Some great highlights of the Espanola Farmers Market. Top: Spanish black radishes from Owl Peak Farm, heirloom variety. Can be braised or roasted. Fresh honey from Ricardo Z. Sanchez who has 65 hives and he's been producing honey for 30 years. Below: Heirloom squash from Roy Campbell.

SQUASH, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

PURSLANE, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

PUMPKIN, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

OKRA, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

KOHLRABI, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

SUGAR BEETS, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

APPLE BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

BEANS, BILINGUAL RECIPES: SPECIAL TO ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

NEW: Market recipes. BELL PEPPERS (BILINGUAL RECIPES)

Upcoming community events

In celebration of World: Breastfeeding week. The Espanola WIC office invites the community to attend the annual World Breastfeeding Celebration for Breastfeeding WIC moms, babies and their families. Free event: August 6, 2014. 1-4 p.m. Espanola WIC office, 2010 Industrial Road. Raffles, prizes, snacks, refreshments and more. For more information: 505-753-4659.

Abiquiu's annual Santa Risa Festival will be held August 23, 2014. Mass: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Santa Rosa ruins off Highway 84. Procession after mass. Free community potluck: 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. in pueblo of Abiquiu. Children's games, entertainment, bingo, silent auction, venders, arts and crafts. Fun for all ages.

Friday markets start this week, plus other news notes

REMINDER: Friday markets start on July 18th and run through September 19th. Monday market schedules remain the same: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through October 27th.

Come meet old friends, visit with farmers, discover what is growing freshly picked from the fields, and shop for delicious fruits and vegetables. Onions, peas, quelites, chile, horno-roasted chicos, fresh chard, salad greens and other treats. WIC, Senior WIC, FVRx, EBT (SNAP) and Debit as well as cash accepted.  Children will be able to select a book from our free Kids’ Book Exchange.

On Saturday, July 10, 2014, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. is the Sostenga! seventh annual garlic harvest festival. Featuring music and prizes for top garlic picking teams. Breakfast will be served. At Sostenga Center Farm at Northern New Mexico College, 1027 North Railroad Avenue in Espanola, NM. Call 505-747-2256 for more information.

Opening Day for 2014 in June!

The Española Farmers Market is opening on June 9, 2014 for its current season and will continue hosting Monday Markets, 10 am to 5pm during every Monday through October 27, 2014 at 1005 North Railroad Avenue. Come meet old friends, visit with farmers, discover what is growing freshly picked from the fields and shop for delicious fruits and vegetables. Michael Combs will be performing midday on June 9; sit down at our plaza tables and enjoy the free concert.  Visitors can find fresh onions, peas, quelites, chile, horno-roasted chicos, fresh chard, salad greens and other treats. We accept WIC, Senior WIC, FVRx, EBT (SNAP) and Debit as well as cash money.

Children will be able to select a book from our free Kids’ Book Exchange. The 2013 Market postcard will be available and you will also be able to find free bilingual recipe cards at the Market stalls, giving you ideas for how to prepare some of the tasty produce. New recipe cards will appear throughout the season; you will want to make a collection. We will have various foods cooking in the horno during periodic Market days; you can stroll in our Wildflower Garden or wander behind the plaza to see what is growing in the Community Fields. During the second week of July, the Market will expand to a twice-weekly market, adding our Friday Afternoon Market, 2-7 pm on Friday July 18 through Friday September 19. Join your neighbors and friends at the Española Farmers Market. Every Market is a special day!

Gearing up for the 2014 season

Our blog and web site will wake up for the market season in late May when we send out our first announcement. For the folks who want to mark their 2014 calendars, here are the basics:

Market Mondays: Opening Monday June 9th through October 27th, 10am-5pm

Market Fridays: Starting Friday July 18th through September 19th, 2-7pm

The Market Loses a Friend

Christmas Eve brought unexpected news- Jim Beverwyk, a longtime volunteer and friend of the Española Farmers’ Market, had died. I first knew Jim’s wife, Mary Parsaca, while the market was still on Don Diego Street, noticing a frequent customer carrying a big basket on her arm. Later Jim started coming as well.  Mary and Jim had been Peace Corps volunteers in Kenya in the nineteen sixties, about the same time that I was teaching as a volunteer in Guinea. We shared an enjoyment of life in Africa and a love of the communal spirit of open-air markets. When Jim retired from his work with incarcerated youth, he started volunteering on Monday mornings at the market, hauling the heavy metal A-frame signs and placing them around town to remind customers that we were open. He often returned to chat or work in the garden oval he and Mary cultivated. During election years, Jim would be sitting all morning at a table in the center of the market, registering voters. The market has grown from the collective efforts of the farmers and many volunteers. Jim’s generous heart gave out but his spirit continues in the stories we share.


Sabra Moore, Market Manager
Abiquiu, New Mexico

2013 Market Contest Winners

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WINNERS: ESPAÑOLA FARMERS’ MARKET

FOURTEENTH ANNUAL BIGGEST VEGETABLE & BEST POEM CONTEST

October 7, 2013

Vegetable Judge:              Sandra Cata, Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area staff

Poetry Judge:                         Norma Navarro, weaver, gardener, Market Assistant Manager

BIGGEST HEIRLOOM SQUASH & WATERMELON

First Place:                        Elias Gomez & Mary Trujillo, Alcalde

Second Place Melon:            Steven Jaramillo, San Pedro           

Third Place:                        Elefio & Seraphine Montoya,Chimayo           

BIGGEST PUMPKIN

First Place:                        Ross Vargas, La Madera

Second Place:             J Ross Vargas, La Madera

Third Place:                        Tranquilino & Floraida Martinez, Rio Lucia

BIGGEST or PRETTIEST CHILE WREATH

First Place:                        Luz Lopez, El Guique           

Second Place:                        Dolores Corona, Espanola           

Third Place:                        Lupe Jiminez, Alcalde

BIGGEST ZUCCHINI

First Place:                        Roy Campbell, Alcalde

 

BIGGEST ROOT VEGETABLE

First Place:                        Jesus Zavala, Hernandez (onions)

Second Place:                        Nicolas Romero, Vadito (beets)

Third Place Tie:                        Luz and Leonard Lopez (radish)

Third Place Tie:                        David Joseph (carrot)

ODDEST VEGETABLE

First Place:                        Lupe Jiminez , Alcalde(crossed potato)

Second Place:             Elefio and Seraphine Montoya, Chimayo  (twisted chiles)

Third Place:                        Alejandro Gonzales, El Guique (Snoopy Dog potato)

WILD CARD VEGETABLE

First Place:                        Elias Gomez, Alcalde (biggest corn stalk)

Second Place:                        Jorge Orozco, Espanola (big tomatoes)

Third Place:                        Rudy Cordova, Hernandez (tiny pumpkins)

 

BEST POEM

First Place:                        Mark Romero, Los Carinos Elementary School, 6^th grade

Second Place:                        Ariel, Los Carinos Elementary School, 2^nd grade

Third Place:                        Leandra, Los Carinos Elementary School, 3^rd grade

Some of the biggest and best vegetables contest!

One of the most popular days of the annual market is the poetry and biggest and best vegetable contest where all the prize veggies and fruits are displayed and judged. This year a great time was had by all!

Pot Luck at the end of the 2013 season

Every year the Española Farmers Market closes the season with a pot luck celebration at 1 p.m. on the last market day. In 2013 this is Monday, October 28th. The regular market is the same from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Looking forward to seeing you there!!!!

14th Annual Biggest Vegetable & Best Poem Contest

The Española Farmers Market is hosting its Fourteenth Annual Biggest Vegetable & Best Poem Contest on Monday, October 7, 2013. The big vegetables will be displayed all morning and the selections of winning vegetables and poetry will be announced at 1:30 pm. Ribbons will be awarded in several categories: biggest pumpkin or watermelon, biggest heirloom squash, biggest root vegetable, biggest apple, biggest chile, oddest vegetable and wild card vegetable. We will also be reading the winning poems from the children’s poetry contest. Dexter Trujillo and students will be baking all afternoon in our horno. Copies of the Double 2011/12 A Farming Chapbook will be available free to participants on the Contest Day. Winners of this year’s contest will appear next season in the 2013 Chapbook.

 Our October 7^th Contest Day is also a regular Market Monday, 10 am- 5pm. The Market is located at 1005 N. Railroad Avenue. Visitors can find heirloom squash, pumpkins, apples, onions, late tomatoes, chile, horno-roasted chicos, ristras, jams and other treats. Children will be able to select a book from our free Kids’ Book Exchange. Join your neighbors and friends at the Española Farmers’ Market enjoying the fine produce, the award-winning vegetable giants and the children’s poetry. The Market continues through October 28th. Every Monday is a special day at the Market! 

Snapshots from August farmers market in Española, NM

The veggies are big and beautiful and the good times, great!

Views from the Española Farmers Market

Special pollinator workshop held on July 15th with Loretta McGrath who consulted with farmers and shoppers about making our yards and fields bee friendly. For more information: Farm to Table. Other photos are from the regular Monday market, which started slow this year, and now is up to speed with the bounty of the valley.

The entire 2013 Española Farmers Market schedule

June 10: Opening Day at the market. First fresh greens, horno bread, free children's book exchange.

June 17: Regular Market Monday

June 24: Regular Market Monday + Students & mentor replaster horno for Cooking Up Traditions project

July 1: Regular Market Monday. Stock up for Independence Day and enjoy music.

July 8: Regular Market Monday. Students & mentor cook in the horno for Cooking Up Traditions project; music with Michael Combs

July 15: Regular Market Monday. Join us in the Community Fields for the Pollinator Partners Project, a free workshop from 12:30-2:30 pm

July 19: First Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

July 22: 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 26:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

July 29: Regular Market Monday.

August 2:  Friday Afternoon  Market: 2-7pm

August 5: Regular Market Monday + Students & mentor cook in the horno for Cooking Up Traditions project

August 9:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

August 12: Regular Market Monday

August 16:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

August 19: 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 23:  Friday Afternoon Market: 2-7pm

August 26: Regular Market Monday.

August 30:  Friday Afternoon Market, 2-7pm

September 2: Labor Day Free Chile Roasting with purchase of a bag of chile. Chile Roasting Demonstration in the horno + students & others sample heirloom chiles and offer Heirloom Chile Cookoff

September 6:  Friday Afternoon Market, 2-7pm

September 9: Market Monday + Music + Community Gardens Tour

September 13:  Friday Afternoon Market, 2-7pm

September 16: Everything Apples. Apple dishes and apple recipes

September 20:  Last Friday Afternoon Market, 2-7pm

September 23: Regular Market Monday

September 30: Regular Market Monday

October 7: Fourteenth Annual Biggest Vegetable & Best Poem Contest on Columbus Day. Horno demonstration for baking squash with students & others. Stop by the market to pick up rules for entering the giant vegetable or poetry contest. Past editions of A Farming Chapbook are available for purchase every Market Monday. All participants are included

October 14: Regular Market Monday

October 21: It's Pumpkin Time

October 28: Pot Luck Feast + Music & Poetry at the Market

July 15th free workshop at the Espanola Farmers Market

Monday, July 15, 2013. 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Espanola Farmers Market. A free workshop: Creating Bounty for Honeybees and Native Pollinators: In this introduction to farming and gardening with native pollinators and honeybees, Loretta McGrath, a top-bar beekeeper and director of the Pollinator Partners Program and Tawnya Laveta, programs director at Farm to Table, will guide participants through the basics of pollination, the importance of pollinators for food-growing gardens and farms, and how to design and plant pollinator habitat, including building native pollinator nesting boxes from scrap materials. If you are interested in attracting a wide range of pollinators, from honey bees and native bees, to butterflies and hummingbirds, come join us to learn what you can do to support these beneficial insects while creating a beautiful, chemical-free and bountiful garden or farm. 

Visit us at the 2013 summer Espanola Farmers Market

The market started on June 10th and it ends on October 28th, 2013. Starting on June 17th, we will be having lunch each Monday cooked by Edwin Lemus using fresh produce from the market. The community field and wildflower patch has begun!