2025 CSA Season Week Thirteen

September 2, 2025

Welcome to September! The mornings are cooling down, the evenings are getting crisper, and we can’t wait to share yet another bountiful share of vegetables with you this week! For all those with back-to-school kiddos (mine just started high school today!), we’re thinking of you!

Half Share – Group A members, this is your week!

Thank you so much for making your September payments!

Just a couple months left in this season, and we’re wrapping up last month’s books. Invoices for both September payments and overdue payments were sent out yesterday, so if you received one (or a couple) and think it was by mistake, double-check your records and let me know, so I can look into it.

If you were set up to pay by SNAP and made changes to your payment schedule by paying out of pocket, please remember the Double-Up Food Bucks payments only apply for matched payments if you pay your half through the SNAP program. Any payments made out of pocket will not be matched through the DUFB program, so you’ll be responsible for the remaining costs. If you have questions about your balance or the logistics of the program, please let me know. My email is folks@wintergreenfarm.com.

If you haven’t already made your August monthly payment (due August 1st), please do so at your earliest convenience. For those who paid in two installments, that second payment was due August 15th. Please help us keep the CSA going by completing those payments for your share!

No one likes to talk about money (least of all me), but we really do rely on the income from CSA shares to keep going smoothly throughout the season. We do have financial assistance again this year (thank you amazing, generous donors!), so if you do need help with the cost of your share, please let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

We offer the following payment options for your convenience: 

Check: We’re happy to accept checks for payment to avoid the credit card transaction fee. (We actually prefer it, as it saves us the fee too!) But make sure you deduct the fee from your total! If you’d like to send post-dated checks so you don’t have to remember to make additional payments, you’re more than welcome to! We’ll lock them away in our safe, so they’ll always be secure.  

While mailing a check is the most secure way to make sure we receive your payment, if you choose to pay at one of our markets, please make sure your payment is contained in a sealed envelope with your name and “CSA” clearly written on the front. Please do not leave a check at your pickup site.  

Credit Card: We’re happy to offer online payment options through our website, wintergreenfarm.com. After logging into your account, you can find your invoice in the “Orders” tab. When you check out, you can choose any of the payment plan options mentioned above. There is a credit card transaction fee of a little over 3%, as that’s what we get charged to process online payments. (This fee is added to all online payments, so if you’re paying by check, please feel free to subtract the fee from the total.) 

Please note that we are unable to take any credit card payments over the phone, as we’re no longer set up to do so. Thank you for understanding! 

Cash: While cash is definitely the least secure way to pay, we are happy to accept cash as payment for your share. If you choose to pay cash, please make sure to contain it in a sealed envelope with your name and “CSA” clearly written on the front if you pay at a market, or included in a note or letter if you send it by mail. Please do not leave cash or payment of any kind at your pickup site. 

You can mail checks to:          

 Winter Green Farm 

89762 Poodle Creek Road 

Noti, OR 97461 

If you are in need of financial assistance to help with your share, please contact the farm at folks@wintergreenfarm.com.  

Don’t forget us for the potluck in October!

We still haven’t set a date yet (addressing that soon!), but don’t forget about our annual harvest potluck in October! We would love to see you all out here at the farm for hayride tours with Chris and Shannon, pumpkins, fresh apple cider (you can even press it yourself if you’d like!), great food, and even better company! I’ll be in touch as soon as we have a date set, but keep us in mind!

Have you checked out our markets lately?

It’s not just our CSA plantings that are overflowing! Come check out our markets for corn, strawberries, tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, broccoli, beans, and so much more! Today (Tuesday), we’ll be in Florence at the farmers’ market on the pier from 3pm to 6pm. Then tomorrow (Wednesday), you can find us in Eugene at 18th and Polk in the Emmaus Church parking lot from 2pm to 6pm. You rarely even have to fight traffic!

If you don’t have time to come see us during the week, you can always find us on Saturdays at the Lane County Farmers’ Market downtown Eugene, from 9am to 3pm, or on Sundays, come say hello at the King Market on NE Wygant Street and NE 7th Avenue from 10am to 2pm. We would love to see you!

What’s in your box this week:

This week is a little different than the estimate email, so I apologize for anything you may have been hoping for that you didn’t get!

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Strawberries
  • Beets
  • Red onions
  • Zucchini/patty pan
  • Sweet peppers
  • Cilantro
  • Slicer tomatoes
  • Lettuce

Some sites only:

  • Eggplant

We’re doing everything we can to get you as much as we can every week. The eggplant are taking their sweet time this year, but we’re doing our best to get those sites that didn’t get any last time. As always, we’re keeping excellent notes!

Handy Tips:

  • 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.
  • Strawberries: Rinse strawberries just before eating to clean off any grit that may still be on the berries from the field. To freeze them, spread them out on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, store them in a Ziploc bag or plastic container until ready to use.
  • 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.
  • Summer Squash: To clean summer squash (zucchini), rinse or wipe with a damp cloth (peeling is not necessary). Store in the refrigerator in a closed plastic bag to prevent dehydration. Use within a few days of harvest. Summer squash is very versatile. Try it raw, steamed, baked, broiled, fried, grilled, sautéed, or stir-fried. Slice it thinly for a great pizza topping, oven fry in sticks, or try in quiche or omelets. It also works great as a substitute for noodles or pasta. Grated squash mixes beautifully into your favorite chocolate cake or muffin recipe. A simple way to prepare squash is to half it, then top with minced garlic, herbs, and olive oil. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top, and bake until tender.
  • 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.
  • 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.

What we’re making this week:

  • Looking for a dessert to wow your gets this week? Or maybe just your family? Give this Strawberry Pavlova a go!
  • Have you ever used your beets to make bread? This Honey Beet Bread looks fantastic!
  • Cilantro is great with so many things, but this Chimichurri Steak could be just the ticket!
  • Fall is just around the corner, yes, but summer isn’t over yet! This Late Summer Salad could help you hold onto the season just a little bit longer!

What are you making?

Shawna, one of our members, sent us these pictures of her delicious beet dishes from last week! “I made beet whipped ricotta and dipped veggies and pita chips in it. And I made beet greens pesto! Beets make food so pretty and fun!” We would love to see what you’re making! Send us a picture or a recipe and I’ll share it with the rest of our CSA! Hearing from you guys is one of the best things about my job!

We are so thrilled that the farm is thriving and we’re able to share so much of it with you! We hope you’re all having a wonderful first week of September!

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers