2023 CSA Season Week Four

June 27, 2023

Welcome to the fourth week of the 2023 CSA Season and the last week of June deliveries! It’s heating up this week, so we hope you’re all finding ways to stay cool as summer gets going and we’re gearing up for the Fourth of July holiday. We’re excited for the veggies this week!

Special Announcements:

We will be delivering next week for Fourth of July! Veggies don’t wait for holidays, so neither do we. We’ll be working on our regular Tuesday delivery schedule next week, so be sure to pick up your shares by that 7pm deadline next week. Yesterday was the last day to make any changes to that delivery, so if you’re unable to make your pickup window, see if a friend can pick it up for you! Otherwise, your site host might enjoy the extra food!

If you have paper bags that you recycle, please consider donating them to your CSA site! We didn’t have as many at the farm this year, so if you take a bag from your site, please bring a replacement with your next delivery and put them in the gray tub. Any extras you’re willing to donate to the CSA sites are greatly appreciated!

Let me know if you’re going on vacation!

We understand things come up and people have vacations, especially in summer, so we’re more than willing to accommodate your schedule if we can. If you’re going on vacation or unable to pickup, we can send the box to a different location, donate the share to Food for Lane County, or issue a credit toward next season’s share. Please make sure to let me know at least 7 days before your regularly scheduled share. (If you pick up on Tuesday, but you’re changing to Friday that week, please tell me no later than the previous TUESDAY.) We plan for harvest and pull the lists well in advance, so to keep things going smooth, we’re unable to process requests made after that 7-day deadline.

        I will be in South Africa the last half of August, so please get your vacation days for Weeks 10 through 13 (August 8 through September 4) to me by August 1st so I can get them entered. If vacation requests for that time frame are submitted after August 1st, they will unfortunately NOT be processed. Thank you for your time and consideration! 

Come check out our markets!

Didn’t get everything you were hoping for in your CSA share this week? Come check out our farmers’ markets! Let the vendor know you’re a CSA member, and you’ll get 10% off your purchase! You can find us in Eugene on Wednesdays at the Eugene Farm Stand at 18th and Polk, and on Saturdays at the Lane County Farmers’ Market. In Portland, you can find us at the King Farmers’ Market on Sundays. We would love to see you!

A note about payments at the market:

We will happily take both credit/debit cards and cash at our markets. However, we are unable to take EBT or the Oregon Trail Card, as Square is not set up to work with benefits through the state. We WILL take the SNAP vouchers, though! Because they’re a voucher, they require an exact-change purchase, so we will unfortunately not be able to make change if you use the vouchers, so make sure you get as much food as you can! If you have market tokens, please make sure you only use those for payment at the market they originated from. (Lane County Farmers’ Market tokens cannot be used at the Eugene Farm Stand, as there’s no way to exchange them for actual currency outside the Lane County Farmers’ Market!) Please make sure to keep that in mind when you’re making a purchase at one of our markets. We appreciate you!

Are you interested in eggs on the coast?

For a few seasons now, our Coos Bay site host has offered eggs through her connection with local farmers, Upside Down Eggs, in Coos Bay, and this year, they’ve opened up orders to the entire coast! At the moment, their deliveries are to Coos Bay, Reedsport, Florence, and Mapleton at our regular CSA sites, but if you’re in Eugene, it might be worth a call if you’re interested! Upside Down Eggs is not affiliated with the farm except as a friend, so any orders for eggs need to be placed with them directly. We will not be able to facilitate any egg orders or replacements here at the farm.

If you’re interested, you can reach Upside Down Eggs by phone or text at 720-883-8739.

AC doing irrigation in the field.

What’s going on at the farm?

With the sun shining again, the berries are jumping back into gear! Our harvest crews have been busting their buns picking strawberries, raspberries, and all sorts of delicious vegetables this week. More and more, the fields are looking greener as AC and Porter handle the irrigation, and Chris spends long hours on the tractor. Shannon is working hard in the greenhouse, cultivating veggies for later in the season, and our crew is making sure they get in the ground. Things are looking great so far!

We’re hoping to be able to add blueberries to your shares from two local farms this year, hopefully mid-July. We aren’t sure we’ll have full flats for sale yet, but I’ll keep you posted! If you’re interested in purchasing a full flat, let me know, so we can have an idea of how many we might need if that becomes an option.

What’s in your box this week:

  • Raspberries
  • New Potatoes
  • Carrots
  • Green Onions
  • Swiss Chard
  • Lettuce

Some sites only:

  • Fennel
  • Beets

We aren’t always able to harvest our veggies in equal share, and this week, a few sites will get beets instead of fennel. But don’t worry! We’re keeping excellent notes, and we’ll be sure to make it up to you the best we can. We appreciate your understanding!

Handy Tips:

  • New Potatoes: New potatoes have not been in the ground long enough for their skins to cure, so they are very fragile. We did wash your potatoes for you, so you will need to keep them in the fridge in a place bag, and be sure to eat them soon. No need to peel them, as many of the nutrients are close to the skin. New potatoes can be prepared in a number of ways. You can boil or steam them, roast them with other root veggies, or saute them with some onions for breakfast home fries.
  • Beets: To keep roots and greens fresh, remove the beet greens, wash and store in a refrigerated plastic bag. Store the unwashed roots in an unsealed plastic bag in your vegetable drawer. Beet roots will last up to two weeks; the greens will need to be used within a few days after harvesting. Beet greens are a delicious and healthy vegetable on their own. You can steam or saute them like spinach or use raw in salads. They are also great lightly stir-fried. Beets do not need to be peeled; just scrub them clean before using (there are many trace minerals just below the skin). Skins can be slipped off after cooking. Beets are delicious raw or cooked. Try them grated raw on sandwiches and salads. They can be steamed, roasted, or cooked in soup or stew.
Sarah on the forklift during the CSA pack this morning.

What we’re making this week:

What are you making?

One of our members sent us this recipe for fennel, and it looks incredible. But that’s not all–she also writes a soup blog! If you’re looking for delicious soup recipes from a local cook who’s also part of our CSA family, check out The Soup for You!

Are you making something you’d love to share, or that’s a particular family favorite? Send us a picture! We would love to include it here on the blog or on social media. You can find us on both Instagram and Facebook at @wintergreenfarm. We would love to see what you’re cooking up!

June is almost over already, and the energy here at the farm is buzzing! We’re so excited to be with you on your food journey this year, and we can’t wait to give you even more amazing veggies as the season goes on. We hope you’re all enjoying the sun and time with your loved ones!

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers