Expressing Gratitude to the Santa Fe

Farmers' Market and Institute Family

Ted Salazar picking apples in the orchard at Maria’s Farm in Velarde.

Photo: Adria Malcolm Cut Print Video Production

2023 Farmer All Star Ted Salazar with Daughter Debbie (Left) and Wife Ida (right) are all smiles as Ted expresses gratitude to his family for their support.

Photo: Genevieve Russell StoryPortrait Media

Each year, the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute honors Farmer All Stars who are recognized for their hard work, commitment to product excellence, and dedication to local agriculture. The All Stars also support the Institute’s mission to provide equitable access to fresh, local food to the community by selling regularly at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Markets. Their contributions to the farming community through mentoring emerging farmers, sharing knowledge with peers, and participating on committees and governing boards is also appreciated. 

The 2023 Farmer All Stars are: Stephanie Dukette, Southwest Mushroom Cultivators (Santa Fe, NM) Agustin and Maria Orozco, El Guique Farm (El Guique, NM); and Ted Salazar, Maria’s Farm (Velarde, NM). Videos of the All Star Farmers, and our Community All Star, Susan Tarver, may be watched on the Institute’s website. In his touching video, Ted Salazar spoke of his mother, who was one of the original vendors at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market -- a hearty band of itinerant farmers selling their produce in area parking lots. He recalled that his daughter, Debbie, grew up selling fruit from their orchard at roadside stands and at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Today Debbie, a retired school teacher, still helps out her father at the Railyard on Saturdays.

Ted’s farm in Velarde is named for his mother, Maria. He carries the name “Maria’s Farm” as a tribute to her hard work and innovation. Maria was one of the first vendors to bring decorative arts to the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market and mentored many of the next generation who create wreaths and chile ornaments so popular during the holiday season. Ted broadened the items that he brings to market beyond apples and stone fruit to include marigolds, sunflowers, and his signature gladiolas. 

In accepting the award at the 2023 Cultivating Community celebration at the Market Pavilion last month, alongside his daughter Debbie and wife Ida, Ted spoke movingly about how family support is so important to farmers. At the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute, we have as our mission to support a locally-based agricultural community. The farmers and vendors that you greet each week at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Markets are our family, as are the members of the community who benefit from the Double Up Food Bucks Program and Fresh Rx, and you, our loyal patrons. 



None of the Institute’s work could happen without your support. We recognize that there are many worthwhile nonprofit organizations. We are grateful for your consideration of a donation to the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute as part of your year-end giving.

There are many ways to contribute:

• Make a one-time or recurring credit card donation through our secure donation page on our website.
• Mail a check payable to the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute and send it to 1607 Paseo de Peralta, Suite A, Santa Fe, NM 87501.
• Talk with your tax professional about authorizing an IRA Distribution directly payable to the Institute 
• Donate marketable securities. Please contact Syri Mongiello at Syri@farmermsmarketinstitute.org for details.

The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, 

(tax identification: 30-0124953). Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Emigdio Ballon and Seed Saving at Tesuque Pueblo

by Pam Walker

Emigdio Ballon pictured with bags and plastic buckets of seeds in the cargo area of a box truck at Tesuque Pueblo. Photo: Pam Walker

Tesuque Natural Farm

Photo: Lissa Johnson, Slow Food Santa Fe

Blue Corn is native to New Mexican Pueblos.

Photo: Lisa Kantor Photography

New Mexico is home to countless generations of indigenous gardeners and farmers who have propagated seeds and kept traditional foods alive even as these ancient practices sometimes waned and seemed to be dying. Tesuque Pueblo, with its certified organic, forty-acre farm and seed bank, created in 2005, is a prominent example. The same year the pueblo started its seed bank, it also hired as its agricultural director Emigdio Ballon, a Bolivian plant geneticist of Quechua ancestry who brings both contemporary and ancient knowledge to developing the farm and seed bank. 

“Seeds need attention like little babies,” Ballon says. 

Ballon has nurtured the seed bank from its beginning as a jumble of bags and plastic buckets in the cargo area of a box truck into a two-level adobe structure with solar power. In its constantly cool and dry underground storage room, the seed bank houses over a thousand varieties of seeds. Cleaned and sorted by hand, they are placed on shelves in bags of muslin, burlap, and plastic, in coffee cans and buckets, in manila envelopes large and small, and in glass jars of various sizes and shapes, all identified with hand-written labels. 

“These seeds are being planted into the womb of mother earth,” Ballon says. 

A few years ago, Ballon began selling some of the fruits of those seeds, cultivated at the Tesuque Pueblo farm, at the Saturday morning farmers’ market. The farm produces cherries, plums, apples, peaches, and apricots from about 750 trees. Medicinal herbs grow in the orchard understory, most of which the pueblo sells to an herbal business in Santa Fe. The farm also produces corn, beans, chiles, potatoes, amaranth, and quinoa, with the produce going to elders and other community members, some of whom cultivate small plots of their own. Seeds are sold to seed businesses and to projects such as the widely influential seed conservation organization Native Seeds/SEARCH, begun in 1983 and based in Tucson.

Saving seed was once commonplace, a necessity, in fact, for most of the twelve thousand years or so that people have engaged in agriculture. Saving seed allowed many varieties of locally adapted plants to thrive and kept genetic diversity strong. But a scant century ago, commercial seed companies arose, mainly to develop and promote more predictable and higher-yielding hybrid plants, and farmers began buying more and more hybrid seed and saving their own seed less and less. 

Almost concurrently, the scale of farming shifted from small to large and from diverse crops to only a few. Indigenous and other traditional agricultural communities, such as the Amish and Mennonites, however, are among the main exceptions to this arc. They have generally held to seed saving and to small-scale, diversified farming that so many others abandoned.

With the acceleration of climate change, however, seed saving has become a pressing issue and has been making a comeback beyond traditional agricultural communities. Numerous organizations hold conferences and workshops to share information and teach seed saving methods, and Ballon frequently participates in these events. His knowledge of and devotion to saving seeds are deep and constant. He never forgets his grandfather’s counsel. 

“It is better to have seeds in your pockets than money,” Ballon echoes his grandfather. “Money, you can’t eat. But seeds? Seeds you can eat.”



‘Tis the Season – Celebrate the Holidays at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market and the Railyard District

The holiday season is upon us, and there are many ways to enjoy shopping and activities at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market:

Choose the freshest ingredients possible for your Thanksgiving dinner at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market: Lotus Farms, LLC’s pastured poultry, Cloud Cliff and Intergalactic Bread Company breads, and amazing Crumpackers Bakery pies abound. Many vendors have fresh root vegetables, including the essential potatoes for mashing – nothing better with gravy! Shop at either the Saturday or Tuesday Markets – both open from 8am-1pm.

If you’re fortunate enough to be invited to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s home, show your appreciation with a host gift from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market gift shop. Choose from a wide variety of aprons and hand-printed tea towels made with non-toxic inks on natural cotton by locally owned Kei & Molly Textiles.

Don’t miss the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market’s special Black Friday event on November 24! The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Railyard Artisan Market, Gift Shop, and Café Fresh will be open 10 am to 3 pm!

The Baroque concert series MarketMusic returns to the Railyard on two December Saturdays with delightful music to celebrate the holiday season! Attend one of the informal yet excellent concerts in the Gallery of the New Mexico School for the Arts (500 Montezuma Avenue). Admission is free, but a free-will offering is appreciated. Amazingly, parking is free for MarketMusic concert attendees in the lot across from the school!

On December 2nd at noon tenor Fred Graham performs selections from Handel’s Messiah and joins with Kim Pineda, flute in an aria from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. A Telemann Ouverture rounds out the one-hour program.

Warm your tummy with a cup of hot chocolate or cider from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market’s Café Fresh and enjoy caroling performed by vocalists from the Santa Fe Desert Chorale on Saturday, December 9th from 11:00-11:30 under the Water Tower at the Railyard.

Market Music’s December 16th concert at noon feature’s Santa Fe Desert Chorale soprano Kathlene Ritch performing selections from Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, as well as a solo harpsichord work by Couperin performed by Kathy McIntosh. Bring the family to the Gallery of New Mexico School for the Arts (500 Montezuma Avenue). Admission is free, but a free-will offering is appreciated.

Experience the magic of the holidays with the Winter Village at the Santa Fe Railyard on Saturday, December 16^th from 10am to 4pm complete with farolitos, caroling, holiday movies, and cocoa, followed by an evening tree lighting. Bring a toy for the Northern New Mexico Toy Drive to be sure that Santa adds you to the “nice list.” Who knows Mr. Claus may make a visit from the North Pole to thank you in person!

Holiday shopping ideas:



• Many Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Vendors offer value-added products such as beautifully decorated, homemade wreaths and ristras during the holiday season. Some year-round vendor gift favorites include Heidi’s Jam from Heidi’s Raspberry Farm, artisan soaps from Second Bloom Farm, lotions from El Milagro Herbs and Artemisia Herbs, and honey products from a handful of producers, including 2019 All Star Farm RZ's Bees.
• Douglas Merriman’s Farm Fresh Journey, The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Cookbook features 200 images, nearly 20 farmer stories, and a batch of recipes with ingredients sourced from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. The cookbook can be purchased directly from Doug Merriman at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market or at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Gift Shop and online store.
• The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market’s Gift Shop within the Market Pavilion is stocked each week with new and exceptional kitchen items, home décor, and stylish textiles – all locally made, USA made or fair trade. New this season are these vibrant, handmade Guatemalan table runners, adding a burst of festive brilliance to elevate your table. And don’t forget the children – whimsical kids’ hand puppets delight the youngest family member! Proceeds from all Gift Shop sales benefit the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market.
• Shop local artisans for all your Holiday gifts while supporting The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Railyard Artisan Market is OPEN every Sunday 10am to 3pm (except December 24 and 31, 2023). Come meet the makers and buy directly from more than 60 small, artisan businesses. Free parking around the Railyard on Sundays. Enjoy warm and cozy shopping inside the Farmers Market Pavilion. The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Gift Shop and Cafe Fresh are open too!
• With all of these choices – can’t decide on a gift? Swing by the Information Booth on the Chili Line Lane side of the Market Pavilion and buy a gift card good for purchases anywhere at the Market - also available online.

Happy Shopping!

Images top to bottom: Santa Fe Farmers' Market potatoes image: Gabriella Marks Photography; Kei and Molly tea towels image courtesy of Santa Fe Farmers' Market; Kathy McIntosh Harpsichord and Kathleen Ritch Soprano perform as part of MarketMusic image courtesy of MarketMusic; Gonzalez Farm homemade wreaths image courtesy of Gabriella Marks Photography; Goat milk soap photo courtesy of Second Bloom Farm; Goofy Tooth puppet photo courtesy of the Santa Fe Farmers' Market Gift Shop; Bountiful bowls image courtesy of Railyard Artisan Market.

All Santa Fe Farmers' Markets accept WIC and EBT

Lead Sponsors