Farm fresh
Growers’ market marks 25 years
Avisit to the growers’ market in Los Ranchos transports visitors back to an era in time when people knew their neighbors, big-box markets were not yet a thing and local farmers were the main source of food on the dinner table.
On any given Saturday morning during the summer, the parking lot where the market is held is teeming with couples walking hand in hand, pushing a stroller and grasping a leash or individuals walking around with bicycles they rode to the event. Other shoppers can be seen chatting with local farmers, who display their products on tables set up in front of mostly trucks and vans. Live music, usually played under a large, shady tree in the parking lot, drifts through the market.
This old-fashioned distribution system was once considered the norm before transportation was readily available and 100,000-square-foot stores were mostly a thing of the metropolitan crowd. Los Ranchos, like Albuquerque and other surrounding communities, has embraced the concept of a local outdoor market.
This year Los Ranchos celebrates the 25th year of its growers’ market, which according to longtime former market manager Sue Brawley, has grown from about 10 vendors selling produce to 130 selling not only produce but plants, trees, and arts and crafts. The market happens every Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon.
The first Los Ranchos market took place July 11, 1992, in a small parking lot north of Village Hall along Rio Grande Boulevard. It quickly grew and organizers shifted it to a larger parking lot on the same property. Attendees can find at various times cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, blackberries, raspberries, tomatoes, grapes, pears, lettuce, peas, spinach, carrots, cucumbers and more. Twenty years after the market started, organizers added the Arts Market section, allowing local artisans to sell their creations, including jewelry, handmade clothing, bags and glassware.
Family-friendly
Brawley, who was manager of the market for 16 years before recently stepping down, said most vendors are small-scale farmers with two or less acres of land. The idea of the market, she said, was to give them a place to sell their products.
“The vendors come from all over,” Brawley said. “The only restriction is that if you grow it, you can sell it there.”
Brawley said she thinks the market
continues to thrive because of its familyfriendly setting and ease for vendors to participate. The market is next to a grassy area that includes a park. She said many visitors visit the market and then the playground. The market charges a nominal $10 weekly fee for its vendors, who get to keep all their earnings. They can call ahead of time or just show up at the market. Brawley said the goal is to keep the process as simple as possible.
“Our philosophy is that we are here to support you (farmers),” she said. “We have no additional fees unlike some other market models, which is why we attract smaller farmers.”
Former market manager and longtime vendor Cathy Lewandowski and current market manager Colene Montoya are both longtime vendors at the market. They both became sellers for the same reason — their children wanted to take a class trip to Washington, D.C., and the market provided extra income.
“I have always gardened but I’ve only been selling for 10 years,” Montoya said. “My son needed to earn extra money for his seventh-grade trip to Washington, D.C. I told him to start selling at the market.”
Montoya and her son thought selling at the market was so fun that they continued. Brawley herself moved to the North Valley so she could grow things.
Risky business
Those who rely on markets for their produce must be flexible, according to Lewandowski. While there are some vendors who use greenhouses or other shelter to grow fruits and vegetables out of season, most still grow them the traditional way.
“You have to be willing to eat seasonally,” Lewandowski said. “You can’t necessarily expect to have tomatoes in January.”
There’s also no guarantee which crops will grow every year, if they grow at all, and dry, hot weather and even pests can ruin the best laid plans. Brawley said the uncertainty can be frustrating for customers who expect certain fruits and vegetables at a particular time of year. Brawley said about 10 longtime market vendors lost their entire crops last year but this year seems to be off to a better start.
“The biggest problem we have is that farming is a risky business,” Brawley said. “Anecdotally people have told us that last year was the worst growing season in 60 years because of the high temperatures and grasshoppers.”
The village, Brawley said, is a big part of the reason the market succeeds. It supports the market by providing accounting services, some advertising, the space to hold the market, use of the restrooms and electricity for the market.