Wintertime in Santa Fe is fickle these days. Bitter cold shifts to spring-like warmth; crisp sunshine gives way to damp, overcast skies. But despite the weather, Santa Fe has a reliable weekend pleasure: The Santa Fe Farmers Market is open on Saturdays (and on Tuesdays in the warm seasons)—and the Artisan Market on Sundays—year-round, rain or shine, warm or cold, hell or (can we desert dwellers imagine this?) high water.
To wander through the large, well-lit Railyard warehouse space is a treat for the senses. Vendors sell fresh vegetables, meats, eggs, a rainbow variety of handspun yarn and knitwear, honey, bread, herbs and more.
SFR visited the market last Saturday. Here are just a few of our wintertime favorites:
Ken and Judy of KJ Farms in Abiquiu offer delicious golden-yolk eggs from their soon-to-be-increased coops of 500 hens. Green Tractor Farm of La Cienega (which will take a break from the market this weekend to attend a sustainability conference) brings root vegetables and a variety of hoop-house-grown greens. Khalsa Greenhouses, which has 10,000 square feet of greenhouse space in Española, offers sweet and juicy heirloom tomatoes that make one wonder, “Have I been teleported to summertime?”—and greens and sprouts, to boot. The Old Windmill Dairy’s goat cheeses compliment the market’s variety of fresh breads.
And the Farmers Market Café is expanding. This Saturday, Feb. 16, the Farmers Market holds a fundraiser event to raise a goal amount of $8,000 for its soon-to-be-upgraded café, which—to supplement its current sweets, savories and bottomless cups of coffee—will provide house-made, farm-grown food. The event features dinner and drinks, a silent auction and live music from Brian Wingard—who also happens to be a local farmer—and the Haiku Cowboys. For the next couple of weeks, renowned Cochiti Pueblo artist Dominic Arquero is on hand in the Artisan Market space, painting a 6- by 12-foot mural for the new café location.
Fundraiser: 6:30 pm Saturday, Feb 16. $25 adults; $10 children under 10. Farmers Market Pavilion, 1607 Paseo de Peralta, 983-8015
Farmers Market winter hours: 8 am-1 pm, Saturdays
Artisan Market: 10 am-4 pm, Sundays
