A Chat with Matt and Nina in May, 2018
What is a signature item that you sell? Matt: Greens, herbs, and interesting things
What’s the best way to store it / how long will it keep? Matt: Greens keep well in a plastic bag in the crisper for 1-2 weeks
How long have you been farming? Matt: I’ve been farming for 8 years
How long have you been a member of the Market? Matt: This is the first season!
Share a favorite memory of the Market. Matt: This is only our second market, but the first one went well.
How did you get into farming? Matt: I started working on farms because I needed a job up in Washington State. I started on a large scale vegetable farm. I worked at Green Tractor Farm with Mary and Tom Dixon, they were my New Mexican farm mentors.
Do you own or rent the land you grow on? Matt: Lease
Are you certified organic? No pesticides? Free-range? Hormone free? Matt: We are not certified, but we follow organic practices. We hope to be certified in the future.
How was your growing season last year? This year? Matt: “The 2018 season is going very well. No major pest or water issues yet. I have a 100,000 gallon catchment to capture from the acequias and I use drip irrigation from that reserve. It already looks like I’m not using as much water as I had expected to with this system.”
What crops are coming up next, seasonally? Are they growing on schedule? Any complications? Matt: “Hon- tsai-tai is coming up, it’s almost like rapini, but it’s a Chinese specialty mustard green. We also have shiso greens, 5 types of basil and Mexican culinary herbs like papalo and pipicha.” Nina: “We think it’s important to bring lots of bright colors to the market table, so we’re growing some interesting varieties like red vein spinach and purple bok choy.”
Besides farming, what takes up your time? What are your hobbies? Nina: “Winter time is for travel. We went to Oaxaca this past winter. Matt is an avid seed saver, and we like to bring back seeds from the places we’ve traveled, grow them out, and save the seed for future plantings and sales. Matt is also a great cook, so he makes lots of delicious meals. And it’s not really a hobby, but Squash Blossom Local Food is much of what I do. It feels like a hobby sometimes because of the farmers and vendors I source from; we’re all so compatible. I also spend time making herbal products out of plants from around the farm.”
Do you speak any other languages? Matt “Yes, I speak decent French, I was born in Switzerland. And I can speak enough Spanish to get around.”
Are you celebrating anything special this year (like an anniversary)? Matt: Year one of the farm!
How would you describe yourself in one word? A customer says emphatically, “Sunshine!” Nina says of Matt that he is “steady and calm.” Matt describes Nina as “kind.”
What is your favorite dish to make? Matt: Homemade tortillas from homegrown corn
Red or Green? Matt: “I literally moved here for green, but I prefer red”
If you were a super hero what would your powers be and why? Nina: “To make it rain!”
What’s your power vegetable? Meaning – which veg/fruit speaks to you on a personal level and how? Matt: “Dry beans! They fix nitrogen, are a staple cheap protein, you can save their seed, and the seed is the food.” Nina: “Green Chile and squash blossoms. I’m from here, I’ve been eating it my whole life. I appreciate that the harder the growing season, the more intense the crop. And squash blossoms because they are bright and delicate. They are truly a local food source with small subtle power.”
What is the strangest thing you’ve eaten? Matt: “Chapulines (grasshoppers). And huitlacoche (corn fungus).”
What have you done that you are most proud of? Matt: Start a farm in a historic drought on leased land with no electricity and a spotty well.
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