2021 CSA Season Week Twenty-Four

November 19, 2021

This week’s delivery marks the last share of the 2021 CSA Season. Congratulations, CSA member and farm crew alike. We did it! We’re so thrilled you decided to join us for these last few weeks in the Late Season, and we can’t tell you how much we appreciate your support and encouragement throughout this year’s season. Our members really are the best, and we couldn’t imagine doing this farm thing with out you.

Special Announcements:

This is the last delivery of this year’s CSA season, so please reach out to tie up any loose ends! If you have any questions or concerns about your account, any comments you’d like to leave, or farmer’s you’d like to say goodbye to, don’t hesitate to contact us here at the farm. You can reach us by phone at 541-935-1920 or by email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you and assist you in any way we can.

If you have any Winter Green CSA tubs floating around at home, please return them to your delivery site! We’ll be picking up as many empties as we can get our hands on this week and swinging by next week to pick up any strays. We’ve been short on boxes being returned this year, so any help you can give us rounding them all up and getting them back to the farm would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

A Huge Thank You to all of our Members!

It goes without saying that we appreciate each and every one of you, but I’m going to say it anyway: Thank you so much for joining us this year! You’ve all been wonderful, and we’ve loved getting to know you this season. I, personally, have had some lovely conversations and exchanges with many of you, and I can’t tell you how nice that’s been. I’ve been in customer service for close to twenty years, and the members of this farm are above and beyond wonderful. I can’t wait to talk with many of you next season as well! Thank you for all of your support, encouragement, understanding, and communication this season. You are the reason we do what we do, and we’re so grateful we got to give food for your table this year. We hope for many more years to come!

If you get the chance, please thank your site hosts. They have been amazing in allowing us to use their homes to make deliveries more convenient, and we so appreciate all the time and effort they put in to make this all possible. We could not have done it without them!

The 2022 CSA Season is Just Around the Corner!

Many of you have been asking about sign-ups for the 2022 Season, so here’s what we know so far: Right now, we’re working on implementing a new database system, which will effect how signups are done, which is why we haven’t opened them yet or taken deposits. That said, we will (hopefully) be doing so very soon! When we open signups for next season, we will do so in a three-tiered system. We will first open to our current members to give you first shot and make sure you’re able to reserve a share and continue your membership. Then, we will open to our Wait List, to give them a chance to get a spot next year since they’ve already expressed an interest. If you know anyone looking to join next year, have them sign up for our Wait List! Then, if we still have spots available, we’ll open to the general public. We’ve had quite a few people express interest in next year’s season, so the spots will go quick! Keep an eye on this newsletter in the off-season. It will continue to go out weekly, and will contain information about next season, as well as what we’re up to on the farm, and some fun holiday recipes. You can also check out our social media pages for day-to-day pictures and snipits about the farm.

Come See Us at the Holiday Farmers Market!

You can still come see us at the farmer’s markets this holiday season! Though our last week at the King Market is this Sunday, November 21, we will still be at the Hollywood Market in Portland every other Saturday until December 18. If you’re in Eugene, you can come see us at the Lane County Holiday Market every Saturday until December 18. We’ll be at the same location we’re at now, on 5th Avenue between High and Oak. Please note: we will not be doing any farmers market the weekend after Thanksgiving. We’d love to see you!

Photo by Yu Kato on Unsplash

Don’t Miss This Month’s Lunar Eclipse

The Beaver Moon Lunar Eclipse this month is the supposed to be the longest partial eclipse in nearly 600 years. On November 19, the eclipse should be in partial eclipse for approximately three and a half hours, and in full eclipse for six. At its maximum point, the moon will by 97% in the Earth’s shadow, and will most likely turn a deep red. Lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow, and this one will be the last lunar eclipse of the year. According to astronomers, the view of the eclipse should be excellent in the Americas, so you won’t want to miss it.

What’s in your Box this Week?

  • Apples
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Carrots
  • Onion
  • Potatoes
  • Turnips
  • Parsnips
  • Fennel
  • Lettuce
  • Butternut Squash
  • Delicata Squash

We aren’t always able to harvest our veggies in equal share, but we did our very best this year! Especially during this Late Season, we’ve been able to give every site an equal share of almost everything, so we hope you’re as pleased with the vegetable take as we are. If there was anything we weren’t able to get you, we thank you for your understanding that sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t get the memo, and appreciate you not holding it against us farmers as we strive to fill your shares with the best veggies Winter Green Farm has to offer each week. We’re so glad we got to be part of your table.

Handy Tips:

  • Brussel Sprouts: Brussel Sprouts keep longest if they are left attached to the stalk, but if you are short on refrigerator space, snap off the sprouts and store them unwashed in a closed plastic bag in the veggie bin. Even when they are left on the stalk, they should be wrapped in plastic to prevent wilting. Their flavor is sweetest right after harvest, so try to use them within a few days. When cooking, snap Brussel Sprouts off the stalk and remove any loose or discolored leaves. Trim the base of each sprout and cut a shallow X in the stem end to speed cooking. Rinse the sprouts in cool water. The key to using Brussel Sprouts is cooking them enough, but not too much. As with full-sized cabbage, over-cooking Brussel Sprouts evokes an unpleasant, sulfurous smell that makes people run for cover. Ideally, sprouts should be tender enough to yield when pierced with a fork, but not so soft that the fork sinks right in.

What We’re Making:

  • With Thanksgiving right around the corner, here are is a great Apple Strudel recipe that’s sure to be a hit.
  • If you have picky eaters at home (especially of the tiny human variety), you know raviolis are usually a hit. That’s why I’m excited to give this Butternut Squash Ravioli a try!

Come find us on Social Media!

Even though the season’s over, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to know what you’re up to! Send us your favorite recipes, tag us in pictures of your home-cooked meals, or just follow our social media pages to see what we’re up to here on the farm! You can find us on Facebook at Winter Green Farm, or on Instagram at @wintergreenfarm. Or, if you want to contact us directly, reach out and send us an email to [email protected]. We’d love to see what you’re cooking up!

We’ve so enjoyed getting to know you and tagging along on your food journey these last few months. This season has been a blast, and that is (in no small part) thanks to you. Thank you so much for joining us this year, for supporting the farm, for being so kind, and for allowing us to help put food on your table. We wish you all a happy holiday season, and we can’t wait to see you next year!

Many Blessings,

Chelsea