Albuquerque local food

Lloyd Kreitzer is passionate about figs. He propogates new trees from many old fig trees around Albuquerque, and he has over 50 varieties. He also has Chinese dates (jujubes), grapes propagated from old grape vines in our area, and a number of other locally adapted and waterwise plants. My own container fig tree is a "two-crop green" from Lloyd, and after two years it's doing beautifully. You can find him at several local farmers' markets including Corrales, Downtown, and Morningside Park, and he will amaze you with his knowledge of fruit. In season, he has fruit to sell, and I especially recommend one of his egg cartons filled with different kinds of figs.

   See his website, Land of Enfigment, for much more.

One of the unfortunate aspects of buying from commercial nurseries is that the selection of varieties is limited, and usually they're the commercially useful ones you find in the grocery store, which may have been bred for everything but flavor and texture. . Growers like Lloyd are helping to preserve genetic diversity, and they are the people best equipped to answer the question "What does well around here?"