San Mateo Ozolco is a picturesque village in the foothills of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl mountain range. Towards the road, high walls shelter the farmhouses from view, and finding a particular address isn't easy. But once we step through the narrow door at Fernando Hernandez' farm we find ourselves in a wide, sunlit courtyard where the harvest of white, red, blue and black corn is spread out for drying. Welcome to the latest tale from our Mexican producers…

Edgar Montes Silvestre and his brother Pedro farm 10 hectares of land in the mountains near Atlixco, a beautiful town some 160km southeast of Mexico City. Five hectares are rented land; the other five belong to their 70-year old Dad, Pedro, who still keeps a watchful eye on the farm and the decisions the brothers take. The old farm building sits on a steep hillside. We talk in the shade of a lofty veranda which Edgar had built for family gatherings, but also for farm groups to meet for lectures and other events…

Juchitepec means "Hill of the Flowers" in Nahuatl. This area just 60 km southeast of Mexico City is aptly named; it's beautiful, but also feels rather remote. Without a guide there is little chance to find the three-hectare field Lourdes Linares farms together with her husband, Roman. Read on for more on this latest report from our Mexican producers…

In the latest tale from the trip to meet our Mexican producers, we meet the Diaz family in Texemulcan

From Mexico City it takes about an hour and a half to get to Jesus Abel Monroy's 13 hectare farm in the state of Hidalgo. The region is mountainous and arid - only mesquite bushes and cacti thrive. Nopal (prickly pear) cacti grow wild or in plantations, with their flat, wide 'ears' and red fruit they make for a delicious vegetable - as well as excellent fences. The organ pipe cacti give the landscape a distinct character, as if one had stepped into José María Velasco painting.

The dry, brittle leaves rustle as Ernesto Rancaño steps into the field ahead of us. A few steps in and he has all but vanished from view among the tall maize plants. Now, at the beginning of December, the fat corn cobs are nearly ready to be harvested. Carefully Rancaño peals the outer layer back to reveal the ripe kernels which are blue, almost black, with a few lighter, purple ones in between. On his one hectare plot he not only grows traditional red, blue and white maize, but also heritage beans, which climb all the way to the top of the maize stalks. The beans inside the well filled pods are huge and have a startling blue colour. Ayocote morado is just one of many Mexican heirloom bean varieties. Normally their colour ranges from lavender to deep shades of purple, ocean blue ones like those in Ernesto Rancaño's field are rare.