Wild Kid Acres, LLC, runs right alongside a section of Rt 214 in Edgewater, MD. The road no longer floods like it used to, most likely thanks to the work done by Martinez and the animals living on the farm.
What used to be an unsightly, overgrown section of land piled with trash has now become a farmer’s oasis, home to Gerardo Martinez, his family, and a growing herd of animals.
If you asked him a few years ago if he would end up being a farmer, Gerardo would have told you no way. But his perspective changed when he and his wife took a business trip to Africa and stayed on a working farm, which was also part of a community center.
The couple realized how happy the people were and the positive effects the farm had on the locals. When they returned to their home in Gaithersburg, MD, they decided they wanted their own farm.
With no training or farming history, the Martinez’s wanted at most 10 acres. Striking out in Montgomery County, they were surprised to find the perfect spot on busy Rt 214, or Central Avenue. After falling in love with the property, the family moved to Anne Arundel County.
A Personal Farm Becomes an Educational Homestead
What originally began as a personal project for the family quickly grew into a self-sustaining farm in progress. Wild Kid Acres is five acres steeped in the history of Mayo, having been handed down from Piscataway natives to servants to slaves to a Negro Leagues pitcher for the Hot Sox.
The biodynamic homestead was created to simulate the Serengeti, the ecosystem that set Martinez on this journey. Every animal has a role to play on the farm and must earn its keep.
The farm land is divided into five pastures. One, facing Central Avenue, will eventually hold a huge barn with a dual purpose. The building will muffle the sounds of traffic passing just a few feet away, but also house the growing family of farm animals.
Another pasture is where events like goat yoga are held. Another is the grounds for a future community garden. The pasture at the end of the property leads to Bear Neck Creek, which funnels into the Rhode River. Here, Gerardo imagines the space cleared out to host weddings in the future, but for now, it’s still filled with the last remnants of trash leftover from the previous owners.
With no prior farming experience, Gerardo has taken his role as farmer very seriously, learning how to turn trash into treasure. He’s done so with great success thanks to the farm animals, but there is still a long way to go.
Using Animals and Trash to Create Topsoil
The animals take their jobs seriously at Wild Kid Acres. The goats help clear out the overgrowth, and, along with the bunnies and guinea pigs, produce cold fertilizer. This nutrient rich matter can fertilize the garden and other areas without harming the plants like hot fertilizer generated by the cows and pigs do.
The cows produce large volumes of patties as they graze on grass, producing food for the chickens in the form of fly larvae laid by flies. Wood chips are spread and then the pigs are moved to do their job.
The pigs are the most important animal on the farm. They eat any scraps left behind, rooting through and tilling the wood chips as they go. Mushroom spores are introduced to decompose the carbon produced by this process.
The result is nutrient rich topsoil, created entirely by this biodynamic process. The topsoil can then be used for gardening, which will eventually feed the family, with scraps left over for the animals.
And the process continues.
Future plans for Wild Kid Acres is non-profit status, focusing on education and research. As the farm moves closer to the water, agriculture will meet aquaculture, to help sustain and clean the Rhode River and beyond.
Wild Kid Acres is located in Edgewater, Maryland on Central Avenue. Check out their Events page where you can find out more about Goat Yoga, volunteering on the farm, weekend visiting days, and how you can book a private event.
Authored by Mandy Sleight
