The Urban Farming Research Clinic, located just steps away from the Anne Arundel County Extension office, was created as part of the Anne Arundel and Prince George's Urban Farming Workgroup. This group is committed to lead the urban farming initiative by planning educational workshops and projects like the Urban Farming Research Clinic to help urban farmers with topic areas such as business planning, land access, and integrated pest management. The project began in April of 2022. Three varieties of pumpkins (Rhea, Iron Man, and Gladiator), Indian Corn, Popcorn, and Sunflowers have been planted for the 2022 season. Golden German Foxtail Millet was planted on June 6th as a cover crop. High tunnels will be assembled for spring 2023.
What is Urban Agriculture?
The definition of Urban Agriculture provided by the Environmental Protection Agency: “Urban Agriculture is a part of the local food system where food is produced within an urban area and marketed to customers within that area”. Urban Agriculture is an environmentally sustainable way for farmers to generate income in a smaller area. It allows access to food security while reducing the transportation costs of transporting food. Learn more about Urban Agriculture in Extension here.
Pest and Weed Management
At the Urban Farming Research Clinic, an integrated pest and weed management approach is used to control pests and weeds. Integrated pest management focuses on long-term prevention of pests and their damage. The herbicides that have been applied are Poast, Dual, AAtrex, and Sandea. Learn more about IPM here.
