LABOR DAY FREE CHILI ROASTING

Espanola Farmers’ Market will be hosting our annual Labor Day Free Chile Roasting on Monday September 3^rd, 2012. Any fresh chile purchased at the Market on Labor Day can be roasted free. We will also have a table with samples of local varieties of heirloom chile and stories of how the farmer obtained her/his seeds and their favorite methods of preparing and eating chile.

Students will be helping set up displays and serving as guides to visitors wishing to sample the varieties of chile during this Labor Day holiday event.These students have been participating throughout the summer in Cooking Up Traditions, learning with mentors Dexter Trujillo, Norma Navarro and Brenda Coriz how to prepare fresh foods in the horno or how to identify and cook wild foods such as quelites (lamb’s quarters), as well as helping weed and plant in the Wildflower Garden. Cooking Up Traditions has been funded by Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area (NRGNHA) and Farm to School.

Chile roasting will go on all day during Market hours, 10am until 5pm on Monday.

Starting at 1pm, the Market will host the first annual CHILE FEST - a Traditional New Mexico Green Chile Cook-off, in conjunction with íEl Tiempo! Nuevo México. Judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the best traditional green chile in New Mexico!  Contestants must bring their chile to the Market by 1pm. Judging will take place at 1:30.  Entries must consist of a crock-pot of green chile (with or without meat) picked and roasted from this year's crop.  Only traditional chile is allowed, no Big Jim, Española Improved or any other corporate developed or commercially sold hybrid can be entered.  GMO Chile is strictly forbidden!For official rules and to register to enter CHILE FEST 2012, please go to:  www.eltiemponm.org Or go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/306816042750066/

 íEl Tiempo! will also have an information table about the current threat of Genetically Modified Chile.  Visitors can enter to win an íEl Tiempo! beautiful Traditional Chile bumper-sticker or sign a petition to keep New Mexico's chile GMO free! The drawing of winners’ names will be at 5pm on September 3rd. 

Labor Day September 3^rd is also a regular Monday Market, with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables for sale, as well as horno bread, USDA-certified grass-fed lamb, jams, pastelitos, chicos, dried blue corn, local soaps, and other tasty delights. Children can select a free book from our Kids’ Book Exchange. Espanola Farmer’s Market is open twice weekly, including Friday from 2-7pm.

Information: (505) 685-4842

Interesting Facts to Consider

The number of farmers' markets in New Mexico has grown from 39 to 61 since 2005. Gross sales were $6 million in 2011, up from $3 million in 2007. Federal funding of $130,000 in FMPP (USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program) has helped over the past six years. From the newsletter of the Sothwest Marketing Network.

Also of note: From now through April 2013 there are four training sessions of the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance throughout New Mexico. For more information: grassfedlivestock.org

November 14-16, 2012. Quivira Coalition's 11th annual conference. "How to feed nine billion people from the ground up." Albuquerque, NM. For more information: quiviracoalition.org

Support your local chile grower

As we carry locally-grown chiles home from the Española Farmers Market this season, treasure them, freeze them, plan meals around them. Why? Because our vendors deserve appreciation for the hard work that goes into setting up a booth at the market during the height of the season. Also, the New Mexico Chile Association is concerned about the declining availability of fresh, pure state grown product. Our chiles are so good that others want to imitate them. Here's the background. And make sure you get your family's supply for the winter.

Watch for announcements of chile roasting at the Española Farmers Market. Photo: Chile roasting in years past have brought crowds to the market.

Photo: 

Great Summer Projects Funded by NRGNHA

Espanola Farmers’ Market is a seasonal weekly market open every Monday from10am-5 pm mid-June through October. We also host a Friday afternoon market from 2-7pm during the height of the harvest. Farmers come from Santa Cruz, Chimayo, Peñasco, Nambe, Abiquiu, Velarde, Chile, Tierra Azul, Chamita, Cuyamungue, Lyden, La Puebla, Taos, Kewa, Hernandez and other communities to sell their fresh produce including a wide variety of heirloom and traditional vegetables, fruits and herbs. Espanola Farmers Market has received two grants from Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area (NRGNHA). 

The first grant in 2010 was for the construction of an horno, a traditional clay oven, within the Market’s Wildflower Garden area, a community flower garden with eleven oval flowerbeds. Dexter Trujillo from Abiquiu worked with five local students to construct the horno throughout several consecutive Monday Markets. The students made over 300 triangular shaped adobes from the clay rich soil found at theMarket site, then worked with Dexter to construct the horno and apply a finish coat of mud plaster. The horno construction attracted a variety of visitors and volunteers during each work day, watching, helping mix mud or lay adobes, or sharing stories about how their grandmother or another relative used to bake food with this clay oven.

This year the Market received another grant for a Cooking Up Traditions project. This series of cooking demonstrations is funded for the 2012 season through NRGNHAand Farm to School with in-kind matching provided by Espanola Farmers’ Market. Each week during ten Market Mondays students will cook a variety of foods in the horno and also learn about preparing dishes with wild plants or other vegetables under the tutelage of Dexter Trujillo, Brenda Coriz, Norma Navarro or other cooks. We hope to continue developing the use of the horno and to honor and nurture a variety of land-based traditional practices with these cooking demonstrations. There are a variety of wild food plants already growing in the Garden including quelites, purslane, wild licorice as well as an abundance of wild dye plants. 

Traditional gardens have often included both wild and cultivated foods as well as outdoor methods for cooking or preparation. We plan to cook bread, chicos, pies, squash and other foods, utilizing the nearby NNMC Commercial Kitchen for food preparation & the horno for baking. Students will learn about how to use a traditional oven and how to identify and prepare traditional food. Customers will also benefit from seeing the horno used and sampling foods. On the Chile Roasting Day, various farmers will prepare displays from their farms and identify the variety of heirloom chile they grow. Visitors can have any chile purchased at the Market that day roasted free. One of the cooks will also be roasting chile in the hornoand offering tasting samples. We will have musicians performing throughout midday to add to the celebration. The project will culminate in a potluck feast on the last Marketday in October.

Española Farmers Market schedule for August!

August 3:  Friday Afternoon  Market: 2-7pm

August 6: Regular Market Monday + students & others explore Wild Plants in the fields & in the farmers’ stalls + cooking quelites

August 10:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

August 13: Regular Market Monday

August 17:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

August 20: The Market Is Corny. Celebrate the arrival of fresh corn. +  students & others do a Roasting Chicos Demonstration in the horno. Shop for freshly-made chicos, posole, fresh corn.

August 24:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

August 27: Regular Market Monday.

August 31:  Friday Afternoon Market, 2-7pm

Specials at Friday Markets!

Don't forget the Española Farmers Market on Fridays from 2-7 p.m. This week, and every other week, you can find grass-fed lamb.

Monday markets are at the same time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A mid-July 2012 reminder. . .

The Española Farmers Market schedule for July 2012 is on our web site. Check it out.

Take a look at our Española Farmers Market photo gallery

If you haven't seen the Española Farmers Market photo gallery, take a look at our new digital platform. It's easy. Here's the link.

The word is getting around!

The Rio Arriba County web site has featured the Española Farmers Market for growing stronger and continuing its strong presence in the region. Follow the link.

Fifth anniversary garlic harvest festival at Northern NM College

Saturday, July 7, 2012. 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

JULY MARKET SCHEDULE FOR 2012

July 2: Independence Day at the market + students & others do a  Baking Demonstration in the horno + Music

July 9: Regular Market Monday. Look for the jams, jellies and baked goods produced by the Espanola Farmers’ Market Jams & Jellies Coop.

July 16: Regular Market Monday + students & others do a Baking Demonstration in the horno

July 20: First Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

July 23: Market Treasure Hunt & Kid’s Day Hourly Treasure Hunt. Children win prizes for finding the glittery carrots, apples, squash or other fake vegetables hidden in the growers’ stalls + + students & others do a Baking Demonstration in the horno.

July 27:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

July 30: Regular Market Monday.

June 11th is market opening day!

The 2012 season for the Española Farmers Market runs from June 11 through October 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. And get ready for Friday afternoon markets which start July 20 and run through September 21st. It's going to be a great season!

We're getting ready for the opening of the Española Farmers Market. The ground is being prepared. The farmers are busy.

And now you can subscribe to our blog. Click here and give us your email.

And then visit our new Española Farmers Market platform at: espanolafarmersmarket.org

Sweet red onions in your salad: Coming soon!

If you're thinking about the opening of the Espanola Farmers Market already, you aren't the only one.

Soon the land will be prepared for the growing season. This year we'll be upgrading our outreach with a new web platform to show off our photos of people, food and fun. The new online garden will be tilled and seeded until the opening of the market in mid June. Here's the web address so you can check in and see how things are progressing: espanolafarmersmarket.org

We'll still post on the blog: espanolafarmersmarket.blogspot.com

You'll get more information, great photos and connection than ever before. See you this summer! Meanwhile, imagine fresh northern New Mexico sweet red onions in your salad.

Chile Bowl Cook-Off: March 31st

For those of us with chiles still in the freezer, mark the calendar for the 6th annual Espanola Valley Chili Bowl Cook-Off on March 31, 2012, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Santa Clara Casino Special Events Center. Enter for red chile, green chile or salsa, for prizes and trophies. Tickets: $10 for adults and $3 children, ten and under. Call 505-753-4956 for more information.

ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET SEASON APPROACHING: WHAT'S NEW!

Cooking Up Traditions demonstrations:
The Espanola Farmers' Market will host several cooking-in-the-horno food demonstrations throughout the summer, thanks to a grant from Northern Ro Grande National Heritage Area (NRGNHA). We will also have demonstrations identifying wild food and dye plants growing in our Market Flower Garden and a tasting of local heirloom varieties of chile as the season unfolds.

Gardens:

Start looking in May for new plantings in the eleven wildflower ovals of the community garden facing the street. Last year, many customers took home donations of amaranth,cosmos and marigold seeds.  We are also starting community vegetable gardens in the back fields and have a core of five gardeners ready to plant in late spring. Watch the blog for a listing of possible student employment in these fields as summer nears.

Happy holidays and celebrate our great 2011 market season!

CONTEST WINNERS FOR ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

WINNERS  ESPAÑOLA FARMERS’ MARKET

TWELFTH ANNUAL BIGGEST VEGETABLE & BEST POEM CONTEST

October 10, 2011

Vegetable Judge:              Glenna Dean, archeobotanist

Poetry Judge:             Joan Logghe, Santa Fe Poet Laureate

 BIGGEST HEIRLOOM SQUASH

First Place:                        Eufelia Martinez, La Puebla

Second Place:            Gene Lopez, Lyden

Third Place:                        Ross Vargas, La Madera

BIGGEST PUMPKIN

First Place:                        Ross Vargas, La Madera

Second Place:             Tranquilino & Floraida Martinez, Penasco

Third Place:                        Ross Vargas, La Madera

BIGGEST CHILE

First Place:                        Rosa Espinosa  & Antonio Velasquez, Lyden           

Second Place:            Jorge Corona (smallest)           

Third Place:                        Salvador Corona

BIGGEST APPLE

First Place:                        Tony Maestas, Chamita

Second Place:             Rudy Cordova, Hernandez

Third Place:                        Gene Lopez, Lyden

BIGGEST ROOT VEGETABLE

First Place:                        Tranquilino & Floraida Martinez, Penasco

Second Place:            Lawrence Campbell, Alcalde

Third Place:                        Eufelia Martinez, La Puebla

ODDEST VEGETABLE

First Place:                        Floyd Gonzales, La Puebla (giant cucumber)

Second Place:             Steve Jaramillo, Espanola (unruly potato)

Third Place:                        Luz & Leonard Lopez, Nambe (orange “penguin” squash)

WILD CARD VEGETABLE

First Place:                        Steve Jaramillo, Espanola (watermelon)

Second Place:            Elias Gomez, Alcalde (beans)

Third Place:                        Luz & Leonard Lopez, Nambe (white squash)

BEST POEM

Honoring all Student Poets

12th Annual Biggest Vegetable & Best Poem Contest

When? Monday, Octrober 10, 2011
Winners announced at 1:30 p.m.

Biggest pumpkin, heirloom squash, root vegetable, apple or smallest apple, chile, oddest vegetable, wild card outstanding vegetable. And best poem by a student about farming. Where? at the Espanola Farmers Market. Deliver all poems and vegetable contestants to the market by 10 a.m. on contest day. Call 505-685-4842 for more information.

ONGOING ACTIVITY AT ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

FREE CHILE ROASTING AT ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

The Espanola Farmers’ Market will be roasting chile purchased at the Market free on Monday, August 29^th. Market hours are 10am-5pm. Customers can purchase a variety of heirloom chile, including specialty chile from Chimayo, Hernandez, Velarde, Dixon and other communities. They can also browse for other fine produce- corn, sweet peas, lettuce, mixed greens, onions, garlic, herbs, atole, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes and other fresh foods. We have horno bread, pastelitos, honey, jams, USDA-certified grass-fed beef, dried chile, beans, blue corn meal and other special treats. We are also offering lunch each Monday and a growing market on Friday afternoon from 2-7pm. Thanks to a grant from Pojoaque Valley Fund and New Mexico Community Foundation, three students worked weekly in our Wildflower Garden and also helped prepare the irrigated fields behind the Market plaza for cultivation next year. Visit the Wildflower Garden in bloom now. 

The Market accepts WIC, Senior WIC, SNAP (formerly EBT) and Debit cards. August 29^th is also the last day to redeem any Double Bonus tokens awarded earlier in the month. Children can select a free book at our Kids Book Exchange or customers can purchase a dollar raffle ticket for our Monthly Free Bag of Produce. We also have a colorful selection of Market aprons, tee shirts or post cards and issues of A Farming Chapbook from previous Market seasons. Come visit us! Every Market Monday and every Friday Afternoon Market are special events!

More produce and more customers. . .

Espanola Farmers Market News

The Friday market starts on Friday, July 22nd. Call to reserve a space (505-685-4842). The setup is 2 p.m. and the market closes at 7 p.m.

Three students are working with gardener Isabel Trujillo for five Mondays to plant around the acequia and in two wildflower ovals in order to clear the paths and prepare the acequia for the planting of winter rye. We are preparing the back fields for students to plant vegetables next season.

The double bonus program is underway through August. Anyone using EBT/SNAP cards will receive double bonus tokens. The WIC/Senior WIC checks will be distributed at the market starting August 1st and will be distributed each Monday.

Slow start for Espanola Farmers Market, but plenty of everything

Bad spring weather, the drought, and the wildfires that put a strain on the area's water supply. . .all of these added up to a slow start for the Espanola Farmers' Market. But don't let that stop us! There's plenty for everyone. Fire up the grill for veggies. And if you're too busy, stop by the market for home-cooked food prepared right there. It's the same as you can whip up at home and an inspiration as to what's possible. Work is ongoing in the market garden and a schedule for summer activities to be announced soon.

Edith Lopez visits the administration tent where articles about the Espanola Farmers Market are kept in a loose-leaf notebook. When asked, she points out her photo in the Espanola newspaper from as far back as 2005. Young people often come to the market with their parents and grandparents to hang out for the day.

Mmmm. There's nothing like speaking to the growers themselves. Chances are they'll tell you about getting up early on market day and all the work involved in getting the produce ready for sale. And a great deal of the offerings can't be purchased in any supermarkets around the area.

OPENING DAY OF THE MARKET FOR 2011

Monday, June 13^th is Opening Day for the Espanola Farmers’ Market’s 2011 season. Visit us every Market Monday through Halloween at 1005 N. Railroad Avenue from 10 am- 5pm and enjoy the first fresh fruits and vegetables of the season-quelites, sweet peas, lettuce, mixed greens, onions, garlic, herbs, and other fresh foods. We will have horno bread, pastelitos, honey, jams, USDA-certified grass-fed lamb, buffalo and beef, dried chile, beans, blue corn meal and other special treats. We invite our customers to relax at the Market tables under the shade canopies and enjoy lunch and occasional concerts with local musicians or browse among the thirty Market stalls.

This season, we will be cooking during various Market Mondays in the horno that students built last summer in the Wildflower Garden area and also cultivating a small vegetable garden with students in back of the Market plaza. Eleven vendors and customers have “adopted” flowerbed ovals in the Garden, so visitors will be able to enjoy colorful plants as they grow and bloom. 

The Market accepts WIC, Senior WIC, SNAP (formerly EBT) and Debit cards. In July we will host two weekly Market Days; Friday Market starts on July 15^th and continues through September 16^th from 2-7pm plus our regular Market Mondays. Each Market Day, children can select a free book at our Kids Book Exchange or customers can purchase a dollar raffle ticket for our Monthly Free Bag of Produce. We also have a colorful selection ofMarket aprons, tee shirts or post cards and issues of A Farming Chapbook from previous Market seasons. Come visit us! Every Market Monday and every Friday Afternoon are special events!