CSA Share Notes July 9, 2026
Summer season week, 5!
We are truly enjoying tomato abundance. But it’ll be short lived. There are a few nice sized green tomatoes out there that will still ripen over the next couple of weeks, but there are no tiny green ones coming to replace them once they’re done. The heat of summer came on so hard and fast in June, that whatever tiny green tomatoes were formed after intense heat conditions, the plant began aborting them off as an adaptive stress response (and yes, that’s the actual correct term for the botanical action taking place!) With some cooler nights in the forecast next week, we could see the plants put on a new big round of fruits to ripen in August. Fingers crossed!
Here’s this week’s vegetable line-up:
Okra — Enough for all the Large and Regular shares to receive this item this week. This heirloom Hill Country Red was developed in Kerrville Texas and it so fantastic. Even the large pods stay deliciously tender. Okra goes bad very quickly, so make a plan to use this up within the next couple of days. We recommend roasting or grilling. High heat is the way to go!
Italian Sweet Peppers — Everyone received one or two. We have Carmen, the dark green triangular pepper that looks a lot like a poblano, but Carmen have no heat, they’re only sweet. We have Goddess, the very slender, pale greenish-yellow pepper. It looks like a large banana pepper, but just like the Carmen, these Goddess peppers are sweet, not hot. Use our images below to tell them apart, and to distinguish them from your hot peppers. It can be easy to confuse the goddess pepper with the cayenne, especially.
Bell Peppers — Regular shares received our Bell peppers this week.
Hot Peppers — Everyone received jalapenos. Careful not to confuse them with your Italian peppers! If the heat is too much for you, this is a perfect item to gift. They do store really well in the fridge, as well, so if you want to collect many hot peppers over a few weeks, you’d have enough to make a batch of hot sauce, pepper vinegar, pickled peppers, or even pepper jelly!
Tomatoes — They’re here, they’re here! Enjoy these thoroughly. They’re so challenging to grow well in our hot humid climate. We only get a good tomato year about ever 4-5 years. We’re so happy with this week’s yields.
Always store your tomatoes at room temperature, and place them “shoulders down" or some would say upside down. This will keep them in tip-top shape while you await for them to fully ripen. If a tomato ends up with a bad spot, it’s probably from the leaf-footed bugs piercing into the skin with their little mouth part. Jerks! Just cut that part out and enjoy the rest.
Squash and Zucchini — Everyone received several squash, and Large and Regular shares received zucchini. About half of the squash/zucchini came from our farmer friend Lowell Tanskley in Mineola. He’s a wonderful farmer we’ve sold alongside of at the Longview market for years. We’ve got a mutual appreciation for one another’s quality and farming style. These would be fantastic in a veggie lasagna with your eggplant.
Potatoes — These Red Lasota were also grown by our friend Lowell Tanksley of Mineola. Grown without pesticides, these are go-ood!
Onions — For everyone!
Eggplant — Lovely Italian heirlooms for the regular shares. The Large shares received our long slender Japanese eggplant, and the mini shares received our cute speckled fairytale eggplant.
Important note: The long Japanese eggplant still have some sunburn on them. You can read more about that in last week’s share notes. Just grab your veggie peeler and peel off the sun-scald areas and enjoy the rest. This is a critical part of the CSA experience! Pretty much any season, the farm will have some crops sustain damage from various adverse conditions, but the crop is still edible, just not easy to sell. The CSA is the perfect place: ugly-but-still-tasty veggies are able to find a kitchen and a stomach to enjoy them.
We always cook our eggplant on very high heat: roasted in a 450 degree oven or on the grill, or on a blazing hot cast iron. It’s excellent with just a little bit of char on it to bring out the sweetness and reduce the “squeak” factor folks sometimes dislike. Also, this eggplant is super fresh, so you don’t have to “sweat” it if you eat it up soon.
Fresh Basil — Important note! This crop will ruin in the fridge. It cannot tolerate temperatures below 50 degrees. Just trim the stems every few days and keep in a glass of cool water on the counter. If yours is wilty when you unbox, shock it in a sinkful of cold water for an hour or so to see if it perks back up. It’s usually very resilient, but sometimes it takes a very long time to recover. If it doesn’t revive, hang to dry for a few days, then crumble it up in a jar to use all summer in any Italian dishes you prepare.
Veggie Storage tips:
Counter storage: Tomatoes, Potatoes, Onions, and BASIL. Store your basil bouquet style, in a fresh glass of water. Trim the stem every couple of days and enjoy fresh basil leaves all week.
Fridge storage: Peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra. Seal them up in a bag or container to retain moisture for longest storage life
Everything wants to be washed well before cooking, but keep the dirt on till then, to prevent faster spoilage.
We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Tag us on Instagram or Facebook, showing us how you’ve used your CSA share.
– Your farmers, Jess & Justin
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Regular Share
Regular Share top left to right:
Basil, Italian eggplant, Italian Peppers, Bell pepper, jalapenos, squash (bottom row) red and yellow onion, tomatoes, okra, potatoes, and zucchini.
Large Share
Large Share top left to right:
Basil, Japanese eggplant, Italian Peppers, jalapenos, squash (bottom row) red and yellow onions, tomatoes, okra, potatoes, and zucchini.
Flower Share
Bouquet share:
Loads of zinnias, giant marigolds, and basil with a handful of lovely sunflowers, gomphrena and verbena! Some of you got bright bouquets, and some got vintage tones. I try to switch it up to make sure you experience a variety of colors throughout the season.
Mini Share
Mini Share top left to right:
Basil, fairytale eggplant, Italian Peppers, jalapeno, (bottom row) red onion, tomatoes, potatoes, and squash.