2025 CSA Season Week Twenty

October 21, 2025

Welcome to the last week of the 2025 CSA Season! We are so happy to have been with you on your food journey this year! It’s been wonderful to give you as much food as we can and to get to know all of you this season. Thank you all so much for your support of the farm!

A few end of season reminders!

This has been a wonderful CSA season, and we’re so grateful we got to tag along on your food journey this year. We appreciate how cooperative and understanding you’ve all been, and how respectful you’ve been to each other. Since it is the last delivery for some of our half share members this week, I just wanted to touch on a couple things:

  • Be sure to thank your site host for all they do! Even if you pick up at market, your hosts would love to hear from you as the season ends.
  • If you have any bins, please make sure to return them to your site! We will still be picking bins up at the next delivery, but the sooner we can grab them to make sure we have them for next season, the better. We’re running really short at the moment from the beginning of the season. Thank you!
  • Keep an eye on your email for any information you may need in the off season, and notes on the 2026 CSA Season! We’ll continue the blog some throughout the off season, and we’d love to keep in touch.
  • Follow us on social media to keep up with what’s happening at the farm! You can find us on Facebook and Instagram @wintergreenfarm. Share what you’re doing with Winter Green veggies this year!

A huge Thank You for everyone who made it out to the harvest potluck!

It was so much fun getting to hang out with you all this weekend! So many of you showed up (and brought friends!) and it was so great to put faces to names and get to chat with everybody. Every year, we’re reminded of how great our members are, and how much fun it is to spend time time with you.

Not only did we have some truly amazing food, but we had a couple super-star kids who hand-cranked the cider press for fresh, apple-pear cider. We went on a walk-about around the farm and ended in the pumpkins, which were absolutely beautiful, and best of all, the rain held off until after we were done!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the farm on Sunday! We can’t tell you how much we appreciate your time, your effort, and your support!

Have you heard of Fill Your Pantry?

Every year, we participate in Fill Your Pantry, put on by the Willamette Food and Farm Coalition. Lane County Fill Your Pantry is a one-of-a-kind fall event that helps our community stock up directly from local farmers, ranchers, and food makers. It’s all about filling your pantry, freezer, and root cellar with nourishing staples for the winter—while putting your food dollars straight into the hands that grow and raise it. This is food sovereignty in action: neighbors supporting neighbors, building resilient local food systems one bulk bag at a time.

You can place your order online until November 3rd, and the event happens on November 9th! Check out their website for more details.

Thank you so much to the Kennedy family for being great site hosts!

Teresa and David Kennedy have been wonderful site hosts for the farm for many years, but alas, it is time for them to move on. After much thought and discussion for their household, they’ve decided this will be their last year as site hosts, and we wish them all the best! If you get a chance, please extend a huge thank you. Teresa and David, you are so appreciated and will be greatly missed!

Your new site host for 2026 will be Karena Norton off E. 36th Avenue, just a couple blocks from the High Street site. Welcome and thank you to Karena and her family!

We’ll have apples again in your box this week!

We’ve partnered with Mt. Hood Organic Farms to bring you apples again this week! 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!

Mt. Hood Organics would also like me to let you know they will have boxes of apples and pears available throughout the winter. If you’re interested, you can reach them at mthoodorganicfarms@gmail.com or (541) 399-4106.

What’s in your box this week:

  • Pie pumpkin
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Apples
  • Purple top turnip
  • Leeks
  • Kale
  • Potatoes

Looks like we’ve got enough for everybody today! We hope you all enjoy the last box of the season!

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

What we’re making this week:

  • Maybe it’s because it’s finally gotten cold out. Maybe it’s because it looks delicious, but this Pumpkin Chili recipe looks perfect for your table this week!
  • This Caramelized Onion Dip is a great side for entertaining this season, and it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!
  • Have you ever tried Duchess Potatoes? Who knew a potato dish could be so pretty! I hope it tastes as good as it looks!
Jordan, Shannon, Mark, and Nathan
Boxing crew! – Jordan, Chelsea, Shannon, Mark, Nathan

We say goodbye to the 2025 CSA Season!

It has been a wonderful season this year! Thank you all so much for making this season so great. This is the last week for quite a few things. The last week of the season, the last week in the boxing room, the last week at the Eugene Farm Stand, and the last week of the weekly blogs for the season. Thank you so much for allowing us to join you and your food journey this year! We appreciate all of your support and enthusiasm, both for our members and our market customers, and we could not do it without you!

While we aren’t finalizing any prices for next season until after this season is over, we are creating a wait list for those interested in the 2026 CSA Season! Knowing how many members we can count on for next year before we set the price can help us get a more accurate idea of what the farm needs to do. The hope is that we don’t have to raise prices at all. So let me know by email if you plan to join us again for next season! You can get ahold of me at folks@wintergreenfarm.com. We appreciate your support!

Thank you all so much for a fantastic season! It’s been so great, and we hope you all have a great rest of the year and enjoy your holiday season. We look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers