12/17/25 Happy Solstice - See you next year!
Happy all the winter Holidays from Christmas and Hannakah to Kwanza and Solstice. We’ve added a little Holiday Card for you to today’s box. Of the holidays, Solstice seems the most relevant to the farm. It’s quite, it’s dark and the plants are not growing much.
As such we are celebrating with you, our CSA members with our Lantern Walk tonight (if you can still make it 6-7pm). To shine a light on the farm and in our hearts, welcoming the slow return of longer days.
Today is the LAST regular CSA box of 2025!
Mon, Dec 22nd we’ll have our Optional Holiday Box (email with details coming soon).
This weekend, we’ll miss our farmers’ markets due to both the anticipated rain as well as low staffing (so many of our crew are traveling to be with family).
Wed, Jan 7th will be our First Box of 2026!
2025 Year in Review
We've been quite overwhelmed by 2025 (and I’m talking about the farm and not the outer world). Well, let’s say that the outer world craziness has made so many of us really focus on farming, growing soil and food for our community = building resilience.
The latter bit of 2024 we had a break from our normal way of doing things and launched our support of our crew in a new level and it paid off in 2025. We have very high retention last winter, and we will again this winter. In 2025 we had the biggest crew ever (we hit 10 FTEs for the first time ever in late August) and they were awesome. They drove so much positivity. There were constant laughs and shouts from the fields and we moved back into several a field that had decreased or no productivity the past few years. Not surprisingly this means that 2025 has our highest sales (exact numbers still being crunched).
We’ve tried several new crops including Daikon Radishes (in Family Boxes) but expanded our corn, new peppers, new eggplants, many new lettuces including Romaines and of course Salanova lettuces (lettuce mix), New Cauliflowers, Broccolis, Baby Kale (in Classic Boxes), new Cucumbers and new ways to trellis them and more Chicories! In 2026 we’ll take from what we learned this year and make it even better. I have heard repeatedly the quality of our produce this year has been very high and we’re thrilled with this. Here’s to moving forward!
2026 - CSA logistics
We’re reviewing a lot of CSA logistics from the back end for 2026. This includes reviewing our pick-up sites.
1st we’ll have to make changes to our biggest Sebastopol pick-up site so we’re looking for new hosts in Sebastopol especially central and south Sebastopol. If you are interested in hosting, please don’t hesitate to let us know. If you are interested in hosting AND finding new members you may be able get yourself a free subscription for 10 new members. The biggest benefit of hosting is your CSA box comes to you, but it’s also a wonderful way to build and support community, and of course our farm.
Additionally, we’ve identified two new potential sites in deep West County (Green Valley Mill & Farm) and Wise Acres, Arata Lane Windsor (site of Sonoma County’s only egg vending machine!). And we’re considering a site in Cotati/Rohnert Park. We likely won’t have the capacity to add both Windsor and Cotati/Rohnert Park but we won’t know unless we put it out there.
If you have interest in switching to any of these, they all have a waiting list and you can put your name on that waitlist while still keeping your box going at your current site. Click here to add your name. You act like you’re signing up anew for the CSA but you’re not. We’ll need to make sure we have at least 10 boxes onboard before we open a site.
This Week’s Box
Baby Kale (Classic) OR Spinach (Family)
Romanesco Cauliflower (SR) OR Brussels Sprouts (WC)
Butternut Squash
Shallots (West County Community Farm)
Fuyu Persimmons (neighbors Sue & Gary)
Pomegranates (Noble Goat)
Family: Daikon Radish & Parsley
More Produce Notes & Recipes
Shockingly we have TWO fruits in today’s box. They both are ready NOW and with no CSA for 3 weeks, we didn’t want to hold either of them.
We have an annual relationship with neighbors Sue and Gary to help manage and then harvest their 8 Fuyu Persimmon trees. As such we usually have them in 1-3 CSAs in the winter depending on the crop. This year’s crop is late. You will find the fruit is still light colored and firm. Keep them on the counter until they get bright orange and have a slight give. Fuyu Persimmons can be eaten like an apple with little astringency, or sliced on a salad (they would be great with Baby Kale or Chicories) or with some cheese. But again 90% of those given out today need to sit and ripen a few days.
Sean wanted to share this divine oatmeal recipe he’s found/altered. I have to say that he told me about it and I just added very ripe persimmon to my normal oatmeal and it was delic!
Brown Sugar & Sticky Date Persimmon Oats (Sean)
1 c oats
1 c milk (or water, or a combination, depending on desired consistency)
1 ripe fuyu persimmon, chopped
1 ripe hachiya persimmon, to serve (or could be another fuyu or pomegranate seeds)
3 pitted dates, chopped
1 Tbs butter, plus extra for serving
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs brown sugar, plus extra for serving
Optional: Flaky salt and cinnamon to taste
Prepare the fruit and dates: Chop the fuyu persimmon and pit and chop the dates into small pieces.
Sauté aromatics: Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the chopped persimmon and dates, and stir for a minute or two until they begin to soften and caramelize.
Cook the oats: Pour in the oats and stir to coat them with the butter mixture. Top with the milk (or water) and bring to a soft boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and let it cook for about 10 minutes, or until the oats reach your desired consistency.
Finish the oats: Once cooked, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Serve: Transfer the oatmeal to a bowl. Top with the remaining hachiya persimmon (which should be very soft, almost jammy when ripe), a pat of butter, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and optionally, a pinch of flaky salt and cinnamon.
We also have some Pomegranates from Lola our prior Farm Manager who is now managing Noble Goat. Pomegranate seeds add a bright, juicy crunch and a sweet-tart pop. Sprinkle them on salads, roasted vegetables, grain bowls, yogurt, or oatmeal. They’re great in salsas, sauces, and relishes, or folded into rice and pilafs. These are amazing in so many winter/holdiay dishes. Try adding them to desserts, cocktails, or simply enjoy by the handful.
How to Cut: Pomegranates can look intimidating, but they’re simple once you know the trick. Cut off the crown (the pointy end). Lightly score the skin from top to bottom along the natural white ridges (usually 4–6 sections). Pull the fruit apart with your hands. Hold each section over a bowl and gently loosen the seeds (arils) with your fingers or a spoon. For less mess, do this in a bowl of water—the seeds sink and the white pith floats.
We’re finishing a Romanesco and Brussels Sprouts rotation. There is a write up on Brussels in last week’s newsletter.
Classic Boxes have some of our Red Russian Baby Kale. This is a crop that Sean really wanted to try last winter and it was such a winner. It’s tender and mild when young like this with a slightly sweet nutty flavor. No need to massage if you’re using raw. Basically you can use like normal kale but here are some ideas specific to baby kale:
Best used raw in salads or lightly wilted; overcooking dulls both flavor and color
Excellent tossed with lemon, olive oil, and a pinch of salt as a simple salad base
Great added at the end of cooking to eggs, pasta, soups, or grain bowls
Pairs especially well with apples, pears, persimmons, citrus, nuts, cheese, and vinaigrettes
Can be blended into pesto, smoothies, or green sauces for a gentle kale flavor
Another item from off the farm are Shallots from our friends David & Kayta at West County Community Farm. Usually shallots are milder than yellow onions, I have found these pack a stronger punch than I’m used to with shallots but it’s still lovely and you can use raw without overpowering dishes.
Great sautéed gently in butter or olive oil as a flavor base
Delicious caramelized & added to roasted vegetables
Perfect with eggs, mushrooms, greens, fish, and grains
Use in place of onion when you want a softer, more elegant flavor
Ideal for vinaigrettes, dressings, and sauces.
Note for vinaigrette: I’ve found I like chopping fine and then mashing with water before adding other ingredients. It pulls softens the bit, creates a paste which disperses more evenly in the vinaigrette, improves emulsification and speeds up flavor development.
Extra Shares
Lettuce Share: Lettuce Leaf Mix 🥬
Bunched Greens Share: Curly Kale