Locovore Market Report: Schwebach Farm Stand’s Quality Is Worth The Drive

Quality That’s Worth The Drive

Ari LeVaux
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4 min read
Market Report: Los Lunas and Schwebach Farm Stand
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It’s been a tough season for the Los Lunas growers’ market. Chased out of its usual idyllic Bosque setting by fire danger, the market has had to jump around a bit. We finally found it in a parking lot on the north side of Main Street, west of the river (call Loretta Torres at 505-869-9409 for the latest). The market was small but diverse, friendly and cheap. A basket of scarlet-ripe strawberries was mine for $2. Another stand was practically giving away cucumbers. And the ringer: a pickup truck full of corn, sweet as candy, and big Yukon gold potatoes, still dirty and sold dirt cheap.

The dirt on those potatoes caught my eye. If you’re buying potatoes in bulk, it’s better that they still have some soil on them because they store better. I asked the guys where they were from: Moriarty’s Schwebach Farm.

In addition to selling food at
area markets and quite a few roadside stands around Albuquerque, Schwebach also maintains a farm store in Moriarty.

I showed up at the farm and returned home with 100 pounds of potatoes, plus 10 pounds of sweet onions, a pound of chicos made from candy-sweet white corn, and some peas and broccoli for dinner. And I was tempted by sacks of dried pinto beans, bolita beans, and a rainbow of squash and other goodies that don’t always make it to the markets.

The mood at the stand had an autumn festivity to it. Many people came farther than I had in order to stock up on Schwebach’s naturally grown food. While not certified organic, they farm “sustainably and naturally,” according to their website.

In addition to selling directly to the community via growers’ markets and the stand in Moriarty, Schwebach is part of an ambitious new program called Fresh Produce ABQ, which connects local farms with area restaurants. Gina Riccobono started the business after noticing that growers tend to have trouble connecting with bigger buyers. She thought if she could consolidate the offerings of many farms, it would be possible to maintain reliable supplies of core ingredients to meet the needs of restaurants. So far she has nine growers and more than 25 restaurants actively using her service.

Schwebach Farm stand will
be open through October. If you have any capacity to process and store bulk food, it’s worth a trip. My hundred pounds of Yukon gold potatoes were only $40. And like onions, carrots, beans and winter squash, potatoes practically store themselves in a cool, dark place. If you’re ambitious, there are peppers to pickle escabeche style, and cool season greens to blanch and freeze.

Schwebach Farm, Fresh Produce ABQ and the growers’ market in Los Lunas are all leaders in the local food scene because of their creativity, perseverance and quality. And the effectiveness of each is enhanced through cooperation. These are the tools New Mexico needs to feed itself tasty, healthy and affordable local food, year-round. Go get some.

Locovore

Los Lunas Farmers’ Market

Runs through October

4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Heritage Park (Hwy. 47 and Main Street)

9 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Los Lunas Administrative Office parking lot (Main Street and Don Pasqual)

Schwebach Farm Market

Runs through October

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.

807 W. Martinez, Moriarty

schwebachfarm.com, (505) 832-6171

Fresh Produce ABQ

Subscribe to the mailing list at freshproduceabq.org or email info@freshproduceabq.org.

Locovore In Season At Schwebach:

Ive Schwebach
Beans: pinto and bolita

Beets

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Carrots

Cucumbers: Armenian, regular and lemon

Heirloom tomatoes

Peppers: Bell, jalapeño and chile

Potatoes: Yukon gold and Sangre de Cristo red

Sugar snap peas

Summer squash: gold and green zucchini, scallop and straight neck

Sweet corn

Watermelon: yellow and red flesh

Winter Squash: acorn, butternut, hubbard, pie pumpkin, spaghetti, sugar loaf and heirloom

Market Report: Los Lunas and Schwebach Farm Stand

Sunflowers near Schwebach’s old Ford truck.

Ive Schwebach

Market Report: Los Lunas and Schwebach Farm Stand

Farmer Dean digs golden nuggets (Yukon gold potatoes).

Ive Schwebach

Market Report: Los Lunas and Schwebach Farm Stand

Milk cow Honey and her calf, Autumn. She was born on the first day of autumn.

Ive Schwebach

Market Report: Los Lunas and Schwebach Farm Stand

Sunburst scallop squash

Ive Schwebach

Ive Schwebach

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