| |
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|  ECO City Farms September 2015 |
Everyday is Food Day with ECO City Farms!
Save the Date!
Food Day is Saturday October 24th from 2-5pm.
Visit the home of the
Port Towns Farmers Market (a block away from our Bladensburg Farm) in Bladensburg, MD to celebrate Food Day with ECO City Farms! We'll have music, food, farm tours, a farmer photo booth, apple tasting, face-painting and other activities for kids, cooking demonstrations and our famous smoothie bike.
This event is free.
Come spend a beautiful fall day celebrating the harvest and food!
Event date: October 24, 2015, 2-5pm
Location: Site of the Port Towns Farmers Market
5801 Emerson Street, Bladensburg, MD 20710
All volunteers will receive a FREE T-SHIRT!!
If you have any questions about volunteering, please email Kayla, Volunteer Coordinator
[email protected]<<
|
|
Apprentices and Interns Wanted for the Fall/Winter Season!
ECO's apprenticeships and internships present an immersive, hands-on opportunity to learn about sustainable urban agriculture by working directly with experienced farm staff. In addition, you make a significant contribution to ECO's programs.
The season begins in September and ends in March.
We are accepting applications for:
- Bladensburg Farm: Apprentices and Interns
CLICK HERE to learn more about our internship and apprenticeship program and to read the job descriptions of each position.
CLICK HERE to apply for an internship or apprenticeship.
|
 Composting Course: Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Landscaping This course will include a walk-through of components and processes of composting combining lecture and discussion with hands-on experience.
Students will deepen their knowledge and appreciation of soil as the most important player in farming. You will learn different methods for building & maintaining a healthy compost pile, and detect and diagnose problems in a pile. You will also explore "recipes", uses and benefits for effective composting in organic agriculture. Also, the course will cover the benefits & production of vermicompost from Red Wriggler worms in organic gardening or urban farming.
Date: Saturday, October 3
Time: 10am-4pm
Location: 6100 Emerson Street Bladensburg, MD 20710
Cost: $50 To register, contact Viviana Lindo at [email protected] |
Nutrition Education Offerings
Join us for a delicious conversation about community nutrition!
Below are our offerings for September:
Annual Hyattsville Community Multicultural Health & Wellness Fair
Date: Saturday, September 19th
Time: 10am-2pm
Location: First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville
6201 Belcrest Road Hyattsville, MD 20782
Let's Talk Food Workshop- Bladensburg High School
These two hour sessions bring practical information about food and nutrition. The goal is to promote good health habits and a healthy life style for children and adults in Prince George's County.
Date:
Tuesday, September 29th
Time:
5-7pm
Location:
Bladensburg High School
4200 57th Avenue Bladensburg, MD 20710
Chesapeake Herb Gathering
ECO is a sponsor for this year's Chesapeake Herb Gathering - an annual gathering of our herbal and plant community and a fundraising event for Sign of Jonah Partnership in Healing. Enjoy a day of workshops, local vendors, and networking with local medicine makers, teachers, clinical herbalist, healers, botanists, farmers, birthkeepers, plant people, artists, homesteaders, and more!
Date: September 26 & 27
Location: Melwood Recreation Center, 9035 Ironside Road, Nanjemoy, MD 20662
|
|
Now Accepting Members for Fall/Winter Farm Shares
Receive fresh veggies throughout the cold season. Each week contains a different mix of produce, depending on what is in season. The taste, freshness and nutrition of locally grown, fresh picked produce can't be beat. Support your local farm economy and and support your health with an ECO farm share!
TWO SHARE SIZES AVAILABLE: LARGE FARM SHARE - ECO FARM SHARE: Dates: October 15, 2015 to March 17, 2016. Cost: $17/week for entire five month season, 18 weeks at $306. Quantity: Receive six items, bunches or single pounds per week grown at ECO City Farms.
SMALL FARM SHARE - EAT LOCAL FARM SHARE: Dates: October 15, 2015 to December 17, 2015 Cost: $12/week with purchase of 9 week season, at $108. SNAP/WIC customers pay $10 weekly with monthly commitment and $20 deposit. Quantity: Receive four items bunches or single pounds per week grown by ECO or our partner sustainable farmers.
Pick up weekly: > Thursdays: 3-7pm at Riverdale Park Farmers Market, 4705 Queensbury Road, Riverdale Park, MD 20737.
> Saturdays: 10am-12pm at the Edmonston Farm, 4913 Crittenden Street, Edmonston, MD 20781.
If you are interested in a Fall/Winter farm share, please contact Amanda West, [email protected].
|
|
Transitioning to the Cold Season...
From our Founding Farmer: Christian Melendez
Although it doesn't feel like it, the cold season is just over the horizon. Daylight is decreasing, and lower temperatures will soon replace the heat. Many consider it the end of the season. At ECO City Farms, we see it as the start of a new season. We suggest two options for your cold season garden:
1)
Putting the garden to rest until next Spring, in a few simple ways
2)
Planting cold-season crops and winterizing your plot to get food into the winter
For option 1, most people clear out the garden debris and compost it. If you like things tidy, go for it. I tend to uproot things, and then lay them over the garden (I like to compost things where they will go, but that can be another newsletter topic). Then cover the garden in a thick mulch (at least 2-3"). Popular options are leaves, straw (beware of seeds in the straw!), or woodchips. Mulch is mostly carbon-based and will prevent erosion and loss of nutrients when the rains/snows come.
Let's go back to those who like to clear the bed. Don't leave the bed naked for the winter. You can plant certain crops, called Cover Crops, that can grow into the winter to prevent erosion and loss of nutrients, but also can increase fertility, condition soils heavy in clay, and suppress weeds. Popular choices include: Peas (Austrian Winter Peas are preferred), Winter Rye, Oats, Daikon Radish, Hairy Vetch and White Clover. There are others, so do some research if you want to expand your cover crop mix. I plant them all together because there is no one perfect cover crop.
In the next newsletter, we will go over option 2. But to get you started, consider planting these popular cold-hardy crops now to get a head start on the winter. Again, there are more, but this will get you started.
- Broccoli, Kale, Collards, Mustard Greens, Cabbage, Bok Choi, Kohlrabi, Turnips, Radishes, Arugula
- Lettuce, Spinach, Scallions, Garlic, Leeks, Carrots, Swiss Chard
|
| Open Volunteer Hours  Come and get your hands dirty and help us run our farms! Perfect way to spend a day outdoors and get those required service learning hours. The volunteer season is March to November.
Work is from
9am - 12:00pm
at each location. Please plan to be there for the whole time period.
No need to rsvp if you are coming, unless you have more than three people coming with you.
Read more info on volunteering and what to expect. Contact Kayla, our volunteer coordinator, for more information: [email protected]. Find out how to get to our farms: maps and directions
> Edmonston Farm: Volunteer hours are on 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month.
> Bladensburg Farm: Volunteer hours are on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. |
Farmers Markets
Thursdays 3-7pm
The year-round
Riverdale Park Farmers Market
has come alive with the warmer weather.
Enjoy the live music and conversation. Come visit our stand and chat with farmer Deborah about what's in season and share your yummy recipes with Amanda.
The Riverdale Park Farmers Market is
located in the MARC train station parking lot (4650 Queensbury Road Riverdale Park, MD 20737).
Saturdays 10am-1pm
 The last day for the Port Towns Farmer Market is
Saturday, October 3rd!
Come by to meet local farmers, support local food businesses, get your fresh, local produce and tasty foods, hear live music, and fun for kids. Learn how to prepare and cook fresh produce through cooking demonstrations.
Come to your new neighborhood farmers market at
5801 Emerson Street in Bladensburg, near the Port Towns Elementary School.
Visit our
website to learn more about the market and how to support us.
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
| |
|
