A Baltimore City farm will be featured this week in an episode of Maryland Public Television’s “Maryland Farm & Harvest” series.
The episode airing on Tuesday will highlight the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm in northwest Baltimore.
Richard Francis, also known as “Farmer Chippy,” and a group of volunteers converted vacant lots in the Park Heights neighborhood into a 10-acre farm to improve local access to fresh produce. The group sells their produce at the Johns Hopkins Farmers Market.
The team views their farm as “a center of learning and explain that by instilling a healthy attitude toward food in young people early on, they can make a difference in their lives,” MPT officials said in a news release.
The Park Heights farmers also created “Agri-hood,” a co-op that can teach other city neighborhoods how to build their own urban farms.
The episode will also feature farms in Montgomery and Frederick counties.
In Montgomery County, a Rockville-based composting business called the Compost Crew seeks to reduce food waste by turning food scraps into compost material. MPT will take viewers behind the scene of the compost process, and show how the compost helps grow new food.
The episode will also revisit a segment from the series’ first season about the Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont in Frederick County. The orchard’s farmer Bob Black gives The Local Buy segment host Al Spoler a tour of the 100-acre farm. Together, they pick apples, discuss consumers’ favorite apples, and explain the best way to store the fruit for maximum freshness.
“Maryland Farm & Harvest,” which launched in 2013, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The series is hosted by Joanne Clendining. Al Spoler hosts “The Local Buy” segment.
Episodes air Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and on MPT’s website.
