CSA Share Notes July 23, 2026

Jul 22

Summer season, week 7

In the midst of drought conditions, we got busy in June and got some late-season zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans in the ground- 3 crops that mature quick enough to produce for the CSA members before the summer season concludes. This fresh re-planting is getting very close to harvest! We think we’ll be getting our first yields off of these crops next week.

Of course Monday night the darned deer found the new zucchini plants. Minor damage at this point. And we even intentionally chose and extra spiny variety! Have you picked spiny zucchini before? Your forearms get so scratched up. I am sure those tender deer lips do not love the feeling of eating those spiny leaves, so they must be extra hungry to go for it. I will say, there may be venison in the freezer before winter this year. ‍ ‍

Speaking of Summer CSA’s end: we do not know how long this CSA season will last! We’re hoping to have nice harvests all the way to the end of August, but we’ll see what the garden does and how our later plantings work out. These next several days over 100 do not bode well for the garden, or the endurance of your farmers, but we shall see how it all shakes out!

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! The Large shares our long slender Japanese eggplant, and the cute speckled fairytale eggplant. Regular and Mini shares received Italian types.
- 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 — A small helping for everyone 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, and Goddess, the very slender, pale greenish-yellow pepper. It looks like a large banana pepper. 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 Mini shares received our Bell peppers this week.
Specialty Peppers! Lunchbox Peppers & Shishito Peppers — Mini shares received the Lunchbox peppers. These little cuties are great for snacking. They are almost the shape of a jalapeno, but paler in color and some of them have fully turned their orange or red shades. So sweet! Yum. Then the Shishito peppers went to the large shares. These are mostly mild, but every once in a while you’ll find a spicy one. They’re delish.
Hot Peppers — Some of you received cayenne, and some 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.
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 — Everyone received several squash. About 1/3 of the squash 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.
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, 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 marigolds, gomphrena and verbena!

Mini Share

Jessica Bullock

CSA Share Notes July 23, 2026

CSA Summer Farmhands

RED MOON FARM