CSA Share Notes July 16, 2026

Jul 16

Summer season, week 6

We got rain! 1.5” on Sunday, and 1” on Wednesday! This makes it the largest rain event we’ve received in all of 2026. The drought in our local area has been wild, so boy were we giddy when the rain started falling. I’m hopeful that the cooler temperatures we’re getting for a bit will provide stress relief for the plants to kick into good production for a while. Fingers crossed!

We have a fresh re-planting of cucumbers and green beans that are getting very close to harvest, by the way. Probably first week of August. Deer took out the first 3 attempts - and have nearly taken out the zucchini. Yes, zucchini of all things! Poky, spiny leaves chewed to stumps! In drought years, those pesky deer are extra hungry, too.

No, this season has not been an easy one out here. But we managed, with help, to put together really amazing boxes this week. And more good stuff is on the way!

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Here’s this week’s vegetable line-up:

Eggplant — SO MUCH EGGPLANT! This is the week to make roasted baba ganoush, for sure. And grill it, and fry it, and make and freeze a batch of veggie lasagna to enjoy on a busy week night when you don’t have time to cook! Lovely Italian heirlooms for everyone. The regular shares received the bulk of our long slender Japanese eggplant, and the cute speckled fairytale eggplant.
- Important note: The long Japanese eggplant still have some sunburn on them. You can read more about that in prior 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 — We’re sending you loads this week so plan to make pesto!
- 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.
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 a couple. 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 — Large and Regular shares received our Bell peppers this week.
Hot Peppers — Everyone received cayenne, and Large and Regular shares received a couple of jalapenos too. 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 — Only enough to give a single tomato to the Large shares
Cherry Tomatoes — These were grown by our friends down the street in Colfax, and grown organically! A mixture of delicious rosy heirloom varieties. We roasted ours with dinner last night and they were fantastic with some fresh basil and olive oil.
Squash and Zucchini — Everyone received several squash, and Large and Regular shares received a zucchini. About 1/3 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!

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

Regular Share

Large Share

Flower Share

Bouquet share:
Loads of zinnias and basil with a handful of lovely celosia, gomphrena and verbena!

Mini Share

Jessica Bullock

CSA Share Notes July 16, 2026

CSA Share Notes July 9, 2026

RED MOON FARM