The Pojoaque Valley Farmers Market is a garden of art and earthly delights. Located on the grounds of the Pueblo of Pojoaque Poeh Cultural Center, 13 miles north of Santa Fe at 78 Cities of Gold Road, the market, held in the shade under a cedar sombra, sits in the midst of a sculpture garden with works by Roxanne Swentzell and George Rivera, Pueblo of Pojoaque governor.

Adjacent to Swentzell's adobe Tower Gallery, with a view of the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains, market customers are treated to both man-made and natural beauty.

"Coming to the market, people get a sense they are on a minivacation," says Cindy Talamantes, the market manager. "Our market is a lot more laid back than Santa Fe's market."

Laid back — and smaller. While the Santa Fe market attracts droves of customers, the Pojoaque market, in its fifth year of existence, attracts a much smaller crowd.

Open from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays from May until October, the market, Talamantes says, grows as more and more produce becomes available.

Seven vendors sold local and regional produce at last week's market, with approximately 100 customers.

Last year, the market reached its peak at the end of July with 22 vendors. In the market's first couple of years, it maxed out with 13 vendors.

"Right now, we have things like starter plants, salad greens and peas, which are cool crops," Talamantes said. "As the weather warms up, we'll have tomatoes, squash, melons and cucumbers."

Most of the vendors are small, part-time farmers, who sell at various local markets, like Pojoaque, Los Alamos and Santa Fe, to supplement their incomes. However, there are a few full-time farmers, such as Salvador Corona from Española.

"One of our goals is to help small farmers expand their businesses," Talamantes said. "We try to hold a couple workshops every year."

A February workshop, attended by 50 farmers, focused on marketing, bookkeeping, and the building and use of hoop houses. These structures, Talamantes explained, are easy-to-build unheated greenhouses that are constructed by stretching plastic sheets over an aluminum-pipe skeleton.

A second workshop, held in May, was held to "teach farmers what crops to grow to make money."

"Most farmers aren't aware that blackberries and boysenberries are profitable crops to grow in Northern New Mexico," Talamantes said. "Asparagus is another profitable crop."

Talamantes, who manages both the Los Alamos and Pojoaque Valley farmers markets, said she welcomes all farmers and gardeners to participate in the markets, "even if they only have a couple tomatoes for sale."

She said some farmers might not come to market because their produce is not organic.

"There are approximately 50 farmers markets in New Mexico and, to the best of my knowledge, none of them require the produce to be organic," she said. "Most of the produce is organic, but it's impossible to know for sure."

If customers get hungry, they can purchase tamales and burritos. And, for those folks short on cash, the market accepts food stamps, senior dollars and WIC, a Department of Agriculture supplementary nutrition program for women, infants and children.

"The farmers market is a community affair," Talamantes said. "It's about helping people help themselves. (It) is a huge and important part of everyone's life. It brings people together.

"And fresh food is healthier. As Hippocrates said, 'Let food be your medicine.' "