Going Native

You're probably thinking the Farmers' Market in Espanola looks incredibly small. You'd be right. By spending some time with the Market Manager I found out why -- it's the very beginning of their season, and it's been a very tough one. Farmers usually start with fruit (cherries and apricots), but a freeze destroyed those crops. Since then there's been very little rain.

She talked a little bit about water rights which Puget Sound area farmers don't need to concern themselves with. I saw a book about irrigation in New Mexico, and I think I'll return to the bookstore to buy it.

By September there will be 30-regular farmers selling here. Early October sounds particularly joyous, because everyone puts up (and sells) strands of chiles.



I wasn't familiar with much of the produce, so I was eager to purchase and try it.



Clockwise from top: Purslane; Red Chile Powder; Fresh Garbanzo Beans; Ronde de Nice Squash; Chokecherry Jam; Roasted Fava Beans with Chile and Lime.

The Market Manager visibly bristled when I asked her how many of the vendors grew organically. She carefully explained the community is very low income (clearly noticeable), and the majority of the farmers can't afford the certification required to be officially labeled "organic." She also explained that most of them grew organically anyway, because they were using traditional methods that had been passed down to them. The ones who used pesticides were not shy nor embarrassed to talk about it, so she encourages all shoppers to ask individual farmers about their growing methods. This doesn't sound so different from the Northwest farms with which I'm familiar.

On the days WIC checks are issued the market can be quite crowded. Today was such a day.

We talked about the cooperative kitchen sponsored by UNM and how the state encourages (or doesn't encourage) WIC families to buy produce at the Farmers' Market.

So here was tonight's dinner:



The fresh garbanzo beans were out of this world, and the roasted fava beans make a very appropriate snack with beer. The chile powder was absolutely fantastic, and the entire bag only cost $4.00. I'm eager to use it when I return home.