Denzel Mitchell talks about urban farming in Baltimore, bringing up new farmers, the heirloom Baltimore Fish pepper, and more.
Hear about how food and farming have been part of Denzel’s whole life, from his extended family’s 600-acre homestead in Oklahoma to his college English professor’s homestead. His experience running farms in Baltimore—the city and the county—helped to prepare him for his current role of co-executive director of Farm Alliance of Baltimore.
You’ll learn about Farm Alliance of Baltimore’s many programs, including a cooperative farmers market, food assistance doubling, mobile cooking demonstrations, technical assistance, soil testing and nutrient management research, compost coaching, and—the newest and largest program—the Black Butterfly Urban Farm Academy. Two years in, 20 farmers have trained in a 9-month intensive with mentorship, coursework, field days at urban and peri-urban farms, and work days at the teaching and demonstration farm with the intention of getting into their own farming business. Hear about an exciting, brand-new aspect of this program, a 7-acre teaching and demonstration farm that will allow the organization to offer farm-business incubator space for academy graduates.
Have you heard of the Baltimore Fish pepper? Listen to Denzel’s history of this heirloom, how he started growing it, and how you can grow it, too.
Denzel talks about his natural inclination toward being a connector and educator and how this has helped him in his farming journey and has served his vision of seeing more people farming.
Follow along with Denzel as he talks about what it looks like for small-scale farmers to truly have support from their customers and communities, and how farmers can come out and ask for that support.
