10/8/25 A look to the Winter CSA logistics
You’ve noticed a major shift in your CSA box contents as we move away from summer veggies and into fall goodness.
In the winter there is less sunlight → less photosynthesis → plants grow less → we have less food. Additionally, a rainy winter brings cloud cover (decreasing sunlight even more) and a drought winter brings frosts which stress the plants too. As a result we decrease our CSA to every-other-week and limit the number of boxes over the winter (the biggest reason we have a waitlist). We also drop one of our three farmers’ markets and we often drop some of our restaurant accounts.
Here’s winter CSA our schedule:
Our last weekly box will be November 19th.
Tues, Nov 25th Special Order Holiday Box (more below)
Dec 3rd, 17th
Tues, Dec 23rd Special Order Holiday Box
Jan 7th, Jan 21st
Feb 4th, 18th
March 4th, 18th
April 1st, 15th (weekly starts!)
The Holiday Boxes are not curated but rather 100% Add-On/Your Choice to meet your holiday needs. They are fully optional but here so you can include YOUR farm in your holiday cooking (or just get a little extra veg in your life).
We are excited to announce that we are making space for ALL current CSA members through our winter. In 2025 the majority of our members continued from prior years. Those who were on the waitlist and joined for April and some of May starts signed up as Year-Round Members. We then took additional sign ups for a Seasonal Only CSA for May/June through November. We didn’t know if we could fit the Seasonal Members in for winter when things are tighter. Early July, we closed the CSA and have been accumulating a waitlist. We are excited to announce we will have space for all 53 seasonal members. We are increasing our capacity a little but also, this group will receive every-other-box which will be about every 4 weeks. If we have more space we will move you up to every 2 weeks with the year-round members but it felt important to get you some veg over the winter. The exact schedules will be forthcoming. As of 2026 this group will become Year-Round Members as we let in new members. Don’t know which group you’re in? We’ll email you but you can also email us and ask or look at the subscription page of your Farmhand account.
What to expect in your box this fall/winter
As we move forward through fall and into winter there will be more Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Fennel, Cauliflower, Chicories, Cabbages and Pea Shoots too. We’ll start to get in some Winter Squash (we have Delicata, Red Kuri, Kabocha, Butternut), Garlic, but then we also bring in potatoes from Suncatcher Farm, Onions from Fledgeling and West County Farms, Apples as well as persimmons from farm friends. December - early February we’ll start having Brussels Sprouts, hopefully. In February we may even start with our late winter Carrots. Throughout this time we’ll have lettuces and greens.
Growing year round is particularly important to us! Luther Burbank said that Sonoma County is one of the best places to grow fruits and vegetables and we agree with him. We all eat year round and although it’s more challenging we do our best to grow year round. But there are other amazing reasons too… it keeps us employed year round, including our awesome staff so they can stick around year after year. And it keeps the funds coming in to pay the bills year round.
Note on Egg Shares🥚
We are sad to report that Egg Shares are coming to a close. We are so thrilled to have had egg share again this year with you for the first time in four years. Farmer Chris of Deep Roots was excited to give this a try when we reached out to him last winter asking if he would provide for us. He is a new farmer and learning so this stop is a little more abrupt than we would have wished and he’s learned some things that will be able to lengthen his eggs season next year. Plus he has his own CSA members to accommodate as well. We are already making plans for next spring so we're very hopeful we’ll be bringing this back.
Note on Summer Add-On Shares 🍅🫑
Those of you who signed up for the extra summer Tomato or Extra Pint share have those this week and will next week (unless we have unforeseen frost). We’re going to push those on as long as we can in appreciation to your adding more to your box and these are items not on our add-on list at this point. Enjoy.
This Week’s Box
Baby Bok Choi
Bunching Green: Rainbow Chard (SR) OR Brussels Greens (WC)
Summer Surprise #1: Eggplant, Squash or Cucumber
Summer Surprise #2: Tomatoes, Strawberries or Shishitos
Broccoli
Mixed Beets (Classic) OR Carrots (Family)
Asian Pears (Classic) OR Seckle Pears (Family)
Families: Red Butter Lettuce, Rainbow Kale
A highlight on Brussels Greens since it’s a new item, only for West County today BUT they will be in the boxes a bit over the next few months.
Brussels Sprout plants are huge and they take a very long time to grow. We seed them in June and July and plant them in July and August only to harvest them December and January. One of our longest plants on the farm. Why do we do them? We have so little that is fresh and yet
This week we’re giving you the first of our Brussels crop for the year. Years ago we grew Collards, but then we found that Brussels Greens filled the same niche and we think they taste better! They have a very slight Brussel taste. Plus they help the Brussels Sprouts plants grow taller and have better circulation to avoid pest pressure.
There are no recipes for Brussels Greens because they are not something that is common. Look for recipes for Collards or even Kale but they’re a little hardier than Kale. Here’s our favorite easy way to cook them.
Braised Brussels Greens with Apple and Bacon
Wash and de-stem Brussel Greens
Cut into about 1/2 - 1 inch squares
Chop 1-2 Apples
Chop crosswise 4-6 pieces of bacon. Fry. Take Bacon out of skillet and add Brussels Greens and Apple. Add a splash or apple cider, water or apple cider vinegar for more of a zing.
Note: For a vegetarian version use butter or coconut oil instead of Bacon.
As our summer crops are winding down, we have two rounds of Summer Surprise for everyone.
Summer Surprise #1: Everyone has either an Eggplant, Summer Squash or Cucumber. Note, if you had Eggplant last week, you do not have it this week. So we are managing slight rotations.
Summer Surprise #2: Everyone has either a Quart of Tomatoes, a Pint of Cherry Tomatoes, Strawberries or Shishitos. Note, if you had Cherry Tomatoes or Strawberries in your Summer Surprise last week, you won’t have them again today.
Broccoli, Beet & Goat Cheese Grain Bowl w/ Asian Pears
3 medium beets (mixed red, chioggia, gold), trimmed and cut into wedges
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 Tbs olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked farro or quinoa
1 Asian pear, thinly sliced
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, finely minced
3 Tbs olive oil
Heat oven to 400°F. Toss beets with 1/2 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast 25–30 min until tender.
On another sheet, toss broccoli with 1/2 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast 15–20 min until edges are browned.
Whisk balsamic vinegar, Dijon, shallot, and 3 Tbs olive oil for the dressing.
In a wide bowl, layer farro or quinoa with roasted beets and broccoli. Top with Asian pear slices, walnuts, and goat cheese.
Drizzle with dressing and serve warm or at room temperature.
Families today have tiny Seckle Pears, also called Sugar Pears, we only have two trees of these and you’re getting all we have. Most are ripe now. A petite heirloom variety that we love but are not super productive.
Extra Shares
Flower Share: Dahlia focus with Tomoato Vines 🍅
Lettuce Share: Salanova Leaf Mix 🥬
Bunched Greens Share: 🌈 Rainbow Kale
Summer Pint Share: Lunch Box Peppers
Eggs: This is the 2nd to last week