2021 CSA Season Week Nineteen

October 12, 2021

Welcome to the final week of the 2021 CSA Standard Season! For those of you not continuing on to the late season this year, we would like to take a moment to thank you for joining us this season and allowing us to help provide you with fresh fruits and veggies for you food journey. We are so thankful we got to connect with you this year.

Special Announcements:

This week is the last week of the Standard Season. For those of you not continuing on with us for the next five weeks, we want to thank you for joining us, and we hope to see you again next year. If you are subscribed for the Late Season this year, please remember we have taken deliveries down to Friday-Sunday, depending on your location and pickup. Emails have been going out and will continue to do so this week (there are quite a few of you) letting you know where we currently have you scheduled, as well as giving you a chance to look over other delivery sites if you’d like to change your location. If you’d like to make any changes to your account once you receive the email, please get back to me as soon as possible so we can make changes before the first delivery.

Now is your chance to bring back the boxes! If you have any of the Winter Green Farm tubs your shares come in each week just hanging out at home, please bring them back when you pick up your deliveries. We’ve been low on boxes since the middle of the season, so any and all tubs you can bring back would be greatly appreciated.

I know many of you have expressed an interest in the 2022 Season, and believe me, we’re looking forward to having you! Right now, we’re working on getting a new computer system in place which will change the way we do orders, so we have yet to open sign-ups. Keep an eye on these newsletters throughout the off-season. I will continue to send them out each week with information for next season, what’s going on at the farm throughout the winter months, and tasty recipes to keep you going until next season begins again.

Though the delivery times for the Late Season have changed, the delivery protocol has not. Please respect the pickup windows as all of our site hosts are volunteer. I will update the website next week with the new delivery info, but please pay attention to the times in the email you received (or will receive this week), as the delivery times have changed. We still have that 7pm deadline for residential delivery shares, but market pickups will be much harder to reroute since we’ve cut our trips to once a week. it’s going to be really important to stay on the ball and try not to miss any pickups since there are only 5 left.

If you are running late, give your site host a call as soon as possible and let them know. You may be able to make arrangements to pickup outside the delivery window, but please do not show up without calling, as we would like to respect their personal time. If you pick up at a market, our drivers may be able to communicate with each other to help you out, but the best thing to do if you know you won’t be able to make it prior to your delivery day is to submit a vacation request to the farm so we can arrange things without any scrambling or confusion. If you’re going to be out of town or unable to pickup entirely, you can choose to take a credit toward the 2022 season or give your box as a tax-deductible donation to Food for Lane County. Please keep in mind we require 7 days notice to make these changes.

This is the last week for the Wednesday Farm Stand!

With the end of the Standard Season comes the end of our Eugene Farm Stand, but don’t worry! We’re still there this week! This Wednesday, October 13, will be the last day Shannon and crew will be at our farm stand, so if you’re dying to get your hands on some extra veggies, come on down! You can find us at the Emmaus Church from 2pm to 6pm. If you aren’t able to make it, don’t worry! You can still come see us at the Lane County Farmer’s Market in Eugene on Saturdays throughout November. Or, if you’re in the Portland area, come check us out at the Hollywood Market on Saturdays and the King Market on Sundays.

Last Call for Pumpkins!

This will be the last week to pick up your pumpkins from the farm! Due to Covid-19 precautions, we were unable to do our annual Harvest Celebration this year, but as a gift to our CSA members, we are still giving you a chance to grab a pumpkin. But come quick! Pumpkins are first-come first serve this week and throughout the weekend, but come Monday morning, we will be donating what’s left to Adam’s Elementary School, as their littles aren’t able to do their normal pumpkin patch field trip this year. The pumpkins are located in the field below the barns, and you’re welcome to come out any day this week before dark.

We Have Tomato Sauce for Sale!

Our tomato sauce is here and ready to sell! We’ve spent weeks preparing the tomatoes and other ingredients, before partnering with Sweet Creek Foods to process them into delicious sauce. Now they’re back and ready to find new homes with all of you who want this tasty sauce as part of your meal. The sauce comes in 16oz. jars, and you can purchase them either individually, or in a case. If you’d like some, just hop on over to our website. We are taking orders exclusively online. We hope you like it!

What’s going on at the farm

Our crew is working hard to round out the season, and as you can see, our spirits are still up! Right now, we’re harvesting as much as we can, and preparing the ground for the off-season. Some of the crops will be replanted, while the remnants of others will be ripped out and the fields will be prepared for livestock. This is simply the natural progression of farming, and we’re all excited to see what the future of Winter Green Farm will hold.

October is here, and boy, is she gorgeous. The prefix “Octo” means eight on the Roman calendar, and the month was originally set up in accordance to the lunar calendar by Rome’s first king, Romulus, in 753 b.c. Over the years, other months were added, and October went from being the eighth month in the calendar to the tenth. The flowers associated with the month of October are cosmos, calendula, and marigolds, all of which can be found right here on the farm. If your birth month is October (like Chris) your birthstone is the opal, which represents faithfulness, confidence, hope, purity, and was once thought to enhance intuition. The stones can be either black, white, or my personal favorite, fire opals.

This year, the month has been a little chilly, but as the days go on, we might see a little sun, and the temperatures might rise back up for a bit, giving us a reminder of the summer season that just passed. This brief time of the month is referred to as St. Luke’s Little Summer, and typically occurs somewhere around the 18th. Saint Luke was the patron saint of physicians and surgeons. His celebration wasn’t quite as popular as St. John’s Day in June or Michaelmas in September, so legend has it he gives us a few golden days in October so he won’t be forgotten.

What’s in your box this week:

  • Apples
  • Turnips
  • Leeks
  • Celeriac
  • Potatoes
  • Pie Pumpkin
  • Cabbage
  • Onions
  • Kale

We certainly hope you’ve enjoyed all the delicious veggies in your share each week! We’ve loved being able to give them to you, and look forward to being able to do so again.

Handy Tips:

  • Celeriac: Celeriac will store for up to a month in your refrigerator in a plastic bag. When you’re ready to use it, slice off the green stalks at the root crown. Then soak the root in warm water to loosen the earth between the roots and scrub well with a brush. Peel the skin off the roots before preparing them. The top and peeled portions are a tasty addition to soup stocks. Try celeriac raw, grated into salads, or in any recipe that calls for celery. Celeriac can also be boiled or steamed. Peel, slice, and boil for 5-10 minutes, or boil whole for 20-30 minutes. Mash and top with butter. Celeriac tastes incredible with mashed potatoes!
  • Pie pumpkin: Store your pie pumpkin in a cool, dry, dark place with good ventilation until you are ready to use it. Bake pumpkins in half, with pulp and seeds scooped out, cut-side down on a baking dish filled with about 1/2 inch of water at 350 F. When it’s done, it should be soft and collapsing. Remove it from the oven and fill with butter or seasonings, or add it to your favorite pumpkin recipe.

What We’re Making This Week:

  • I’m so excited we’re getting apples again this week, because I’m dying to try this tasty Apple Pie recipe.
  • If you want a little zest with your potatoes, try this Picadillo recipe!
  • It’s the season for Pumpkin Pie! There are so many things you can do with pumpkin, but pumpkin pie is an old favorite.

One of our members made this Pear Gingerbread Upside-Down Cake. Doesn’t it look amazing? I find myself wishing I could have a bite. What are you making? Send us a picture or a recipe at [email protected] or tag us on social media and you might see it on the blog! You can find us on Instagram (@wintergreenfarm) or on Facebook (Winter Green Farm). We’d love to see what you’re cooking up! Keep an eye on our weekly newsletter throughout the off-season for more delicious recipes.

This week is the last delivery of the Standard Season and we’re sad to see you go, but we’re so glad we got to connect with you this year! Thank you so much for allowing us on this food journey with you. We’ve so enjoyed being able to provide you with nutritious and delicious fruits and vegetables, getting to know you all, and seeing what you and your loved ones have been cooking up. Please take care during the off season, eat great food, spend time with your loved ones, and join us again next year! We’re grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for such a great 2021 CSA Season.

Many blessings,

Chelsea, Linda, and your Winter Green farmers