CSA Storage and prep tips

Fresh from the Farm: Best Storage & Prep Tips for Your CSA Produce

Getting the most out of your weekly share means knowing how to properly store and prepare your fruits and vegetables. Here are our favorite tried-and-true methods to keep your produce at its peak flavor and freshness.

Storing/washing Leafy Greens

For best results, don’t wash your greens until you’re ready to use them. Store them in an airtight container, zip-top bag, or even just a plastic grocery bag wrapped around them with a dry paper towel inside. (you can also use a cloth towel or napkin). The airtight container/bag keeps them from drying out and wilting, while the paper towel absorbs excess moisture. I usually just recommend leaving them in the bag we pack them in, and placing that inside of a grocery store plastic bag with a towel, and tying up or wrapping up the grocery bag tightly. 

When it’s time to wash them, for all your leafy greens (lettuce, brassica greens, lambsquarters, amaranth, etc.), we recommend the submersion method. Fill a large bowl with water, add your greens, and gently swish them around. Let them sit for a minute so dirt and sand can sink to the bottom. Lift the greens out (don’t pour the water out with them) and repeat if desired with a clean bowl of water. You can use a salad spinner, but I find that just letting them drain in a strainer or colander while I prep everything else is good enough.

Herbs: Treat Basil Like Flowers

Basil is special — it hates the cold. Store it like a bouquet of cut flowers: place them in a glass of water on your kitchen counter. Change the water every day or two. All other cut herbs can be stored in a plastic container in the fridge.

Tomatoes: Counter Only!

Never put tomatoes in the refrigerator. Cold temperatures destroy their flavor and texture. Keep your tomatoes on the counter, stem-side down. Do not store them in a paper bag as this will accelerate ripening too fast and you may end up with ruined tomatoes too soon. Once you’ve cut a tomato and you don’t use the whole thing, at that point it of course needs to go in the fridge. I usually turn these cut-side down onto a plate to seal the open end and prevent drying out.

Potatoes, Onions & Roots

  • Store potatoes and onions in a cool, dark place (a pantry or cabinet works great). Light causes potatoes to turn green and bitter. Do not store these in a plastic bag or container - this stops air flow and they are more likely to get mushy and ruined. I have a wicker basket in the bottom of my cupboard for all my potatoes and onions. A few eyes on potatoes or a green sprout from an onion means they’ve gotten a little aged and are trying to re-grow, but are usually still edible once you trim those parts away. 

  • For other root vegetables like turnips and radishes, store them like leafy greens (airtight container/bag with a paper towel). This keeps them crisp and prevents them from getting soft or rubbery, while the towel absorbs excess moisture.

Melons, Cucumbers, summer squash/zucchini

  • Cantaloupes, honeydews and banana melons: Leave them on the counter until they become super fragrant (they may already be this way on delivery day). Once they smell sweet and ripe, move them to the fridge to slow further ripening.

  • Watermelons: These can happily sit on the counter for quite a while if your fridge is full. Once cut, wrap the remaining piece tightly and refrigerate.

  • Ash gourds: These are incredibly long-lasting and can stay on the counter even longer than watermelons!

  • Cucumbers/summer squash/zucchini: store them like leafy greens (airtight container/bag with a paper towel). This keeps them crisp and prevents them from getting soft or rubbery, while the towel absorbs excess moisture.

Figs

  • We pick these at the peak of ripeness or just a tad under. Our fig varieties will stay a more green color and will not turn very very brown. Store in the fridge in a paper bag. They will continue to soften and may even get a little wrinkly - this indicates increased ripeness and sugar content. So while they may look more and more ugly, they are actually more and more flavorful. If they are really wrinkly and you notice any ‘off’ smells or strange slime, then they may have gone too long.

Peppers

  • Can just toss in the fridge, really no container needed since they have their own good seal. 


Once you’ve cut into your veggies:

Leafy greens: if you’ve already washed them, make sure they are as dry as possible and place in an air tight container with a paper towel (once they’re washed I don’t recommend a bag a this puts pressure on the leaves). While it’s best not to wash until you use them, they will still store fine for a while in this way.

Tomatoes, onions - If you’ve used half and need to put the other half in the fridge, I’m a big fan of just putting these cut-side down onto a plate to seal in moisture, and sticking in the fridge. You can use a piece of plastic wrap, but there’s no plastic waste this way. 

Melons/cucumbers/squash/zucchini - Same as tomatoes/onions, but it’s more likely you will need a piece of plastic wrap instead of the plate method because of the size/shape. If you cube-out or slice a melon/watermelon, you of course will have placed this in a storage container, but you will need to use it fairly quickly because the released moisture will accelerate bacteria growth (we’ve all seen the ‘cloudy pink liquid’ at the bottom of a tupperware with ruined watermelon in it). If you can avoid cutting melons up completely, that is best. For honeydew/cantaloupe/banana melon - remove the seeds from the remaining half/chunk before putting back in the fridge to slow bacteria growth.

Peppers - once cut, these do best in an airtight container with a paper towel in the bottom. It’s hard to prevent them from drying out once cut, but you’ll usually still get a few days, especially if planning to cook with them.


Always check your produce regularly if you don’t use it right away. A little attention goes a long way toward reducing food waste and maximizing the value of your CSA share.

We hope these tips help you enjoy every bite of your harvest! Happy cooking and eating!