Nicholas Olson

This is the home garden that we visited early in the week. This gardener grows a variety of food here such as tomatoes, kale, bell peppers, and more. You can see how suburban of an area this is and yet they have a flourishing garden.

 This past week was pretty uneventful because it was the week of July 4th. On Monday, we completed a garden interview at a home garden in Baltimore City. The interview went well, and it led us to a neighbor’s garden who we have to reach out to. After that, the rest of my week was spent virtually doing data input. We have accumulated a large quantity of data from all of our interviews and garden mapping. Having so much data accumulation requires a lot of upkeep to make sure that we do not fall behind with our findings. At the end of the project, we will be handing over all of our data to our colleagues at the University of Rhode Island who will then publish the findings. Considering we are not publishing our results; it is especially important to make sure all of our data is coherent so that it is not misunderstood. This also helps with my communication and teamwork skills because everyone has to do their part. One thing that most of our interviewees have been curious about is the quality of their soil. We take samples at each food production site and will be testing it off-site later on in the study. 

In our last intern meeting we had a meeting with Steve Darcey who works at the PG County Soil Conservation District. He gave us a very informative presentation on soil quality in agriculture, and how it is related to the production of farmers. Having healthy soil is crucial for crop yield especially in an urban setting where the soil has been compacted and contaminated with chemicals used in construction. We talked about the importance of regenerative agriculture, which is easiest in urban settings, and how it’s the most environmentally friendly method of farming. Prince George’s County recently allowed fowl to be kept on properties dedicated to urban agriculture. Fowl return nutrients back to the soil which is good for plants and reduces the need for fertilizers. In this case farms work as their own little ecosystem. Another thing that I found interesting was the impact of earthworms. 

Through our interviews and focus groups we have stumbled upon individuals who actually farm earthworms. Earthworms provide soil organic matter which plants have a really hard time growing without. By having people grow their own earthworms they can transport them to any garden to improve soil quality. Finding ways to help local farmers is what Extension is all about. It is great to see the different work that is being done to figure out ways that farmers can increase crop yield and feed our growing population.