Tuinderij Boender

Who's behind it

Mart Boender grew up in his parents' market garden in the Hoeksche Waard and started with lettuce in 2014. His wife Janske joined the business in 2019. The family has been gardening for generations in the region. The market garden is on Oudendijk in Piershil, on the heavy clay soil of the polder. Everything grows in open ground, without greenhouse. Boender grows, among others, Lollo Bionda, Lollo Rossa, red oak leaf lettuce, Salanova and romaine lettuce. Besides lettuce, vegetables and flowers have been part of the family in the polder for generations. The farm is PlanetProof and GLOBALG.A.P. certified. Since 2022, increasingly more is going to catering and wholesale, often on mixed pallets.

What really makes it different

Open ground means the lettuce follows the season and isn't forced under glass. The plant stands longer in the ground and grows on clay. That delivers firmer leaf and more flavor than watery greenhouse lettuce, and leaf that doesn't wilt as quickly in the kitchen. Boender harvests in the morning fresh and delivers the next day, so you get lettuce that just came from the field. For you that means longer shelf life in the cold and less waste when cleaning. In 2019 a weeding machine came and in 2024 a harvest machine. That way quality stays consistent, even when you order large quantities of heads. Solar panels on the roof and surface water reuse are part of the operation.

How to set yourself apart with this

Put the origin on your menu: open-ground lettuce from the Hoeksche Waard tells a guest more than an anonymous head. The variety helps your plate. Lollo Bionda gives volume and structure, Lollo Rossa brings color and a light bitter note, red oak leaf lettuce works as soft leaf garnish under fish or meat. Romaine lettuce has firm ribs and can go straight on the grill. Salanova is your quick basis for a salad in plating. Lollo Bionda at Jimmy Loves Food runs per piece and per crate of six, so you can buy on volume. Discuss your weekly planning with the grower, they think along about varieties and volumes and deliver mixed on one pallet. That way you build a lettuce menu that moves with the season, instead of twelve months of the same iceberg leaf.