2025 CSA Season Week Fifteen

September 16, 2025

Welcome to the fifteenth week of the CSA season! Can you feel fall in the air yet? I can! It’s been fairly cold in the mornings this last week, and the farm has a crisp, clean feel to it these days. Hoping it will hold the rain off just a little bit longer!

Let us know if you’re going on vacation!

We are in the last quarter of the season, but we can still take vacation requests! I’ve had quite a few requests for rescheduling or rerouting boxes this week, and a decent amount have come in long after the lists have been pulled. Please remember that we need at least 7 days to make the changes. We pull the lists and plan the harvest well in advance, so unfortunately, we just aren’t able to make changes after that deadline. We appreciate your understanding!

If you do need to reschedule, we can do a double share on another week for full shares or reschedule to an off-week for half shares. We can also do up to two vacation coupons that are redeemable at any of our markets.

You can find those markets in Florence on Tuesdays at the pier, in Eugene on Wednesdays at 18th and Polk from 2pm to 6pm or on Saturdays at the Lane County Farmers’ Market downtown, or in Portland on Sundays at the King Market on NE Wygant Street and NE 7th Avenue. We would love to see you!

We have a date for the Harvest Festival!

Come see us on Sunday, October 19th, for a harvest potluck here at the farm! From 12pm to 3pm, we’ll have the farm open to visitors from our CSA program and anybody else who wants to come! We’ll start lunch at noon, so bring your favorite dish, a comfy chair, and whoever you want to spend the day with. We always end up with some delicious food, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

We’ll have great food, a cider press, pumpkins for our CSA members, and farm tours to see what we do out here! We won’t be able to do hay rides this year because the wagon needs some repairs, but we will do walking tours so you can still see everything going on! We would love to see all of you there!

Sam and Kate at the Lane County Farmers’ Market

As long as the weather holds, we’ll still have tomatoes and peppers next week!

We have both tomatoes and sweet peppers by the flat! Winter Green Farm has an abundance of slicer tomatoes and peppers this year, so we wanted to provide our CSA members with bulk beefsteak tomatoes and sweet peppers this year! We will have a limited number of flats available on select dates, so order fast! Flats are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and delivered to your regular CSA site on the selected date.

Tomatoes will sell as a 10-pound flat for $25.00 and peppers will be a 15-pound box for $37.50. You can place your order here. (Please use the order form to make your purchase. You can choose the check option if you would rather avoid the online card fee.)

Just to clarify: If you’re in Portland or pick up at one of our markets, you can still get tomatoes! Tuesdays and Fridays are the days we pack the boxes for delivery, so if you’re a Wednesday delivery normally, choose a Tuesday that works for you, and if you’re a weekend market delivery, choose a Friday. You will still pick up on your regular day.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the farm at 541-935-1920 or email us at folks@wintergreenfarm.com.

This week, you’ll see quite a few tomato flats and pepper boxes at your sites. Please remember that these have already been purchased by our members and are not up for grabs! Thank you so much for your help!

We will have strawberries for gleaning until the rain comes!

Strawberries have been super late this year, and we’ve had to step away from the last of the patches that have berries to get everything else out of the ground. So while we aren’t able to offer strawberry flats to the CSA, we are opening up our remaining strawberry patches for CSA members only who would like to glean the berries!

We’re able to offer this opportunity Monday through Friday during farm hours (8am to 3pm). We don’t have designated times or someone set to show you around, but if you show up during the week during the above window, grab whoever you can up at the barn (with the silos) to show you to the patch! We do ask that you come with your own supplies and container, as we will not be able to supply any tools or containers you might need.

If you are interested in gleaning strawberries, please email me to let me know so we can keep an eye out for you. I don’t need to know the exact time, but if you have a day in mind, that could be helpful. You can reach us by email at folks@wintergreenfarm.com. You can come out to glean berries until the first real rain knocks them out.

What’s in your box this week:

  • Potatoes
  • Yellow onions
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Eggplant
  • Peppers
  • Broccoli
  • Cilantro
  • Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Tomatoes

Looks like we have enough to get everything to everybody today!

Say hello to our crew!

Handy Tips:

  • Potatoes: We wash the “field soil” off of your potatoes, but scrub them well and cut off any sprouts or green skin when you’re ready to cook. No need to peel. Store them in a cool, dark, dry place such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard or closet. They should keep for weeks at room temp, or longer if at ideal temp of 40-50 degrees. Potatoes are great boiled, mashed, fried, or baked. Use them in soups, hash browns, salads, and stews.
  • 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.
  • Cauliflower: Cauliflower is best eaten soon after it’s harvested, but it will keep for one to two weeks in the refrigerator if you wrap it loosely in plastic. Remove the outer leaves, rinse, and trim off any blemishes or brown spots. To cook florets, steam for 15 to 20 minutes. Overcooking will result in a strong odor and flavor. Stir-fry the florets with other veggies, add to Indian or Asian curries, top steamed heads with lemon and butter or parmesan cheese, or serve raw with dip.
  • Eggplant: Eggplant is best when it’s fresh. Store it unrefrigerated at a cool room temperature, or in a hydrator drawer of the fridge for up to one week. Eggplant can be peeled, but it’s not essential. To remove any acrid flavors and excess moisture, lightly salt the slices and allow the to sit in a colander for 10 to 15 minutes. Gently squeeze out any liquid. Eggplant should always be cooked to eliminate solanine, a naturally occurring toxic substance.
  • 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.
  • Broccoli: Wrap the broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the veggie bin or your fridge. Don’t use an air-tight bag, as broccoli continues to respire after being harvested and needs room to breathe. It will keep for over a week, but is firmest and tastiest if used within a few days. To make sure your broccoli is fully cleaned and not carrying any tag-alongs from the farm, soak broccoli immediately before cooking, head down, in cold, salted water for 5 minutes. Broccoli can be steamed, stir-fried, or eaten raw. For salads or veggie platters, try blanching in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, then chill. You can add broccoli to soups and stews in the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking time.
  • Kale: Wash kale leaves well by dipping them in a sink of cool water several times to flush out soil and garden stowaways. Remove the stems from the leaves by folding leaf in half lengthwise, and stripping or slicing away the thick stems. Baby or tender young leaves may be cooked, stem and all. Steam mature kale leave approximately 4-5 minutes, depending on age, size, and amount in steamer. When it’s limp but still retains texture, it’s ready. Wrap kale in a damp towel or in a plastic bag to refrigerate, preferably in a hydrator drawer, for up to one week. For long-term storage, kale can be frozen. Wash, de-stem, and blanch leaves for two minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain, and pack into airtight containers, and freeze.
  • Tomatoes: Do not refrigerate tomatoes! You can place them out of the sun at room temperature. Some of our tomatoes are a day or two from being fully ripe, but will be perfect with a little patience. To remove tomato skins, place the whole tomato in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, dip in cold water, and remove skins. Tomatoes can be frozen whole. Core tomatoes, then place them on a cookie sheet, and freeze them. When they’re solid, place them in a freezer bag and replace them in the freezer. Remove as many tomatoes as you need at the time. Thawed tomatoes are good for cooking and pureed dishes. Salsas, sauces, and purees also freeze well.

What We’re Making This Week:

  • This Whiskey Pineapple Chicken with onions on the side is a tasty, delicious meal for those not quite ready to give up on summer!
  • Want something a little sweet but still healthy? Give these Candied Carrots a try!
  • It is Tuesday, and according to my teenager, that’s the “only” day you can eat tacos. These Roasted Cauliflower Tacos look like a great dish!
  • Sometimes, the best way to eat eggplant is the simplest. This Easiest Eggplant recipe may be just the ticket!
  • Have you ever had a Cilantro Salad? If you’re looking for a different way to eat your cilantro, maybe this is it!
  • This Kale Caesar Salad is both beautiful and delicious, and a great addition to your table!

We hope you’re all enjoying the bounty this season and we are so excited you’ve allowed us to tag along on your food journey this year. We hope to see you all next month at the Harvest Potluck!

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers