Vida Verde Farm

Last Updated On: February 8th, 2024 at 09:19AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
North Valley
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87107

Primary Contact: Seth Matlick
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 5059331106
    Email: vidaverdefarm@gmail.com

Website: https://www.instagram.com/vidaverdefarmabq/

Website: http://www.facebook.com/vidaverdefarms

Internship information

General Farm Description: Vida Verde is a 6 acre vegetable farm located in the North Valley of Albuquerque, just 15 minutes from downtown and the heart of the city. The farm is in a quiet neighborhood that backs up to the bosque biking and hiking trails along the Rio Grande. For the past 15 years we have focused on supplying food to the local co-op and selling to local restaurants in Albuquerque and Santa Fe as well as at the Downtown Growers Market, our own CSA and contributing to several collaborative CSAs. We grow year round, with an incredible long growing season with over 200 frost free days a year and with our 4 unheated hoop houses and cat tunnels. We plant a large variety of heirloom, heritage, and organic crops offering over 300 varieties of veggies, flowers and herbs throughout the year. We also have access to apples, pear and cherries. To see some pictures of our farm look us up on Instagram @Vidaverdefarmabq.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: Now
Internship Ends: November 2024 (with limited winter positions available)
Number of Internship Available: 3
Application Deadline: Rolling
Minimum Length of Stay: full and part time positions available for entire or part of the season

Internship Details:

The goal of this apprenticeship is to introduce you how to grow food on a small-scale. All aspects of farming will be experienced including planting seeds in the ground and green house, cultivation and weed maintenance, irrigation, harvesting and post-harvest handling and marketing and selling. Our growers should be people who aspire to someday farm professionally and potentially own and/or run a farm. Please send us an email introducing yourself and why you are interested in joining us for the 2024 growing season. I look forward to talking to you soon!

Educational Opportunities: You will be trained and expected to participate in all aspects of the job. We would like for you to leave this season with the skills and confidence to start your own farm. Some of the things you can expect to learn are using the equipment and machinery (tractors and attachments, roto-tiller, hand tools, etc), greenhouse and propagation, transplanting and direct seeding crops, irrigation set up and management (drip and flood), harvest, post harvest handling, packaging, selling and delivering to restaurants, setting up and working at the farmer's' market and planning and preparing for future seasons. Our farm is still growing and the crew has an opportunity to present their own ideas and potentially have them integrated into the business. In past years we expanded our cut flower program, started a CSA, introduced medicinal perennials, and other projects started and run by a crew members. We also process a lot of our food and are introducing Added Value Products starting with a line of hot sauces and spice blends.

Skills Desired: No prior experience is necessary, though past related work is a plus. We are looking for people who are interested in learning how to run a small farm business opposed to hobby gardeners. A willingness to work hard and get dirty, try new and challenging tasks, an ability to work on your own as well as with others, and a desire to learn and have fun are all traits we value at Vida Verde. We are a light hearted group so a positive attitude and a good sense of humor is a must! The rewards of farming are rich and this is an amazing job and way of life. That being said the days can be long and labor intensive. As much as the work is rewarding it can also be challenging and we would like all applicants to be honest with themselves and us about what you are physically capable of. Interns must have a driver's license and reliable transportation and be able to get to and from the farm on their own. Our work week is Monday to Friday. We start work as early as 6:30 am when the weather is very hot and as late as 9 am during the colder months. We are task oriented so many days we wrap early when the daily goals are done. The weekly schedule is between 30 and 35 hours.

Meals: Farmers will have access to all the produce we grow for home use as well as the ability to trade when working the farmers market for things like bread and cheese.

Stipend: Stipend of $375 per week plus produce, fruit and honey from the farm. Full time and part time positions available.

Housing: None at this time

Preferred method of Contact: Email