Community Farming
We steward more than 20 acres of land in East Baltimore, which includes half an acre dedicated to farming. Our efforts are focused on maintaining and cultivating three main sites: the Oliver Community Farm (established in 2013), the Johnston Square Farm & Garden (established in 2019), and the Broadway East Tree & Berry Farm (established in 2021).
Over the years, our farming operations have steadily expanded. Recently, we've made a concerted effort to increase production while also enhancing local ecosystems. In both 2022 and 2023, we doubled our annual food production poundage through improved efficiency and holistic management practices.
These efforts reflect our commitment to sustainable agriculture and community empowerment, embodying our organization's values of environmental stewardship and impactful community engagement.
Our Regenerative Growing Practices
We believe the best way to care for our crops is to care for the ecosystem. We plant many native, pollinator-friendly perennials around our annual cropping areas to create a habitat for many beneficial species of plants that will protect our crops. These plants also help to prevent erosion by securing the soil in place with roots and filtering any rain runoff that might carry our nutrients down into the bay.
By reducing the amount of tillage or aggressive mixing of our soil, we support the animal, bacterial, and fungal communities which naturally reside there. This balanced biological environment helps to support plant growth by creating soil structure and nutrition which will provide everything the plants need. Additionally, we use crop-rotation to break pest cycles and vary the nutrient requirements of the soil. We plant cover-crops between production crops to serve as green mulches, break-up compaction, and aggregate deep nutrients toward the surface.
Check out some of what we grow across our three farm locations!
SUMMER
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplants
Okra
Basil
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Flowers
WINTER
Sweet Potatoes
Garlic
Pumpkins
Cabbages
Winter Squash
PERRENNIAL
Peaches
Plums
Apples
Pears
Cherries
Berries
Grapes
Figs
Herbs
ALL YEAR
Lettuce
Kale
Collard Greens
Carrots
Radishes
Turnips
Beets
Parsley