have a server? Put together a chart showing the voting record of their opponent and send it to them. Has their opponent been involved in several scandals, or questionable fund raising activities? People have a right to know! Start a Facebook page or blog detailing the actions you feel are questionable, and send a link to the candidate so they can more easily stay abreast of their opponents actions. Is your English excellent? Volunteer to proof read or write speeches. All of these things can be done over the Internet and would free up time for the candidate.
We must force the Federal Government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Government’s main goal has become to preserve government, not the rights of the individual. Unless we, as individuals, join together and commit to work for freedom for everyone, our Government will continue encroaching into more areas of our lives. The latest attack is the healthcare bill. After the swing to the right to get Patriot and FISA passed, we swing to the left to get a national ID and health and financial records on everyone. Also, a huge new Government program “Cap and Trade,” looms ahead. We have ended up with the pendulum swinging back and forth taking our freedoms on each pass as one political party and then the other has taken power by making promises it had no intention of keeping. The party in power then quickly breaks those promises leaving people upset and active. Now is our opportunity, to finally get people to work together and forget the left/right nonsense of party politics. Won’t you help us?
Check out the different sites listing liberty candidates
http://gigibowman.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/hello-world/
http://americanbuilt.us/news/2010-Liberty-Candidates.shtml
www.libertyslate.com
http://www.rlc.org/endorsements/2010-endorsed-candidates/
http://www.retakecongress.com/
http://congressofhope.com/
www.Liberty-Candidates.org
Delia Lopez
US Congressional Candidate
www.dlopezforcongress.com
"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."
Thomas Jefferson
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Cap and trade?
Climate change is an issue that is currently causing quite a stir around the world. Many people are arguing for and against policies and taxes to help protect our planet. Right now one of the ideas in vogue is cap and trade. Where people are charged for using fossil fuels and rich corporations are paid for others burning of fossil fuels. Currently Al Gore has become the first carbon billionaire, he has made over a billion dollars selling carbon credits, and other very wealthy individuals have jumped on the band wagon, never to let a great money making scheme get by. Rothschild, Murdoch and most of t he very rich have bought into the carbon markets. Using the power of media they have convinced a massive section of the population to support a cap and trade scheme.
Politicians getting great donations from these big corporations vote to hit the population with more taxes, further draining the pockets of those already being hit hard by the recession. My big question is, how can a great way to make the really rich even richer help save anything? We need to stop this huge transfer of our earnings to the already wealthy so we as Oregonians can decide to conserve energy. Instead of us sending another billion to Al Gore or Mr Rothchild we should keep our earnings in our pockets. Maybe add a few inches of insulation to our homes? Or buy a hybrid car to commute back and forth to work. As has been proven by the MAX train the amount of money wasted on that train would have allowed hundreds of Oregonians to drive hybrid vehicles and cut emissions by far more. While allowing people to do what they see as being the most effective. The huge increase in property taxes to keep funding the MAX would have allowed Oregonians to insulate their homes, or replace their single pane windows. Instead of taxing the elderly out of their homes.
Oregonians have always shown their love for the environment, recycling at rates other cities would kill to match, even before it was mandated. An efficient and money making private industry had grown up around recycling. Until government interference put that industry out of business. Oregon Tilth spear headed an efficient private verification of organic farms in Oregon. They had an effective system worked out with stringent organic requirements. You knew when it was certified organic by Oregon Tilth that the land was tested and free of chemical contaminants. Until the government got involved. Then Monsanto and Dow lobbyists worked, and the stringent rules were relaxed. So now organic certification doesn't mean what it used to.
When government and corporations work together to help one another, they win and we lose. If you want to help rich people and large corporations make more money to buy more congressmen, support cap and trade . If you want to help keep our planet healthy act locally and think globally. If we all do what we can, our planet will benefit. Oregon led the way with voluntary recycling and other states followed our lead. The best way to lead is by being a good example. Not by using the force of government against the wishes of the individual.
Politicians getting great donations from these big corporations vote to hit the population with more taxes, further draining the pockets of those already being hit hard by the recession. My big question is, how can a great way to make the really rich even richer help save anything? We need to stop this huge transfer of our earnings to the already wealthy so we as Oregonians can decide to conserve energy. Instead of us sending another billion to Al Gore or Mr Rothchild we should keep our earnings in our pockets. Maybe add a few inches of insulation to our homes? Or buy a hybrid car to commute back and forth to work. As has been proven by the MAX train the amount of money wasted on that train would have allowed hundreds of Oregonians to drive hybrid vehicles and cut emissions by far more. While allowing people to do what they see as being the most effective. The huge increase in property taxes to keep funding the MAX would have allowed Oregonians to insulate their homes, or replace their single pane windows. Instead of taxing the elderly out of their homes.
Oregonians have always shown their love for the environment, recycling at rates other cities would kill to match, even before it was mandated. An efficient and money making private industry had grown up around recycling. Until government interference put that industry out of business. Oregon Tilth spear headed an efficient private verification of organic farms in Oregon. They had an effective system worked out with stringent organic requirements. You knew when it was certified organic by Oregon Tilth that the land was tested and free of chemical contaminants. Until the government got involved. Then Monsanto and Dow lobbyists worked, and the stringent rules were relaxed. So now organic certification doesn't mean what it used to.
When government and corporations work together to help one another, they win and we lose. If you want to help rich people and large corporations make more money to buy more congressmen, support cap and trade . If you want to help keep our planet healthy act locally and think globally. If we all do what we can, our planet will benefit. Oregon led the way with voluntary recycling and other states followed our lead. The best way to lead is by being a good example. Not by using the force of government against the wishes of the individual.
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