UrbanFarmingBaltimore: 2011

Sunday, June 5, 2011

At 5 Seeds Farm with Denzel Mitchell

June 3rd 2011

Listen to Denzel on Marc Steiner's Show:

April 19th 2011

May 4th 2011

View Website:

5 Seeds Farms

The Fish Peppers

127 planted this summer at this location.

297 at another site.

The Pepper

The Fish Pepper plant produces medium hot white peppers often used to flavor seafood, thus the name "Fish Pepper".

The mature leaves are variegated and some times the peppers are as well.

The Weather

When we visited 5 Seeds Farms it was the first cool day that week, and the Fish Peppers paid the price. Denzel said that he had lost some of his Fish Pepper crop because of the heat Monday-Thursday, but the small plants at this location were looking pretty good. He was anxiously waiting for the water hook ups that will attach to the drip tubes under the black plastic. Drip style irrigation is popular at the farms that we've visited because the water does not evaporate as quickly.

Denzel's Fish Pepper Run Down:

Fish Peppers are considered local and have been used in our region for approximately 200 years. In spice form, it is popular in Philly and Baltimore and is commonly used with seafood dishes such as a creamy white soup that will not be discolored from the white pepper.

Denzel suggests it is possible that the peppers got to Baltimore from Africa from slave trade or that it could have been introduced by natives.

read more about fish peppers.

5 Seeds Compost System

5 Seeds uses a row of compost bins. The bin to the far left will have new compost materials introduced. Each week the soil will be turned down the row of bins (1 move per week) until it reaches a straw bin with red wigglers (worms) that will produce nutrient rich worm casting to be used in the garden. The compost material starts with 3parts brown (wood chips) and 1 part green (food scraps and plants cuttings). Frequent turning helps the compost cook and also lessens the rat population. As Denzel points out, if we had an earthquake at our house once a week, we'd move too.