Ideas for articles

I am starting my freelance writing career. More to follow on that. For now, a list of possible articles for my gig as a Portland Gardening Examiner.

Share Cropping in SE Portland, see OR Public Radio for week of 9/28
Gardening for/with people with disabilities
Urban Guerrilla Gardening in Portland
Urban Homesteading
Permaculture for lower-middle income
Permaculture vs. Homesteading: What's the Difference?
Urban Homesteaders Potluck???
Home Orchard Society
Steve Solomon: guru of organic gardening from Oregon
Portland Permaculture Institute
Growing Gardens


Plus:
How to make your own incense
Rating local nurseries
Gardening events in Portland
Bee Keeping
Benefits of Chickens and City Ordinances
A butterfly garden
planning for winter
winter projects: creative containers, window boxes, planning for spring, indoor gardening
the indoor garden
local gardens: Japanese, rose garden, peninsula park, classical chinese garden, berry botanic garden
community gardens
volunteer opportunities
where to go for cheap merchandise (bulbs, etc.)
butterfly houses
hummingbirds
benefits of bees
think eco-native plants
starting tomatoes
growing tomatoes upside down
fall planting
comfrey
composting
how to build raised beds
cat garden
companion planting
sundial
using color
OR garden in Silverton
homesteading on low income without a car

The Berry Botanic Garden

The Berry Botanic Garden in SW Portland offers educational experiences galore for the novice gardener. They need volunteers to help with gardens, greenhouse, research, education, public relations, and administration. For example, the greenhouse volunteer position offers opportunities to assist horticultural staff, including planting seeds and cuttings, helping with transplanting and divisions, and helping maintain the greenhouse and nursery areas. This position is a weekly commitment from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays, but most positions look fairly open-ended. Something to consider if you feel the itch for hands-on learning opportunities but can't afford to take classes.

over due entry: Iron Chef Drink On

Is there anything better than early summer in Portland? The clouds are gone; the sun is here until nearly 10:30 at night; and the strawberries, salmon berries, and cherries are sweet and ripe. Why not celebrate with a garden cocktail party? Invite your friends over and create your own Iron Chef contest using Portland's characteristic herbs and fruits, your favorite types of liquor, a mortar and pestle, a blender, and a few typical mixers, such as lemon and lime juice and club soda. If your garden is rather small, have friends bring fresh pickings from their own gardens or borrow from your neighbors. Recommended selections would be in-season fruits and berries as well as white sage, rosemary, and mint. And in Portland in June, cherries, rosemary, and sage can be found almost as easily as blackberries can be in late summer. The rule for the Iron Chef contest is that contestants must create a cocktail using at least one of the garden ingredients, but here are some ideas. Gin infused with rosemary is surprisingly delicious. Cherries and mint muddled in lime soda will leave you wanting more. Muddle and strain salmon berries for a sweet martini. Sage goes surprisingly well with lemonade. So put on your cocktail dress, throw on your favorite lounge records, and celebrate the summer with some creative mixing and using the bounty of your (or a friend’s or neighbor’s) bounteous herb and fruit garden.