The Urban Agriculture Program at the Baltimore City Extension Office began in the late 1970s. Since its beginning, the program focused on educating Baltimoreans to develop and maintain a healthier environment by promoting urban greening initiatives through environmentally friendly horticultural practices. The program has also established and expanded networks and partnerships with community agencies and organizations that share similar goals.

An essential element of Urban Agriculture is the community gardens project, “Farming the City." This project helps identify garden sites in the city, organizes a garden plan, advises on horticultural practices, and nurtures gardeners to encourage productivity and longevity of the garden. Most of the garden sites are vacant lots that after being adopted by community residents become green heavens. It is required that a future garden site has access to water or a nearby hydrant and that the vacant lot is a city property. The purpose of the project is to:

• help reclaim vacant lots
• advise on lawn care
• promote home gardening
• teach proper garden insect and disease control
• train Master Gardeners
• promote environmental stewardship, and
• protect Chesapeake Bay

Once the garden space is adopted, the next step is to conduct a soil test. A soil test is a must because our city soils are highly depleted. Then gardeners proceed to improve the garden soil by adding organic matter whether in a form of compost or manure and conduct any soil amendment recommended in the soil analysis.

Through this research-based community education program Cooperative Extension has:

• Helped convert more than 20 acres of city rubble to productive gardens
• Educated hundreds of community residents about gardening
• Saved the city thousands of dollars in wages and maintenance costs
• Helped gardeners raise tons of produce
• Trained and certified dozens of Master Gardeners and volunteers (125 active MG in 2008)

There are many things you can do to help make Baltimore a better place to live. Among those you can:

• Adopt a lot
• Organize a community garden
• Organize a school yard garden
• Consult with us in developing your plan
• Donate extra produce to the Food Bank
• Use good land steward methods
• Test your soil
• Add amendments and improve garden soil with compost or manure

We may not have a lot of acreage to grow vegetables and ornamentals. Yet we have enough vacant lots in the city that not only will produce fresh food for your family, but will beatify our city. Improving a vacant lot with a garden is an intense, but highly rewarding experience. If you don’t belief me, ask any of our long time gardeners.

For more information contact:
Josue Lopez, Ph D
Urban Agriculture Educator
Baltimore City / County
6615 Reisterstown Rd, Suite 201
Baltimore, MD 21215
410-856-1850 x 121
Jlopez3@umd.edu

University of Maryland Resources

• Baltimore City Extension                    
  6615 Reisterstown Rd, Suite 201
  Baltimore, MD 21215
  phone: 410-856-1850
  http://baltimore.umd.edu/

• Baltimore County Extension
  http://baltimorecounty.umd.edu/

• Home and Garden Information Center
  http://www.hgic.umd.edu/

• Master Gardeners Program
  http://www.mastergardener.umd.edu/

• Grow it, Eat Initiative
  www.growit.umd.edu/

Other Organization Resources

• Irvine Nature Center – 443-738-9200
  http://www.explorenature.org

• Herring Run Watershed Association—410-254-1577
  http://herringrun.org

• Parks and People Foundation
  http://parksandpeople.org/

• Baltimore City Dept Recreation and Parks
  http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/recnparks/

• Cyburn Arboretum Association
  www.cylburnassociation.org

• Civic Works, Inc.
  www.civicworks.com

• Neighborhood Design Center, Inc.
  www.ndc-md.org

• Great Kids Farm-Baltimore City Public Schools
  http://www.bcps.k12.md.us/

• Bon Secours Community Center
  http://bonsecoursbaltimore.com/

• Kennedy Krieger Institute
  http://www.kennedykrieger.org/

• Baltimore County Department of Rec & Parks
  http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/agencies/recreation/index.html

• Baltimore County Dept of Environmental Protection and Resource Management
  http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/environment/index.html

• Sustainable Foods
  www.healthyfoodinhealthcare.org

• Baltimore Food and Faith Mission
  http://www.jhsph.edu/clf/programs/eating/proj_foonfaith.html

• Baltimore Urban Agriculture
  http://www.baltimoreurbanag.org/