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It’s never too early to plan a garden, and these days, with all the info on the Internet and all the mail order catalogs there is plenty to sift through. In just a few weeks it will be time to actually plant. Now is the time to do a little research. <\/p>\n
Sure, if you are not in Italy, then you do not have the exact microclimate to grow a particular Italian vegetable or fruit. You do not have Italy’s indigenous soil either. But I am not going to quibble, and I am not going to let the purists stop me from growing my own, and neither should you. What greater joy is there than to walk into the garden with an empty trug and return to the kitchen, the trug brimming with fruits and vegetables grown with one’s own two hands, one’s own sweat and toil. <\/p>\n
Don’t miss the thrill of seeing the tiny sprouting plants lift the dark, rich soil. Garden projects will bring your family together, putting everyone to work for the common good and teaching kids about where their food comes from and just what it takes to produce it. For those of us who want to grow Italian, the choices multiply every year with sources from the exotic to the everyday. Many vegetables that just a few years ago were solely the province of Italy are popping up in restaurants and on home tables everywhere. Read Ciao Chow Linda<\/a> on Agretti<\/em> and DomenicaCooks<\/a> on Puntarelle<\/em> for a taste of Italy’s unique harvest.<\/p>\n For a selection of vegetables and melons from A to Z, look to Seeds from Italy<\/a>. They sell Franchi<\/em> seeds, Italy’s oldest family-owned seed company. None of the seeds sold are GMO. From artichokes and arugula, to more than thirty varieties of beans, plus beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, fennel and numerous types of radicchio, the catalog is an Italophile’s delight. Also available are specialty and gift items, such as gloves, garden shears, soaps, tea towels and flowers. The Nagengast family operates the business from their small farm, and they take enormous pride in what they produce. Visit their website at GrowItalian<\/a> and sign up for their monthly newsletter and request a catalog.<\/p>\n Look to Goodwin Creek Gardens<\/a> for a wide selection of herbs, lavender, flowers and plants. I have ordered from this family run company in southwestern Oregon for decades. With an utterly astounding array of plant materials – over seventy varieties of lavender alone, over twenty each of rosemary and thyme, some creeping, some upright and some trailing, this is an herb gardener’s paradise. Tarragon, sage, marjoram, oregano, milk thistle, and mint are here too, as are multiple varieties of geraniums (pelargonium) for those of you who make scented jellies. Visit their site<\/a> and request a catalog.<\/p>\n Cross Country Nurseries<\/a> in Rosemont, New Jersey has 500 varieties of chiles and sweet peppers. Beautiful, big and blocky Quadrato d’Asti<\/em> peppers (both red and yellow), sweet Friggitello<\/em>, and Piccante Calabrese<\/em> are here along with hundreds of other varieties. There are more tomatoes here than you could possibly plant, 180 varieties, including some of my favorites, such as San Marzano Redorta<\/em>, Costoluto Fiorentino<\/em>, Principe Borghese<\/em> and Costoluto Genovese<\/em>. Their eggplant selection includes Italian varieties such as purple streaked Listada di Gandia<\/em>, dark purple Lunga Violetta<\/em>, and the pinkish Rosa Bianca<\/em>. The catalog is an education in itself with plants sorted by characteristics such as shape and size, season, country of origin, and in the case of the peppers, by heat. Visit and request a catalog at their website, ChilePlants<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Natural Gardening Company<\/a> is the oldest certified organic nursery in the United States, and they offer a dazzling array of Italian seedlings and seeds, herbs, melons, peppers and tomatoes. They even have Jimmy Nardello’s Italian frying pepper. This pepper hails from the Italian region of Basilicata and is on the United States Slow Food Ark of Taste<\/em><\/a> list of endangered local foods. You will also find Carmello<\/em> tomatoes, a worthy addition to any garden. Don’t miss Juliet<\/em>, one of my all-time favorite tomatoes. There are Italian onions galore. From small flat Bianca di Maggio<\/em> to Italy’s famed Red Tropea<\/em>, you’ll find myriad uses for these beauties. Visit the site<\/a> and order a catalog, and you’ll be on your way.<\/p>\n Is there a Tomatomania!<\/a> near you? This is the ultimate pop-up store. Each Spring at these weekend sales you will find thousands of plants, along with assorted herbs, garden equipment and educational materials. Click here<\/a> to see me at Tomatomania! 2012. Visit Tomatomania!<\/a> for event schedules and to order online.<\/p>\n I cannot neglect the classic Italian herb Nepitella<\/em>, and neither should you. This cross between oregano and mint is a must for any Italian kitchen. If you are not familiar with it, read about it here<\/a>. It is not widely available, however Valley Seed Company<\/a> sells packets of seeds.<\/p>\n And lastly, if like me, you enjoy Italian citrus, Four Winds Growers<\/a> in California has what you need. They’ve been growing dwarf citrus since 1950. There was a time when blood orange and Mediterranean lemon trees were unavailable in the U.S. Thankfully those days are behind us. Four Winds Growers offers the deep red Moro<\/em> and Sanguinelli<\/em> blood orange trees and the lighter fleshed Tarocco<\/em>. All are wonderful trees that produce plenty of fruit. Somewhat newer to North American nurseries are the Mediterranean lemons, Villafranca<\/em>, Genoa<\/em>, and Santa Teresa Feminello<\/em>. You’ll never want for Italian lemons again. Visit Four Winds Growers<\/a> for more info on growing and selecting these wonderful fruits.<\/p>\n Order a few catalogs and get ready to collect Nature’s bounty this summer. Plant a few trees for a lifetime of glorious Italian style fruit. Most of all, get outside, and enjoy time spent in the garden.<\/p>\n For further reading on ideas for your Italian garden and what to do with all you grow, I recommend:<\/p>\n My Italian Garden: More than 125 Seasonal Recipes from a Garden Inspired by Italy<\/em><\/a>
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\nby Viana La Place
\nPaperback: 272 pages
\nClarkson Potter (May 8, 2007)
\nISBN-10: 0767918258
\nISBN-13: 978-0767918251<\/p>\n
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