Raising your own vegetables a great way to go green

Many of my hours are spent thinking and talking about the impact our Little Patuxent Speedway has (or is it Parkway?) on Town Center, Columbia, Maryland. This roadway is where there is a high risk of injury and worse, the site of the deaths of two pedestrians over the past few years. But this piece is not meant to be about speed, but rather about going green.

It is still spring for the first three weeks of June, and spring is a time for trees, flowers and, best of all, a time to plant seeds. Better yet, a time to plant some seeds that will produce food for the table. Nothing like seeing tomatoes and lettuce and corn and strawberries grow in our own yard or on our deck.

Recently, I attended a presentation by a master gardener from the University of Maryland Extension Service at Historic Oakland on "container gardening" for those of us who live in apartments and condos with no area for planting. The Extension Service is a marvelous resource for the neophyte gardener, and there is Jerry Kissel, a state master gardener right in Ellicott City. Internet sources include http://www.mastergardener.umd.edu growit.umd.edu and groweat.blogspot.com

There are people living in Town Center, all around Columbia and throughout Howard County who don't have the means to engage in this kind of activity. It is possible that you, yes you, could perform a "good deed" by contributing a portion of your crop this summer and every summer to the Community Action Council, Howard County Food Bank or Grassroots.

 

Joel Broida

Town Center