2024 CSA Season Week Eighteen

October 8, 2024

We are well into fall, and boy, do we have an autumn box for you! The leaves are changing, the air is getting cooler, and I’m hearing if you look up at the sky in the middle of the night, you might be able to see the Northern Lights again! We hope you’re all having a great October, and we’re so glad to be part of it.

We’re almost to the Extended Season!

There’s only two more weeks in the Standard Season! This week and next week, then we switch to the Extended Season!s For the last five weeks of the season, we fill the shares with as many root veggies, greens, squash, pears, and apples (and more!) as we can. The Extended Season will continue until the week before Thanksgiving, and man, oh, man do we fill those boxes up! If you’d like to join us for the gorgeous autumn bounty, we still have spots available!

Please note, all deliveries switch to Friday-Saturday-Sunday for the Extended Season, and will begin a full week after the Standard Season ends. If you’re in Eugene, all residential sites will switch to Friday, but the Lane County Farmers’ Market will remain the same on Saturday. The Eugene Farm Stand will close after October 16, and those Extended Season pickups will switch to a Friday residential site, the LCFM, or out here at the farm. For those in Portland, all Extended Season pickups will be at the King Market on Sundays, so the last day for residential sites in Portland will be October 16th. If you pickup on the coast, Florence and Mapleton sites will remain the same, though unfortunately, we aren’t able to offer the Extended Season for the Coos Bay or Reedsport sites.

If you have any questions about the Extended Season, or you’d like to join us, shoot me an email at folks@wintergreenfarm.com, and we’ll get you set up!

Last year’s display

Come have lunch with us on October 19th!

On Saturday, October 19th, come out to the farm and meet your Winter Green farmers! We’ll have pumpkins, apple cider, farm tours, and a scavenger hunt for the kiddos. Bring your favorite dish, and come out and say hello! Bring the family, tell your friends, and come have fun! It’s an open house, so you don’t have to be a CSA member to come out and see us!

We’ll be here rain or shine, so if it looks like rain, bring coats, boots, and umbrellas because it can get wet and muddy! 

Winter Green Farm Harvest Potluck
89762 Poodle Creek Road
Noti, OR 97461

Saturday, October 19, 2024
12pm to 4pm in the afternoon


We are so excited to show you around!

Check out our markets this week!

Have you checked out our farm stand at the Emmaus Church in Eugene on Wednesdays? If you haven’t, you still have time! You can find us on 18th and Polk from 2pm to 6pm, where we will be showing off our autumn crop for your dining pleasure! Say hello to Shannon and Sarah (sometimes even Chris!) and check out what the Eugene Farm Stand has to offer. But hurry! We’re only there for two more weeks!

Can’t make it on Wednesday or not in Eugene? Come say hi and see what we’ve got at the Lane County Farmers’ Market on Saturdays in Eugene, or up at the King Market on Sundays in Portland! We would love to see you and hear about what you’re making for fall!

We’ve got apples from Mt. Hood Organics for you this week!

We’ve partnered with Mt. Hood Organic Farms to bring you apples these next two weeks! Mt. Hood Organic Farms is located at the base of Mt. Hood in the Upper Hood River Valley. They’ve been around since the turn of the century, and their gorgeous grounds are perfect for both growing fruit and hosting beautiful wedding venues. Their pear and apple orchards boast near one hundred different varieties, and we’re so thrilled we get to offer you a taste of their magnificent, organic, biodynamic produce. If you’d like to know more, visit their website to learn more about their awesome operation!

What’s in your box this week:

  • Pie Pumpkin
  • Onions
  • Leeks
  • Carrots
  • Turnips
  • Apples
  • Pepper
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce

We’ve had a few inquiries for cauliflower this season, and while we did give it out earlier this season, we haven’t been able to harvest it for a bit. Though the cauliflower is definitely growing, the heads are still pretty small. We’re hoping to get it in your box next week for the end of the Standard Season, but we apologize if Mother Nature has other ideas and they still aren’t ready to harvest. I promise, we’re doing our best to get you as many veggies as we can!

Handy Tips:

  • 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 seeds scooped out, cut-side down on a baking dish filled with a half inch of water at 350 degrees, until soft and collapsing. Remove them from the oven and fill with butter and seasonings.
  • Leeks: Place dry, unwashed leeks in a plastic bag and store them in a drawer of your refrigerator. Leeks will store well for up to two weeks.To clean leeks for cooking, trim the roots, remove the green tops (which can be used in soup stock) and peel off the outer leaf layer, removing any hidden dirt. Cut leeks in half lengthwise and chop. Most recipes only use the white portion. Leeks can be substituted for any recipe calling for onions. They develop the best flavor when cooked or sautéed slowly.
  • Carrots: Cut or twist carrot tops off before storing in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks. Clean the carrots well before eating by scrubbing with a vegetable brush under running water. Do not peel unless the carrots are damaged, as much of the nutrients are very close to the skin. Eat carrots raw in sticks, rounds, julienned, or grated. You can also add slices or chunks to soups, stews, or casseroles. Carrots are also delicious lightly steamed or sautéed, and garnished with butter or olive oil and fresh herbs. Try them grated with oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  • Turnips: Cut turnip greens from their roots and store separately. Keep dry, unwashed greens in a sealed plastic bag in your fridge. Thicker greens will keep up to two weeks. Tender greens should be eaten within a week. To store turnips, place them (unwashed) in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your fridge. Due to high water content, turnips may deteriorate quickly, but most should keep for a week.
  • Apples: Apples are an incredibly versatile fruit. They can be eaten plain, made into juice or sauce, or turned into ciders, vinegars, or alcohols. They can be dried and saved for later, or baked into your favorite treats. Apples can be stored at room temperature for a short amount of time, but check on them frequently to make sure they haven’t begun to rot. For the best results, sprinkle your apples with water, place them in a perforated plastic bag, and then store them in the coldest part of your refrigerator. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.
  • Peppers: Peppers will stay fresh in the hydrator drawer of your refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks. For the highest nutrition, eat peppers raw. Slice or dice them for pasta or green salads, thinly slice them for sandwiches, or cut them lengthwise for dipping. Add peppers to omelets, stir-fries, quiches, sauces, curries, and stews. Peppers taste great in Indian, Italian, Mexican, or Thai food, as well as any other ethnic dishes. Roasted peppers are especially tasty. Place peppers under the broiler until the skins have evenly blackened. Place the peppers in a brown bag, fold the top, and allow the peppers to steam for 10 to 15 minutes. When they’re cool, peel off the skins and add them to your recipe.

What We’re Making This Week:

  • Have you ever tried a Blooming Onion? This may not be the healthiest way to eat it, but it sure looks like fun!
  • Do you still have an abundance of carrots? Try pickling them!
  • The apples from Mt. Hood Organics are delicious on their own, but it’s hard to resist a French Apple Cake!
Isn’t Earl so cute!

We hope you’re all filling your days with fun fall activities, and we hope to see all of you here at the farm in a couple weeks!

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers