Posts Tagged ‘baltimore’

Baltimore, Maryland, a city I called home for a bit over two years right after college, is doing some really progressive things with urban agriculture as a city.  For example, in 2010 they appointed Holly Frischtat as “food czar” , and they are incorporating food systems into their sustainability plans at the Department of Planning and Office of Sustainability.   I believe this innovation is driven by the residents of Baltimore city, who I’ve always found to be hard working, creative, and the sort of people who roll up their sleves and get down to work.  The city itself is full of opportunity, from vacant rowhomes to large swaths of ignored industrial land, and leadership who isn’t afraid to showcase innovation right at the steps of city hall.  I think eventually the creativity and sprit of the citizens will win out and Baltimore will be seen not as the decaying, corrupt symbol of post-industrial

It’s been two weeks since the Grown in the City Giveaway extravaganza, and I was happy to get this photo from the winner of the free organic seeds.  We will be growing similar gardens this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing her results, given that I will be gardening on a balcony in DC, and she will be gardening in a backyard in Baltimore. The other thing I love about this photo is that she’s so organized and color-coded.  Way to go!

Earlier, I posted about the Baltimore CIty Hall Garden.  I really believe this is a model that can be employed in more places – if not to feel large groups of people, then to educate city dwellers about where food comes from.  I certainly learned a thing or two about how broccoli and cauliflower grow! Big heads of broccoli. There are even more pics to come.

On Memorial Day weekend, I stayed with two of my best friends, Campbell and Sarah, in their Charles Village home.  For those of you who live in the Baltimore-Washington area and haven’t been to Charles Village, you should certainly check it out.  It was named one of the great neighborhoods in America in 2008 by the American Planning Association (before I started working there) and I can attest that this honor is certainly deserved.   It’s home to Johns Hopkins University, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and a lot of really pretty painted ladies.  It’s a place where history, community, architecture, and quite honestly, a bit of weirdness combine.  I had a great weekend. Campbell was nice enough to share some stories about his garden with me. Name: Campbell McLean City: Baltimore, MD What He’s Growing: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Squash, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Carrots, Spinach, Basil, Cilantro, and others. How He’s Growing

Good things are happening in Baltimore.  The city, which can suffer from a serious inferiority complex compared to its east coast neighbors D.C., New York, Boston, and even Philadelphia (I can say this — I lived in Baltimore from 2004 to 2006), has a lot to brag about when it comes to food systems policy and planning!  They’ve got a new sustainability plan that has an entire section on food, and since 2009, there’s been an ambitious edible garden outside of city hall. Then mayor Sheila Dixon greenlighted the project as part of her “cleaner, greener Baltimore” initiative.  Susan Reimer, the Baltimore Sun’s gardening blogger, has a great article about the process.  I didn’t get to see the garden in the first year, but I was able to see it this past weekend on a trip to visit old friends – and boy was I impressed!  This could be a

Welcome back, Prince of Petworth readers. Given the recent surge of interest in urban gardening (where to, how to, when to, etc.) the great Dan Silverman afforded me the opportunity to be a guest contributor to his blog. This is week 5 of 8 scheduled guest posts. So you’ve made your way here. First and foremost, this is a blog about all things urban as they relate to gardening and food systems. From time to time, I’ll discuss things such as farmland preservation, but for the most part, it’s all about the city. I focus on a few main areas: Do It Yourself (as a young apartment dweller, I had to learn quickly how to grow things with limited space and budget); Policy and Planning (this is where my urban planning degree – and google skills – come in handy!); and feature articles, where I explore everything from guerrilla gardening,

I am extremely excited to see the Baltimore City Hall garden – both because I lived in the city for 2 years when this was a “traditional” public space (read: formal, manicured public space that no one ever really used). This article from Susan Reimer at the Baltimore Sun discusses how successful the garden is – so much so that the bounty goes to a local soup kitchen. 1,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to Our Daily Bread! I’ll be heading up to Baltimore to check it out first hand this weekend. Any ideas of other places I should hit, you local Baltimoreans?