It’s Time to Grow Italian!
It may be too early to plant, but it is never too early to plan. From Arugula to Zahara Eggplant, gardeners are marking calendars and making lists, drawing up plans, checking availability and placing orders. In short we are getting hyped for summer.
Italians have a way with vegetables. There is just no doubt about it. And they have varieties that until recently were unavailable to us here in the United States. But now Italian seeds from companies such as Pagano and Franchi Sementi are available at many local nurseries. My neighborhood nursery, Sego in Studio City, California, has a large selection of Italian seeds. If your nurseryman does not carry them, Seeds from Italy will come to your aid. They are the exclusive U.S. mail order distributor for Franchi seeds, Italy’s oldest and best known seed supply. Over the years I have grown many vegetables from Franchi seeds, always with tremendous success. I urge you to plant their Zucchini Romanesco. This variant is creamy and tasty, a breed apart, easily the finest zucchini I have ever tasted. Currently the top seller at Seeds from Italy is Red Pear Tomato, another I heartily recommend. It is a big, but early tomato that will please every gardener and cook.
If it is seedlings you are after, go to Cross Country Nurseries to find an immense selection of peppers, chiles, eggplants and tomatoes. Most conveniently, their catalogue can be sorted by country of origin; with one click you can see all of their Italian varieties. I recommend the Quadrato d’Asti peppers, both red and yellow, large block shaped Italian bell peppers with meaty flesh and superior flavor.
They also offer items found on the Slow Food Ark of Taste, a catalog of foods endangered by industrial standardization. As stated on the Slow Food website, to be included on the Ark a food must be:
- Outstanding in terms of taste—as defined in the context of local traditions and uses
- At risk biologically or as culinary traditions
- Sustainably produced
- Culturally or historically linked to a specific region, locality, ethnicity or traditional production practice
- Produced in limited quantities, by farms or by small-scale processing companies
Order a few Ark of Taste Jimmy Nardello pepper plants, or Ark of Taste tomatoes such as Orange Oxheart, Amish Paste or Cherokee Purple. I urge you to look over the list and grow at least one item on it. Then talk to your greengrocer and ask that they carry an item on the list. Only if we all do this will these species be guaranteed a continuing place on our Earth.
And I mustn’t forget Tomatomania. These are weekend tomato sales events held at various locations across the country beginning in March. They offer hundreds of varieties of seedlings along with garden essentials and selected books. We go every year, meeting friends and family and making a morning of it. This year our local Tomatomania at Tapia Brothers Farm in Encino will be held March 23 – March 25.
For a dash of inspiration, check out my ongoing series – Exploring Tomatoes. I have more profiles to add, so check back.
Ananas Noire
Banana Legs
Cuore di Bue
Gold Medal
Martino’s Roma
Red Fig
Sun Gold
Tigerella
If you need some garden inspiration or some kitchen inspiration once your garden is growing, I recommend three wonderful books on Italian vegetable cookery.
Red, White, and Greens : The Italian Way with Vegetables
by Faith Willinger
VERDURA: Vegetables Italian Style
by Viana La Place
My Italian Garden: More than 125 Seasonal Recipes from a Garden Inspired by Italy
by Viana La Place
I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.
Tuesday, February 21st 2012 at 11:49 pm |
Ciao Adri – I’m not a great gardener, but I like pushing seeds to my husband, who can make them grow, and this is such a great inspiration. Strangely enough nurseries in our part of Italy don’t stock a great variety of vegetable seeds, but I guess you can find them, if you know what to look for.
Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 at 6:10 am |
Ciao Mette,
I am pleased to hear you found this inspirational. Gardening is fun, and truly rewarding, although somewhere along the growing season Mother Nature always finds a way to remind me that She is in control! It is strange indeed that your nurseries do not stock a large variety of vegetables. I assumed you would have access to an absolute treasure trove. I hope you do find a few seeds for your husband. I eagerly await garden reports!
Thursday, February 23rd 2012 at 8:36 am |
this looks like fun!! thx!!very informative!! i have visions of my Dad drying tons of tomato seeds out on paper towels from all his best pomodori ogni estate!!!
Thursday, February 23rd 2012 at 11:03 am |
Ciao!
Ogni estate! That ought to be the rallying cry of gardeners everywhere! Gardening is fun and rewarding. I love that your father saved seeds from year to year, now that is a thrifty Italian for you! Seed saving is smart since one can be guaranteed of one’s fave plant varieties. Rosetta Costantino, author of My Calabria tells that her father brought his seeds from plants he grew in Calabria, and now in their garden in Oakland, they grow the very same plants. I thought that was pretty great. I hope you try these sources. They sell first rate seeds and plants. Let’s see photographs of you among the tomatoes this summer! Thanks for stopping by.
Thursday, February 23rd 2012 at 9:59 pm |
Wow, thanks for the sources. Now all I have to do is start digging.
Thursday, February 23rd 2012 at 10:03 pm |
Ciao LA Foodie,
It’s my pleasure. The companies are great, and their products are first rate. Good luck in your garden, and when it gets going, send me a photo for Readers’ Gallery. I would love to see what you have got growing!
Saturday, February 25th 2012 at 9:58 am |
Haven’t planted a vegetable garden in years but this motivates me to get one going this year
Saturday, February 25th 2012 at 11:41 am |
Ciao Anthony,
Excellent! I say go for tomatoes – there is nothing like picking one from the vine and eating while it is still warm from the sun!
Tuesday, March 12th 2013 at 5:35 pm |
You’ve inspired me! Now that the snow is (hopefully) gone, time to plan the garden…but each year, the trees grow taller and the garden gets less sun. Any thoughts on vegetables that don’t need a lot of sun?
Tuesday, March 12th 2013 at 6:12 pm |
Oh, I know – as much as I love my trees, they do cut down the amount of sunlight. Generally speaking, vegetables that do well with less sunlight are leafy ones, like lettuces and spinach, also broccoli and root vegetables. Softneck garlic is another good choice, as are some herbs like mint. Overall the less sun, the smaller the yield. Good luck in the garden, and thanks for visiting.