Bill Orr sets out radishes and jars of blackberry jam as he jots down on a menu-like dry-erase board all the healthy and delicious treats he’s grown in his garden in Ancon, an isolated town in northeast New Mexico.
Orr is not alone and is flanked by other fruit and vegetable stands manned by local growers from around Northern New Mexico as part of the Española Farmers Market’s opening day Monday.
Orr said it’s his second year participating in the Market. He said some of his crops were destroyed during the unseasonable freeze earlier this year.
“My blackberries freeze-dried,” he said. “The vines freeze-dried.”
Orr said he’s not too worried, though. He still has about 500 healthy blackberry bushes.
Orr said his biggest concern is that his fruits and vegetables won’t come up in time. For instance, his peas weren’t ready yet, but those grown in Española are already being harvested.
“I’m trying to beat the clock,” he said.
Orr said come July he’ll have apricots, choke cherries, raspberries and sour cherries. Orr said he’ll even have to freeze some of his fruit in order to last until the end of the farmers market season in October.
“I just chuck it in the freezer,” Orr said.
Orr said his fruits and vegetables aren’t certified organic, but he said they’re “pretty darn close” as he doesn’t use any pesticides in his garden.
“It doesn’t have all the junk in it,” Orr said.
Just next to Orr is Market rookie Katy Blanchard, of Youngsville, who is setting up her table with herbal teas, lotions and lip balms. She said she grows most of the herbs herself, but added some of them are acquired through “wildcraft.”
“I go out into the wild and pick them responsibly,” Blanchard said.
She said her products are really good for people who are sensitive to perfumes because she doesn’t use any chemicals.
“I use them and they work,” Blanchard said.
Sabra Moore is the Market director. She said the Market will be open Mondays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the July peak season during which there will be two market days a week. She said the Market doesn’t allow craft vendors unless the materials the craft is made from came from the field or garden. She said everything should be from the field.
Vendors sell everything from honey to eggs to grass-fed beef, Moore said.
She said the Market is the third-largest farmers market in the state in food-stamp sales. She said the Market exchanges food-stamp and federal Women, Infants and Children credits for wooden coins which people can then use to purchase items. Moore said the Market sold $12,480 last year in association with food assistance programs.
Moore said the Market has been in Española for 20 years and she’s been in charge of it for 12.
“It’s a great source of fresh food,” Moore said.
The first day of the Market is always slow, she said. Moore said about eight vendors showed up Monday, but she said more and more will come as they’re able to harvest what they’ve grown. The Market could see as many as 30 farmers set up stands by July, though as many as 94 vendors come on-and-off throughout the season.
Moore said vendors can make as much as $300 to $800 each Market day, but said that also comes with months of planting and planning.
She said vendors pay $10 for each day they attend, which she said goes to renting the lot from Northern New Mexico College, maintaining the grounds and advertising for the Market.
And in addition to fresh produce, Moore said the Market will feature musical acts and sandwiches for lunch, along with other edibles made from items sold at the Market.
“It’s just a great way to buy locally grown food and support local agriculture,” Moore said.