The Prince George’s Soil Conservation District, along with Bloomin’ PGC partners and local urban farming advocates, invite you to participate in our Monthly Urban Farmers & Growers Open Mic Night! Held on Zoom, this event is a platform for the urban farmer community to collaborate and share useful information amongst each other. Any urban farming related topics—land leases, equipment and supplies, staffing and volunteering, resource-sharing, grants, and mental health—are all welcome to discuss.

Growers are invited to share their enterprises, as well as discuss challenges and opportunities they face in growing for-profit and donation in Prince George’s County. Join our monthly meet-ups to ask and answer questions, share your signature growing tips, discuss the latest news in the urban Ag industry, or even blow off some steam. (We know that pesky groundhog is driving you nuts!)

****** NEW THIS MONTH – WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ON URBAN FARMS! ******

We invite you to join us on Tuesday, May 18th at 7:00 PM. This month we have invited University of Maryland Extension’s Jonathan Kays and Luke Macaulay to speak with us about wildlife management on urban farms. They will present “Controlling Furry Pests in the Landscape and Nursery.” Landowners and farmers are challenged with managing problem wildlife species. Vertebrate species such as deer, voles, groundhogs and others can cause great damage. This presentation will provide some basic principles of integrated wildlife damage management and provide lethal and non-lethal options for deer and voles along with other species. A few resources that may be useful are available at: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/wildlife-damage-control.

In addition this is a great time for you to share recommended tips, resources, and upcoming events.

The District encourages urban farmers and other growers of all skill levels to attend. We look forward to working with the community to grow new and existing urban farms and community gardens in Prince George’s County!

For more information on the Bloomin’ PGC Urban Farm Initiative: https://www.pgscd.org/urban-agricultural-conservation/urban-farms/bloomin-pgc/

Bloomin’ PGC is an initiative launched by the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council, the Prince George’s Soil Conservation District, the University of Maryland Extension in Prince George’s County, and ECO City Farms to support the growing urban farm movement in Prince George’s County.