Happy Holidays from your Farmers Market friends, volunteers, growers, sellers and more!

The Espanola Farmers Market in New Mexico! from Espanola Farmers Market on Vimeo.

We'll continue bringing you the news of the market during 2023—especially the winners of the annual contest for 2022. Stay tuned!

We document the past and carry our market memories into the future. . .

The Española Farmers Market isn't here and gone tomorrow. We're getting closer to preparing for the 2023 market season. We have been blogging for the past 15 years and we have been setting up fruit and produce tables for much longer. Our market video has been a hit and now we can look back at it, remember those who are no longer with us, and appreciate the MANY folks who have made the market what it has been and what it is becoming.

Don't forget....that in the next market season you will be able to:

Thank you for being a supporter, grower, board member, customer, volunteer at the Española Farmers Market!

Thank you again and again and again! Without you, this Northern New Mexico treasure would not be possible. We are closing for the 2022 season on Monday, October 31, 2022. See you next year!

This photo is a blast from the past, and it shows us having fun...

We're getting ready to close the season until 2023! Give us a hand. . .

There is one recipe and one product we love to cheer about. Squash. Our recioe is for pumpkin. It doesn't matter. It is also called Spanish squash. We have summer and winter squash at the market. And the winter squash has a shell so thick that it lasts months into the future when it's stored in a cool place. It can be made into a veggie dish with seasonings. It can be transformed into soups and pies. It's local. It's delicious. Many families in Northern New Mexico depend on their locally-grown squash and pumpkins. You've seen these recipes before in Spanish and English. There are so many ways to use squash that we've been asked this year to repeat the recipes. Here they are.

We accept WIC, Senior WIIC, EBT (SNAP) and fresh RX as well as cash money. This season are offering Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) for SNAP customers. Each time you swipe your SNAP card, you will get an equal amount of bonus DUFB for purchasing fruits and vegetables.

Having guests from out of town? Show them the Española Farmers Market!

The fall is a terrific time to invite friends and relatives from out of town to visit the Española Farmers Market with you. You can tell them that we won the best market desaignation in New Mexico in 2019. You can mention that our market video has been featured on a film website in Australia and the news of our accomplishments have been viewed around the world. You can show them the results of our constant additions over the years including an on-site bathroom. And the horno. Point that out. Tourists from out of town contact us to experience the local offerings. Wow. What an idea! You aren't alone.

Show off our onions, peas, quelites, chiles, horno-roasted chicos, chard, salad greens, berries, grass-fed lamb, and more!

And if you see crumbs of food prepared by young people, you can tell your contacts that the young people from the area have been busy cooking in the horno. We have images from the past 15 years that we have been blogging. Yes, that's right. We may be among many farmers' markets in the state, but let your friends and family members know that we have market images and videos from the past 15 years. Now—that's an accomplishment.

Local growers are getting ready for the biggest and most impressive produce!

Growers active at the Market can enter their impressive vegetables in the following categories: Biggest heirloom pumpkin, Biggest root vegetable, Biggest chile, Oddest vegetable, Wild card vegetable, Prettiest ristra, Best corn, Biggest sunflower head or dried gourd. Winners will be announced at our special event in October 2022 and ribbons awarded by the vegetable judge. Are you making a recipe book as a gift for your family and relatives for the upcoming holidays? Don't be surprised if someone from the other side of the planet taps you on the shoulder at the Española Farmers Market. Our vintage video was aired "down under" three years ago.

The above photo is a blast from the past to show that there's more than produce at the Española Farmers Market. Join us! Sing and dance with us. And growers...we're waiting to see what you have to offer at the great veggie contest in late October.

You know that something special is going on at the Española Farmers Market!

"Beans are a magical fruit." A friend of the market said this at a recent dinner party with friends and family members. "You can open a can of beans and they taste like cardboard. But the way my grandmother makes them brings a hush to the meal when everyone passes the beans." Beans aren't an afterthought at the Española Farmers Market. Those of us making special recipe books for the upcoming holiday season will have at least one bean recipe. It's the spices and the contents that make beans a favorite of the guests at your table. Make sure you track down the winners of the biggest and best veggies grown in Northern New Mexico. You'll be glad you did. Buy their produce. Speak directly to the growers. They set up their sales tables with a lot of love. The Española Farmers Market is open through the end of October. Stay tuned for weekly messages and reminders from our market.

What happens after the 2022 market season closes? We huddle to talk about plans for 2023...

The members of our board and special "others" get together after the market closes, and we share our joys and accomplishments. We speak about what went well and what needs to be changed. We share stories. We thank all of the volunteers and members of our board who get together and slap each other on the back...not so it hurts, but this is a ritual that reminds us of another year of accomplishments, the results of special grants and collaborations with community groups. We remember when we open and what happens after we close. We send our sympathies to those families who have lost a friend or family member during the past seaspn. We love the opportunity to get together. We remember our past celebrations over heritage chiles, our sharing of local recipes, our market aprons, the news about purchasing deals, the free books for young people, the chats we have with new and old friends, the live traditional music, the special programs for young people, our free chile roastings, and so much more.

What do you have on your "to do" list that involves the Española Farmers Market?

1. A cookbook of your favorite recipes with produce from the market to give as a gift in upcoming holidays 2. A book of stories about the market to gift friends and relatives, plus what you have heard or experienced growing up in Northern New Mexico 3. A special meal using fresh fruit and produce from the market 4. A evening of song and traditional music with pieces you have heard sung at the Española Farmers Market BLASTS FROM THE PAST—

5. Remembering the year, 2019, when we won a statewide award for the best market in New Mexico The Española Farmers Market is going strong because we care, and we love terrific locally-grown fruit and produce. We accept WIC, Senior WIIC, EBT (SNAP) and fresh RX as well as cash money. This season are offering Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) for SNAP customers. Each time you swipe your SNAP card, you will get an equal amount of bonus DUFB for purchasing fruits and vegetables.

Labor Day at the Española Farmers Market is a special harvest day!

Yes, we will be open for a free chile roasting on Labor Day. Yes, it is perfect date to celebrate the northern New Mexico harvest. Yes, we will be grateful about how we have all been working together to make possible one of the best secrets of the region. Fresh fruit and produce at fair prices. The market is open Mondays from 9 am to 2 pm. Please adjust your calendars. Join us! Spread the word while keeping our secret. And come for the free chile roasting from 9 am to 2 pm on Labor Day.

Write a poem. Enter it into the poem contest. Add it to the heritage recipe book you're making. . .

Don't forget the free chile roasting on Labor Day this year. And note that each Monday market opens at 9 am. There's a lot going on at the Española Farmers Market. The poems written and gathered are ongoing throughout the years of the market's existence. Winners will be announced and ribbons awarded by the vegetable judge at the special event in October 2022. Poets will read poems honoring the importance of growing food locally and caring for our water and land resources. The markets deserve a boost. Some Northern New Mexico cooks are making special recipe books to pass on to the relatives. Are you among them? Don't wait until it's too late. Act now and buy heritage produce at the market. Mondays through October 2022.

See what is "out there" about the Española Farmers Market!

There is free chile roasting on Labor Day this year, 2022. Make sure yoou have the market's hours right. It is every Monday through the end of October 2022, 9 am to 2 pm. When we started the Española Farmers Market over 20 years ago, we had faith that the farmers market movement would spread. Well, it has, and we are still going strong. We're not alone, and furthermore, other communities have markets like our market that functions as a community center, as well as ways to buy food straight from the growers. You can test and produce that was picked the same morning. Confirm with the vendor. You can choose produce that lasts through the winter. You can take your children and relatives to see what the future will be like. And don't forget the books for young people. Listen to the local music AND MORE. One way to cruise the farmers markets in New Mexico is to show up: farmersmarketsnm.org Take a peek at all the other markets in Northern New Mexico. And then you'll get a close look. We have been blogging about the Española Farmers Market for 15 years. Click on past years (listed to the right of this blog post). We still insist that the Española Farmers Market is the best kept secret in Northern New Mexico We have bargains, cooperation with other community groups and individuals, young people anxious to help and step up to the plate. Yes. Join us!

The Española Farmers Market has been blogging for 15 years!

This is an important anniversary. Ofcourse we have had a farmers' market in Española for longer than 15 years. If you look to the right of this blog, you'll be able to review the highlights and the changes over the 15 years that we have been blogging. And here is a reminder of where we are.

Don't tell anyone, but the Española Farmers Market is the best-kept secret in Northern New Mexico. Our success is registered in our purchases, the hugs and greetings of old friends and new, the involvement of young people, the participation and assistance of local folks and organizations, the meals we have had that aren't from conventional containers, the free books for young people, and much more! We'll have a free chile roasting this year on Labor Day. Check out our special messages at espanolafarmersmarket.blogspot.com

We are one of about 80 farmers' markets in New Mexico!

It's August, and there are plenty of locally grown fruits and veggies at the market.

Farmers' markets are all over the state, and we have been operating for so long that we've developed other programs including a youth program, an event to honor heritage chiles, free books for young people, a back garden for growing, traditional music, cooked food available for sale, a front garden, specialty food vendors, fresh produce right from the garden, generations of growers in one family, and more. When local folks visit, they're often guests at the market. Now we even have a bathroom on the property. And plans! We have plans for the future. Some markets across the US are crowded on the days they are open. Other markets have customers who feel like members of a family. This is said often about the Española Farmers Market. Join us We're open from June to October. 9-2 p.m.

Summer squash at the Española Farmers Market are there for the cooking. . .

You drag the early squash into the kitchen and your first thought is— what am I going to do with these treasures? That's the challenge and a question like this is asked repeatedly throughout the season. Many solve the problem with stuffed squash, and the filling has to be a favorite to justify adding it to a family cookbook. What's a top seller in your family? One Northern New Mexico resident specializes in her grandmother's cooking. And if a certain dish made a hit in the past, chances are that it's going to be popular in the present and future. We've heard of former New Mexico veterans who have moved away, but they come home and make sure they ship the ingredients of their favorite local produce to where they live now. And how about you? Just because a family member lives somewhere else doesn't mean they don't want to grow their own. If you use heritage seeds, chances are good that you can enjoy New Mexican dishes now and then, and again and again.

We accept WIC, Senior WIIC, EBT (SNAP) and fresh RX as well as cash money. This season we are offering Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) for SNAP customers. Each time you swipe your SNAP card, you will get an equal amount of bonus DUFB for purchasing fruits and vegetables.

It seems like the 2022 Española Farmers Market will last a long time, but don't be fooled! We plod on during our 24th season!

We set up outdoors in the city of Espanola, New Mexico, and operate from June through October on Mondays through the end of October 2022. When many businesses have closed or are operating at partial capacity, we are adjusting. Sometimes locals order from online herb businesses for difficult to find items. One example is the Rio Grande Herb Company in Albuquerque. Do a search on your computer. There are other similar businesses. One favorite is the "Herb Booklet: A Quick Reference Booklet of Traditional Remedies" written and compiled by Gerald Lovato and Phillip Sanchez Jr.

When you get to know the growers from the Española Farmers Market, ask them about some of the unusual and for many, unrecognizable, products among their more traditional offerings. Chances are that these are wild plants and herbs that have been popular and practical in the past. The odds are high that you either walk in or around many of these herbs daily. Connsider them for use along with other more conventional offerings. Choose wisely. You'll find out more than you ever want to know. There are generations of people in Northern New Mexico who find traditional herbs useful for what ails them. Find out by searching the internet database. And most of all, buy locally at the Española Farmers Market. Ask questions and get to know our market family. Be more than a customer. Encourage others to become growers and consumers of fresh produce available and appreciated locally. Two of our many friends at the Española Farmers Market:

The fresh corn is maturing. Cook and eat corn picked the same day as you eat it!

Those fans and produce buyers at the Española Farmers Market have something special for all of us. We've said this before, and we're saying it again...The farmers market in the city of Española is one of Northern New Mexico's best kept secrets. We don't have to advertise the fun, the inexpensive available produce, and the special events scheduled all through the season. We know about it, and that's what counts. Folks tell others and the word gets around.

We accept WIC, Senior WIIC, EBT (SNAP) and fresh RX as well as cash money. This season we will again be offering Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) for SNAP customers. Each time you swipe your SNAP card, you will get an equal amount of bonus DUFB for purchasing fruits and vegetables.

Española Farmers Market has great produce! from Marguerite Kearns on Vimeo.

But you must get ready and plan ahead. Fresh steamed corn can be messy, but it sure is good. Turn your back on husked corn stored in plastic at your local food store. Ask Sabra when the fresh local corn is ready for harvest. Make sure you have the appropriate seasonings on hand. Invite friends and family members to share the bounty. Make the best of what the market offers.

Locally grown apples are a hit at the Española Farmers Market. . .

We accept WIC, Senior WIIC, EBT (SNAP) and fresh RX as well as cash money. This season we will again be offering Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) for SNAP customers. Each time you swipe your SNAP card, you will get an equal amount of bonus DUFB for purchasing fruits and vegetables.

Many of the apples at the Española Farmers Market are from old orchards that have been cared for with tender loving care for generations. There are apple recipes galore, and some area residents who make such terrific apple pies that folks line up for miles. If you have a terrific local recipe, make sure it is published in the market blog. See Sabra Moore for more information to submit it to market blog editor Marguerite,

What's going on at the Española Farmers Market on the 4th of July? It's our 24th market season...

It's not every year that the Española Farmers Market is open exactly on the 4th of July. But this year it is. And that's how you can combine meeting and greeting and loading up with fresh produce for some terrific holiday meals. See you at the market tomorrow on the 4th of July.

We'll have something special on the 4th of July, such as Don Bernardo y los Ultimos and other musicians. We accept WIC, Senior WIIC, EBT (SNAP) and fresh RX as well as cash money. This season we will again be offering Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) for SNAP customers. Each time you swipe your SNAP card, you will get an equal amount of bonus DUFB for purchasing fruits and vegetables.

A HOMEMADE recipe book is something to pass onto the children and the grandchildren. . .

START NOW. KEEP A SECRET. USE THE 2022 SEASON TO PLAN A SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT FOR YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS. When you visit the Española Farmers Market in 2022, get started by buying produce to make a recipe book. How many times in your life have you wished that the special folks in your family have the key to their history and heritage? The farmers market holds the tradition of organic, heritage and authentic produce. It's our job to pass this on to the future. Make a recipe book of your own creation. Start with green peppers grown locally. Take a photo of them. Start making a recipe book with them. Add stories and family history. Buy seeds that are organic, heritage, and grown locally. Here are two authentic recipes for bell pappers in Spanish and English. Buy your organic bell peppers at the Española Farmers Market. Ask the grower. Make the grower part of your story. Buy heritage and organic seeds locally. Buy organic seeds online. Experiment with them at home. Set aside the recipe and start making a book for the 2022 upcoming holidays. when yoou gift your recipe book to loved ones. STTART NOW!

New Mexico chiles are a hit at the Española Farmers Market....

Some of our customers go to the Española Farmers Market for one thing...the heritage green chiles. They buy the chiles when they're fresh and when the market roasting is free. Get in line when the chiles are at their best. Free chile roasting is popular at the market when it's announced. And this doesn't happen often. So preare yourself like many families. You'll have frozen chiles fresh from the freezer all during the cold months until warm weather comes around again. There has been a lot of controversy about big corporate interests eager to cash in on the reputation of local chiles from New Mexico. But be aware that many of these announcements have profits in mind. They want the good stuff. So ask questions and make sure you're buying the best Northern New Mexico has to offer. There are many hardliners in Northern New Mexico that adore the organic heritage chiles. They keep a distance from the cheap imitations. And when a family members comes to visit from out of town, send them home with chiles that they can use later when they want a warm and fuzzy reminder of where they have come from. Chiles are a gift that keep on giving!

Your 15 minutes of fame can be stretched to a lifetime of fame. Find out for the 24th annual market season!!

First— put on your Española Farmers Market apron. If you don't have one, get it at the market headquarters table. Walk around the house and downtown. Be flashy. Tell everyone you meet about the market and how it's open from June 6th through October 31. The market hours are from 9 am to 2 pm. Spread the wprd about the music, the fabulous cooked food available, and the produce reasonably priced. And then brag about how you aren't interested in 15 minutes of fame. You're going to contribute a photo to the market blog. Or an authentic recipe as an example of New Mexico cuisine. Or a story starring you and family members. This will win even more friends and influence others. Your participation will have years of fame and fortune attached. We promise. Imagine how you will be assembling a New Mexico cookbook with family favorites made from produce at the market for a special event or holiday in 2022. Take a selfie of you in the kitchen cooking to add to your submission. You can be old or young. What do members of your family especially love? Something you prepared. Don't be invisible. Become famous. Tell people you're looking for others to do something similar. Get them involved. Submit your contribution to the Española Farmers Market blog. Expand your project to planning a holiday cookbook of family favorite recipes that you'll give as gifts to friends and family members. Take your contribution to Sabra Moore at the market headquarters table on Mondays and tell her to pass it on to market blog editor Marguerite who has been writing about the market news since 2007. Be specific and say you demand more than 15 minutes of fame by having something from your creative collection featured on the blog. REMEMBER: The Española Farmers Market is the best kept secret in the state.

We're opening for the 2022 Española Farmers Market season. Be dramatic. Leave the earth trembling under your feet!

The Española Farmers Market opens in 2022 on Mondays, starting June 6th, from 9 am to 2 pm. You aren't the first grower or the first customer for the Española Farmers Market. We have been showing up and having outdoor seasonal fun for years. This coming season we'll be chatting about local fresh produce and why it's necessary for us and our families and community. We have past images and videos on this humble web site that goes back to our first online presence on the world-wide web. Even so, the Española Farmers Market is a secret we've kept for us. This season is a celebration of what we offer that's unique. It's hard work growing. That's why we couldn't conduct an enterprise like a market year after year. Last season there were so many vehicles of locals purchasing at the market that it was difficult finding a parking place. We enjoyed the traditional music, the greeting of old friends, and the making of new ones.

We'll be talking this season about the importance of passing down recipes for dishes that warm the heart and soul. We'll emphasize why it's necessary to keep these recipes and stories alive and in shape to pass on. Volunteer as someone who will collect recipes as a fundraiser for your organization. Sell cookbooks. Make recipe books for yourself, friends and family members. Pass them on as gifts for younger people. Contribute to the Española Farmers Market blog and publish your own favorites. Welcome to the 2022 market season. Look for produce that's reasonable in price and valuable in terms of spirit. Have fun!

Our winners for the 2021 Española Farmers Market Contest. . .

Judge: Iren Schio This should be an incentive for the 2022 contest this coming fall.

We are proud to make this announcement...

We open the first week in June! Are you ready for another season?

This is a heads up for the 2022 Española Farmers Market season. Given all the limitations, we're still going strong. The season starts slow and then picks up speed. And when this happens, it's difficult to predict what is next. The market is scheduled Mondays from 9 am to 2 pm. from June through the end of October 2022.

Spring! We look forward to spring because the seeds are anxious to start sprouting!

Did you save the seeds from last season? If you didn't, someone else did. And they're getting ready to watch the ground pop up with new life. Folks in Northern New Mexico are growing more food for themselves and others in 2022. And we're making it available for lots of others too. We just don't show up at the market for produce. There are friends to see, music to listen to, treats galore. And the growers have plenty to tell us. Find your way to the market on Mondays from June to October in 2022.

How are you observing the Spring Equinox in 2022? It is today....

One way is to prepare for another season at the Española Farmers Market. We've been doing the market for over two decades now, and the market has gained the reputation it well deserves.The season goes from June through October, and everyone is aware that this seasonal market is a natural treasure of Northern New Mexico. Greet old friends and make new ones at the Española Farmers Market!.

YES. We have a mission to deliver fresh produce with love. It's local. It is handled with tender loving care. And we have the ability to reach out and touch our good friends with tender loving care. Remember that the Española Farmers Market opens for the season the first Monday in June 2022.