{"id":3792,"date":"2012-02-21T21:37:41","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T05:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adribarrcrocetti.com\/main\/?p=3792"},"modified":"2012-04-15T17:03:41","modified_gmt":"2012-04-16T00:03:41","slug":"its-time-to-grow-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adribarrcrocetti.com\/main\/its-time-to-grow-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Time to Grow Italian!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GardenTools-640x405-1380_521\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

If it is seedlings you are after, go to Cross Country Nurseries<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

They also offer items found on the Slow Food Ark of Taste<\/a>, 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:<\/p>\n