Filed under: Baltimore Agriculture, Local Food | Tags: Baltimore Free Farm Fundraiser
Help Baltimore’s Best Community Vegetable Garden
First there was a junk filled lot. Then there was a community garden. Then there were fruit trees, bees, chickens, and shrimp tanks -oh my!
If you haven’t taken a tour of the Baltimore Free Farm yet, you are missing out. The BFF is a realized vision for what farming an empty lot can do for a community. It is also an education in sustainable living. This week, Baltimore Free Farm was awarded Best Community Vegetable Garden by the Baltimore City Master Gardener’s Program. In addition to being a great example of urban farming, BFF also hosts both fun and educational events, and, starting today, will be handing out free vegetables donated to them by a local food distributor (Follow them on Twitter or Facebook for dates and times).
But that’s not all…
Now the folks at Baltimore Free Farm want to do even more. -But they need your help for projects in the works such as: mushroom farming, rainwater collection, alternative energy and community composting, among other things.
Give what you can.
Visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Baltimorefreefarm?c=home to a make contribution. Then visit the Baltimore Free Farm to see your contribution in action!
Filed under: Baltimore Agriculture, Local Food | Tags: Baltimore Farmers Market JFX
Baltimore Downtown Farmers’ Market
Season Opener!
Downtown Farmers’ Market Opens Sunday, April 1, 2012
7am – Noon
The 35th annual Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar offers fresh produce, meats, herbs, flowers, crafts and more! As Maryland’s largest producers-only market, visitors can enjoy a one-of-a-kind shopping experience with economical prices.
On peak Sundays, more than 8,000 people attend the Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar. Average attendance per year is more than 200,000. The market has previously taken place every year from the first Sunday in June to the Sunday before Christmas in December.
For the first time in its history, the market opened in April in 2011. The busiest day of the year is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. For more information on the Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar, visit www.promotionandarts.com
MAP IT
For a list of other farmer’s markets in Baltimore City and beyond, CLICK HERE.
Heirloom Veggie Party and Contest!
From the Parks and People Foundation:
Heirloom Vegetable Celebration
August 13, 2011 — 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209
Join fellow urban gardeners to celebrate Heirloom Vegetables at Cylburn Arboretum.
A judged vegetable show will be held, along with family activities and workshop.
This event is being coordinated by the Baltimore City Farms office and the Cylburn Arboretum Association.
After you’re done at the Heirloom Vegetable Celebration, head over to the Whitelock Community Farm to celebrate community gardens and urban agriculture in Baltimore at the Charm City Garden Tour and Party!
Foraging For Food In Druid Hill Park
From the Baltimore Parks and People Foundation:
Urban Foraging Tour of Druid Hill Park
June 11, 2011 — 9:00am – 12:00pm
Food from Druid Hill Park? What!? Yes, indeed you can find food right in the City’s urban parks. Tour the park with forager, committed locavore, botanist, and author Leda Meredith. Leda will be sharing her wisdom and teaching us how to identify edibles in the urban terrain. At the end of the foraging walk, we will have a Q & A with Leda as we taste treats made with wild edible ingredients.
We recommend you wear comfortable shoes and bring a bag lunch, water, a pen and paper, and perhaps a camera to record the plants you’ve found.
We will meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Disc Gold Course in Druid Hill Park. Click here for a map.
The Cost for this event is $15.
To RSVP, please email Alex Kraus or call her at (410) 448-5663 ext. 119.
About Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith is the author of The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget. Her previous book, Botany, Ballet, & Dinner from Scratch: A Memoir with Recipes, chronicled her 250-mile diet eating almost exclusively foods grown and raised within 250 miles of New York City. She is an instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden specializing in edible and medicinal plants. She is also the recipient of Adelphi University’s Teaching Excellence award. You can follow Leda’s local foods adventures on her blog at www.ledameredith.com.
Sorry this event is SOLD OUT!
Filed under: Local Food | Tags: Baltimore Agriculture, Baltimore CSA, Baltimore Local Food, Urban Farming, What is a CSA
What is a CSA And How Do I Join?
Image Courtesy of One Straw Farm
What is a CSA?
From the USDA site:
As farming becomes more and more remote from the life of the average person, it becomes less and less able to provide us with clean, healthy, lifegiving food or a clean, healthy, lifegiving environment. CSA or Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes the community’s farm. In return, members receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season.
How do I join?
From the MDA:
The Maryland Department of Agriculture is encouraging citizens to consider joining a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm to support local farmers while receiving delicious, nutritious, fresh produce all summer long. CSA members pay an upfront subscription fee to farmers in return for a share of the season’s harvest, which is usually provided weekly. For convenience, many CSAs deliver to central locations for pick up closer to subscriber’s home or work on a certain day of the week.
It may seem early, but CSA memberships typically fill up quickly. Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance says, “This is the time of year to join a CSA and enjoy the fruits of local farms all summer.”
Recommended Baltimore City CSAs
(Click on the farms to get more information)
One Straw Farm (Organic)
Spoutwood Farm
Calvert Farm
Real Food Farm
Don’t live in Baltimore? -For a list of CSAs in your area, CLICK HERE.
Filed under: Local Food, News | Tags: Baltimore Farming, Good Food Awards, Local Food, The Chameleon Cafe Baltimore
The Chameleon Cafe In Baltimore Wins National Food Award
The Chameleon Café, located on Hartford Road in Baltimore, is a restaurant committed to sourcing ingredients from local farms. They offer a seasonal menu and have received a wide range of accolades for their fresh local ingredients. Now they have a new notch for their culinary belt, Leader in Good Charcuterie.
The Chameleon Cafe was one of 15 winners nationally to receive the “Good Charcuterie” award from Good Food Awards, a collaboration of food producers, farmers, food journalists and independent grocers who recognize responsible food production and flavor.
According to Good Food Awards, “Good Charcuterie is made by hand with meat from animals that were raised without hormones and provided with pasture and feed that is free of herbicides and pesticides.”
Here’s what they had to say about The Chameleon Cafe:
Tina Perry handcrafts her Free Range Chicken Liver Pate at the Chameleon Café using her original recipe. Tina first learned charcuterie at the Baltimore International College, School of Culinary Arts; the craft has now turned into her “labor of love.” At the Chameleon, they source their chickens from Ferguson Family Farm in Parkton, MD. All chickens are free range and grain fed, raised naturally and humanely.
To learn more about the award, CLICK HERE. For directions to The Chameleon Cafe, CLICK HERE.
[tweetmeme http://www.URL.com]
Baltidome Blog | Baltimore Green News 