Greens Habit Guide
Why we harvest close to delivery
Jump to recipePreserving nutritional potency starts with how quickly the greens reach you after harvest.
Harvested greens are still living plant tissue. Their cells keep respiring—using stored sugars for energy—while moisture loss, oxidation, and aging continue. Cold storage slows those changes.
Some nutrients, including vitamin C, can decline during storage. Broccoli's glucoraphanin levels can also change. The rate depends on the crop and storage conditions, so keeping greens edible and preserving their original nutrient content are different goals.
Broccoli also needs an active enzyme, myrosinase, to efficiently turn glucoraphanin into sulforaphane when you cut or chew it. That reaction is separate from the plant's respiration. High heat can disable the enzyme before it has done that job.
That gives us two things to protect: the compounds present at harvest and the enzyme that helps unlock broccoli's sulforaphane.
A shorter wait before delivery gives avoidable storage losses less time to occur. That's why we grow locally in Chantilly, harvest close to delivery, and keep the greens cold along the way. Most orders reach your fridge within 24 hours of harvest.
After delivery, keep the boxes refrigerated, away from freezing spots, and use them regularly.
Try this: lentil soup with radish greens
Heat your usual lentil soup—Trader Joe's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup is a convenient option.
Let it cool until it's warm and comfortable to eat without burning your mouth. Top with a few radish greens, a spoon of plain yogurt, smoked paprika, and a drizzle of olive oil.