2024 CSA Season Week Fourteen

September 10, 2024

Welcome to Week Fourteen! With only a few weeks left in the Standard Season, and a handful more left in the Extended Season, we’re filling your shares with as many delicious veggies as we can! We hope you’re enjoying the 2024 CSA Season as much as we are, and we can’t wait to share the farm’s bounty with you this week.

Vacation option reminders for frequent questions!

Things are busy here at the farm, and we know firsthand how the days can get away from you. With that comes impromptu trips, or scheduled vacations that may have slipped your mind, especially when they conflict with your delivery schedule. We get it! We are more than happy to make changes to your delivery schedule to accommodate vacations, so don’t forget to let us know!

We do plan for the harvest in advance and pull the lists early to avoid as many mistakes as we can, most of which come up with last-minute changes. To keep everything going as smoothly as possible, we do require at least seven days’ notice to make any changes to your delivery schedule. This deadline is for the earliest day of change (for example, if you’re a Friday delivery moving it to Tuesday earlier in the same week, we would need to know seven days before that Tuesday to make the change).

If you aren’t able to let us know within that time period, you still have a couple options. First, you can ask a friend or family member to pick up and enjoy that share for you. Just make sure they know the CSA protocols for picking up your share and you’re good to go! Or second, you can allow your site host to donate your share after that 7pm deadline has passed. They’re all really good about making sure those leftover veggies make it to someone who can use them! Either way, your share will not go to waste.

We’ve started delivering strawberry flats!

The heat boosted our crop just like we hoped, and we’ve started harvesting our strawberries in bulk again! However, we do still have a limited supply, so I’ve allocated the flats to certain sites for certain weeks. We are going to do our best to get at least one flat to every person that has expressed interest this season, and we have our fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate! Emails for this week’s flats have already gone out and needed to be confirmed by last Sunday to receive one, so if you’ve let me know you’d like one and haven’t received an email, I’ll be in touch once we know the strawberry patches can handle it.If you’re still interested and have not let me know, you’re welcome to do so. However, we will be prioritizing those members who have expressed interest over the last few weeks when I first requested it.

A note for Friday deliveries: While we’re hoping the weather will cooperate and we’ll be able to deliver the strawberry flats we’ve already confirmed for Friday, there is a chance of rain that could knock out the patch and finish us off for the season. 

We know that’s potentially extremely disappointing, and hopefully it won’t be an issue and we’ll be able to fulfill our delivery. However, we wanted you to know, just in case. We’ll be in touch on Thursday when we know more.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding as we try to anticipate Oregon’s weather!

That’s My Farmer Dinner is happening soon!

We’re excited to announce the date for the annual “That’s My Farmer” fundraising dinner. We hope that you will join us on Monday, October 14th, and take home one of the delicious dinners prepared by Party Downtown chefs Tiffany and Mark. The participating CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms donate meats and vegetables, and Party Downtown creates an amazing 3 course menu to share with you all. Last year we were able to share $5,000 in raised funds with the farms, who then share it as subsidized CSA Shares or Market Cards, with families in need of assistance to afford healthy food.

I will attach the reservation form below for you. Please return the form, with your check payment, and we’ll get your dinners reserved! The deadline is October 7th, but we often fill our spots before then. Please feel free to call/email with any questions!

I’d like to share a little history of “That’s My Farmer” with you before I sign off.

“That’s My Farmer” began over 20 years ago when assistant Pastor John Pitney, of the First United Methodist Church, decided to encourage the community to support eating locally, and the local CSA farms. He organized an Ice Cream Social at the church, and invited thel CSA farms of the time, and the Faith communities to attend. The farms set up tables with their information to share with attendees. John also made a slide show of the different farms and farmers, and there was a question/answer period where folks could learn more about their farmers. He even wrote a song!

The attendees paid $5 to attend, and all of the proceeds went into a Low Income Fund that was then shared with the CSA Farms to provide subsidized CSA Shares or Market Shares with those families who needed assistance to afford healthy food.

There have been many iterations since then…sit down soup dinners, Saturday children’s events, and then sit down dinners again with the Party Downtown chefs, who generously donated their space and cooking skills, and with the food donated by the farmers, created an amazing 3 course meal to share.

During Covid we continued on with the dinners, with a take out version, and that continues today. All of the proceeds from the dinner are shared with the participating farms, to share with their low income families in the community.

Please join us on October 14th to share in a fabulous culinary event, and help those in need. Share with friends and family!

Monthly payment deadlines are coming to a close!

We’re already in September, which means October payments are right around the corner! I’ll be sending out invoices again by the end of next week. If you are a little behind on payments and have questions about catching up, please let me know as soon as possible so we don’t need to pause your shares.

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!) 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.

What’s in your box this week:

  • Carrots
  • Corn
  • Cilantro
  • Lettuce
  • Cucumber
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Onion
  • Tomatoes

While it’s true we aren’t always able to harvest in equal share, we were able to offer everything to everyone for today’s pack! We’re hoping to be able to do the same thing on Friday.

Handy Tips:

  • 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.
  • Corn: Eat your fresh corn as soon as possible. Natural sugars begin to break down soon after harvesting, so the sooner the better. Corn can keep for a few days if you keep it refrigerated with the husks on. Corn-on-the-cob is the favorite way to enjoy fresh-picked corn. To cook, steam in 2 inches of water for 6 to 10 minutes, or drop it into boiling water and cook for 4 to 7 minutes. Older or over-mature corn is great when added to corn bread, soups, stews, chili, casseroles, stir-fries, quiches, salads, or bean dishes.
  • Cucumber: Cucumbers are best when eaten fresh, but they will keep for up to a week in a drawer of your refrigerator. Cut or peeled cucumbers will stay fresh for only a few days. Wash your cucumbers well before using. Peeling is optional for organic cucumbers. Try peeling the skins in alternating strips for a decorative effect. You can cut them into spears and serve them with dip, put the slices on sandwiches, or marinate the slices for cold cucumber salad.
  • 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.
  • 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 Hot Corn Dip looks fantastic and is sure to be a crowd favorite at your next get-together!
  • This Queso Flameado is a tasty dish that combines salsa and poblano peppers into a ready-made salsa!
  • You’ve heard of Hasselback Tomatoes and you’ve heard of Caprese Salad, but have you ever thought of combining them? Give this Hasselback Tomato Caprese Salad a go!

The weather might not be able to decide what it wants to do this week, but we hope it won’t stop you from enjoying your veggies! We’re so excited to share the farm’s bounty with you this season, and we’re grateful you allowed us to tag along on your food journey this year.

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers