Hi everyone,
We hope you all enjoyed the first share. Since last week’s newsletter was mostly logistics, we save introductions for the this weeks. I’m hoping that I’ll have produce descriptions added by the time you all pick-up Tuesday!
We started Gard Mo in 2023 after spending a couple of years dreaming and scheming about ways to improve the local food infrastructure. We both have a background in food science and have worked for large consumer packaged good companies as product developers, but have grown to believe that supporting local growers is the route to a more just, sustainable, and delicious food system. I (Ben) do most of the day-to-day things for Gard Mo while Lisa carries more than her weight coordinating our zero-waste efforts, stepping in wherever needed, and holding down a full-time job to support us.
Our new CSA Club Production Assistant, Ana, is indispensable this season. From prepping and packing veggies to cleaning totes and containers, her help ensures everything reaches you on time—we couldn’t do it without her!
This project thrives because of you, enabling us to build a community around eating local. From our multi-season members to the new ones; your trust in us to deliver the freshest local harvest is what makes this all possible. Our long-term vision is to grow Gard Mo into a cooperatively owned and managed business, and we’re already seeing incredible momentum. We’ve been incredibly lucky to have a group of CSA Club members (Jenny, Dylan, and Kyra) helping us dream up what a Gard Mo cooperative could look like—and what it would mean to be a member-owner. The conversation has expanded to the wider CSA Club community through member dinners we’ve hosted, and members have already been stepping up to pitch-in (Catherine, Nancy, and Marc). Our goal is to keep this momentum going through the season, deepening and growing the community. Potluck picnics, a recipe-sharing forum, and a co-op study group are just some of the ideas we have for doing that. We’re so excited for you all to be part of the CSA Club and to be part of this exciting phase of growth for us.
For us, this journey has been fun, sometimes exhausting, and deeply transformative. Most of all, it’s been incredibly rewarding to connect with so many amazing people. We’re excited for another season and can’t wait to see how much we’ll grow together!
We hope you all enjoy the veggies, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or feedback!
—Ben
*edit: Nichols sent spinach in place of asparagus. Sorry if we got excited!
These turnips are some big hunkers. Technically these are the same species as the bok choy (Brassica rapa), just a different variety. I think the flavor of them bears this out. They have that woody, perfumy note thats present in the bok choy, but isn’t quite there in the radishes. Sliced thin, these are nice for snacking raw if you like the zestiness. They cook very similarly to radishes, softening and sweetening.
An early seasonal feature, sugar snap peas are about as good as it gets. If you’re going to cook them, keep it brief with high heat so that they keep a little bit of that crunch. Otherwise, they’re pretty great for just snacking on them as they are (a tasty dip would take them next level).
We got a nice mix of frilly lettuce and broad leaf so that this will be a nice mixed greens. We have a recipes for a simple vinaigrette, although for a different salad. A light vinagrette like that would really make this lettuce pop, for a salad or on a sandwich.
Early in the week Nichols had indicated that asparagus would be in the shares, but on Tuesday when we received the veggies from the farm, no asparagus and this spinach in it’s place today. Todd later sent a note apologizing and explaining that their asparagus crop was not what they had been anticipating. When Nichols saw the warm weather of this week in the forecast, they expected the asparagus to start popping off as the cold had slowed it down. Unfortunately, the dry spell we had been experiencing had left the soil hard packed so that the asparagus tips weren’t able poke through and out for harvest. Luckily, we’re flexible. This is a great example of the resilience and support that Community Supported Agriculture offers to farmers. If a grocery store or restaurant had ordered asparagus and a farm failed to fill that order, they probably wouldn’t order from that farm again. Us, we’ll roll with it and will happily eat some spinach this week.
Besides Brassicas, the other of the two major vegetable families are Alliums. Onions, like these spring onions, are of the species Allium cepa. Other Alliums include shallots, garlic, leeks, ramps, and chives.
Radishes are an odd ball and not part of the two major brassica groups, and actually not even a brassica even though we would consider them. Their scientific name is Raphanus sativus. Radishes seem to have reached the Mediterranean by the time of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians and have continued to be a significant part of human food ways since.
These are another product of Nichols’ impressive greenhouse programliek the cucumbers last week. Last month I saw another farmer, Tim Frillman of Frillman Farms, celebrating his impressive early season greehouse cherry tomato crop. Tim also mentioned how he couldn’t have achieved it without his mentors in the space helping him. I love this. Clever farmers are not only developing and honing novel techniques, but also spreading these within the community to strengthen the overall local food system. Love it.
These were some big ‘ole bok choy bunches. Bok choy is part of the cabbage family, formally called Brassicas. Brassicas include a huge number of vegetables (cauliflower, brussels sprouts, turnips, radishes etc.) but most of those fall under just two species, Brassica oleracea and Brassica rapa, and are just varieties of the species, like granny smith and red delicious are varieties of the same species; apple. Bok choy is part of the Brassica rapa group which also includes turnips, rapini, and napa cabbage.
