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Farming Proves to be Peachy for Duke City's Macias Family Farmers' Markets
July 18, 2007
Farming Proves to be Peachy for Duke City's Macias Family Farmers' Markets
Couple has participated in growers' markets for over 40 years
DENISE MILLER For the Journal
Editor's note: Every other week, Denise Miller of the New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association will spotlight local growers and their crops, along with tips about how to cook them.
Mary and Elias Macias know each of their 125 fruit trees as if they are their children. They know which are the oldest, which have been sick, which are the strongest and which bear the biggest fruit.
While it's hard to predict exactly when Mother Nature will finish ripening the fruits -- sometime between mid- to late July -- the Maciases will start bringing loads of succulent peaches to market, just as they have done with their abundant produce for the past 40 years.
Yes, for 40 years this hardworking and amiable couple have trucked their home-grown, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to Albuquerque's growers' markets because they love to do it.
While apricots across much of the state didn't fare so well this year due to late cold snaps and hail damage, by all accounts this should be a great peach year in New Mexico. That is always something to celebrate.
The Maciases' peaches are mostly freestone (when the meat of the peach easily pulls away from the pit), some are cling (the peach "clings" to the pit) and some have a delectable white-colored flesh.
One huge advantage of buying peaches and other fruit at growers' markets is that farmers pick it when it is truly ripe, delivering the best flavor and texture. By contrast, fruit that must travel long distances is picked early for firmness rather than timed for flavor.
"People are so hungry for fresh produce, and they are more knowledgeable now than they used to be about locally grown food," said Mary Macias, discussing why people go out of their way to shop at growers' markets.
Peach smoothies, cobbler and pie are among Mary Macias' favorite things to do with this luscious summer fruit.
You can tell a peach is ripe when the center near the stem is yellow, not green, and peaches that are ripe should be refrigerated to extend their life.
Mary Macias still climbs the orchard ladders to pick fruit, but Elias Macias, who has had a difficult year with his health, is no longer allowed to climb. Married for 52 years, the Maciases have about six acres just south of the airport where urban sprawl gives way to modest homes, small patches of agriculture and horses.
Mary Macias remembers her early days of growing food with Elias Macias when they tried to sell huge bell peppers door to door on their street for 5 cents each.
"Then a neighbor told us about the growers' market at the old Civic Auditorium, and we couldn't even unpack our truck the food sold so quickly," she said.
Then the Maciases farmed between their regular day jobs and raising three children. About 20 years ago, Elias Macias, now 74, retired and began farming full time. Mary Macias, 68, officially retired six years ago.
But retired is a relative word to describe anything connected to the Maciases. They say they plant only half of what they once did now that they are slowing down. But from sunrise to sunset -- with a few hours of rest in between -- they tend to peaches, plums, apples, figs, grapes, quinces, garlic, basil, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, greens and some finicky pomegranates.
"You have to know what to do and you have to work hard. These are the keys to farming," said a soft-spoken Elias Macias, who grew up on a farm in Zacatecas, Mexico.
Mary Macias, who was 16 when she married Elias, was born and raised in Albuquerque where her only experience with farming was watching her dad grow corn, chile and tomatoes in the backyard.
What has now become a lifelong habit of growing and selling at farmers' markets is simple for Mary Macias to explain: "We love it. It's so enjoyable because we see friends we've known for so many years. If we ever stopped it would be because we physically couldn't do it anymore."
