TAYMAN FIELD & OAK'STEAD FARM: UCFA SEED FARM SITES

In June of 2022 St. Thomas Episcopal Parish in Upper Marlboro Maryland offered four acres of church property to Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance.  Formerly a terraced organic vegetable farm called Tayman’s Field, UCFA is converting the farm into a Seed Farming Training site. In return UCFA will support the establishment of a Children’s Garden for the church and contribute fresh vegetables to the church’s food pantry.  

Currently Tayman’s Field includes a barn. But the site lacks water and electricity. With adult and youth volunteers, UCFA has divided the four acre site into multiple plots where we grow  culturally meaningful crops in order to harvest and preserve their seeds. At Tayman we are also establishing a food forest growing native fruit, nuts and berries. The church also has provided an additional site to UCFA for training in beekeeping.

CHECK OUT LINK BELOW: A news segment about UCFA on GET UP DC  WUSA9 https://ujamaafarms.com/media-mentions

In Camp Springs, Maryland, Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA) is transforming a 1.47 acre urban farm into a seed farming training center. The Oak'stead Seed Farming Training Center will expand and strengthen UCFA’s current online Ira Wallace Seed School (IWSS) curriculum by creating a series of hands-on seed farming trainings opportunities. 

The IWSS, our seed farming education program provides students nationwide with a strong foundation in ethical seed stewardship, seed production, biodiversity conservation, seed history, and seed enterprise development through virtual instruction. Oakstead Farm will serve as a living outdoor classroom where students can apply concepts learned online through direct experience. 

The Oakstead Farm site in Camp Springs, Maryland is strategically located in southern Prince George's County and is exceptionally accessible to residents throughout the Washington DC metropolitan region. This location makes it an ideal site for regional seed farming education, serving participants from Washington, DC, Prince George's County, and northern Charles County, as well as folks living in northern Virginia.

The workshops and training at Oak'stead Farm will also be available to the general public. Participants will engage in field-based training on crop planning, seed crop production, pollination biology, isolation techniques, pest and disease management, seed harvesting, seed cleaning, germination testing, and seed storage. 

Plots at Oakstead Farm will feature culturally meaningful heirloom vegetables, herbs, flowers, and grains that illustrate the complete seed-to-seed cycle. The project will also support training in biodiversity preservation, American Indigenous, African, Asian, and European seed traditions, as well as community seed stewardship by maintaining living collections of heirloom and open-pollinated varieties. In addition to technical skills, Oak'stead Farm will provide opportunities for cooperative learning, mentorship, and community building among beginning and experienced growers.