Author Archives: Miguel

About Miguel

Miguel Santistevan is a researcher, educator, and advocate for traditional agriculture crops and systems.

Acequia cleaning 2017. Part I.

About a week ago I received notice from our Acequia Commission that we will be starting our acequia cleaning this Friday, March 17.  This is the earliest we gather to clean the acequias in my memory, likely due to our … Continue reading

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Tree Care and Pruning Workshop in Taos – 3/20/2017

Taos, NM – March 10, 2017 – A Taos non-profit organization Agriculture Implementation Research & Education (AIRE) is coordinating a tree care event entitled “Fruit tree care and pruning 101: a hands-on workshop.” The workshop is a collaboration between AIRE, … Continue reading

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Rio Fernando starts flowing

Today I drove by the familiar bridge on Witt Rd and saw water coming down the river.  It seems early for this to happen, remembering that early in my life the river would flow year round.  The sight of water … Continue reading

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Reflections on the harvest of blue corn in Taos in 2016

It can be said that my experience with blue corn (maíz azul) is the reason I became interested in agriculture in the first place. You can read about my first experience planting blue corn here. Husking an ear of blue … Continue reading

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Reflections on the 2016 Growing Season

The growing season always begins with watchful hopes of snowpack in the mountains. Many snowfalls that are measured in inches in the Taos Valley are matched with snowfalls that are measured in feet in the high mountains. The last post … Continue reading

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First snow of the season

      Some time has passed since our last blog posting.  It has been an incredibly busy season that prevented consistent blog posting over the summer.  A reflection on the growing season will be forthcoming, but this snowstorm was inspirational in … Continue reading

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Northern Youth Project visits Sol Feliz Farm

Today we received a visit from some incredible young people from the Abiquiu area that are part of a program called the Northern Youth Project.  With ages ranging from 5 to 14, these young people have been spending the summer … Continue reading

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Hollyhocks starting to bloom

  It is a beautiful time of the year when the flowers start to bloom.  These hollyhocks in particular were transplanted or started from seed to beautify the grounds of Sol Feliz while providing for pollinators.  These are the very … Continue reading

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AIRE presents at Xeriscape Conference

On February 19  I had the opportunity to give a presentation at the Land and Water Summit of the Xeriscape Council of NM.  Visit their website here or at the website xeriscapenm.com.  The conference was awesome.  Peter McBride, a photographer … Continue reading

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Clearing the Garden at Parr Field

Today was the final round of clearing the field at our Parr Field Garden Project.  We want the field to look nice since it is school property and the site is used by the public.  Hopefully there will not be … Continue reading

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