vegetables from an italian garden
DESCRIPTION
I'm Charlie Nardozzi. I grew up in an Italian-American family. Italians love many things, especially good food. In particular, they love their vegetables. While most of us think of tomatoes, garlic, and eggplant when we say "Italian vegetables", there are some unusual vegetables you should try in your garden. Italians love wild greens. Agretti is a popular Italian green used in upscale restaurants. It has a salty, tart flavor, that's truly a unique taste sensation. It can grow in salt water, but also does fine in most gardeners. Plant in spring with cool weather and you'll be enjoying 8 to 12 inch tall greens in about 40 days. I've talked about eating dandelions before, but if you truly want to experience this green, try the Catalogna varieties such as puntarelle. Puntarelle has a milder dandelion flavor than its wild cousin with just a hint of bitter taste. The leaves are best thinly sliced then plunged in ice cold water to curl. It's great mixed with lettuce in salads. I remember every Easter eating fennel salad at my mother's house. Globe fennel has an anise flavor and it grows best with cool spring weather, plenty of moisture and proper thinning. Try it mixed with pink grapefruit sections and mint leaves for a sweet, refreshing salad. Finally, how about a root crop that tastes like a mix between asparagus and oysters? Scorzonero literally means "black bark". This thin rooted perennial plant has a black skin and a white root. Grow it in a raised bed on well-drained, loose soil and harvest in fall, being carefully not to break the brittle roots. Roast it or saute for the best flavor.TRANSCRIPT
Vegetables from an Italian Garden
The Cook Book
Italian Vegetables
Food
“By 2050 there will be 9 billion people on the planet. We’ll have to produce more food in the next 50 years than all of mankind has produced in the last 10,000 years combined.”
Italians Love Food and other things
Italians Love Eating
Italians Love Vegetables
Sun in your Italian Garden
Location, location, location
The Right Soil
“A poor gardener grows weeds. A mediocre gardener grows crops. A good gardener
grows soil” --- Japanese proverb
Soil Drainage
Veggie Garden Design
Raised Bed Garden
On-Line Kitchen Garden Planner
Design your Own Garden
Your Kitchen Garden
Square Foot Garden
Permanent Raised Beds
Advantages
Elevated Raised Bed
Temporary Raised Beds
Lasagna Gardening
Laying Newspaper
Adding Compost
Spring Italian Vegetables
Mesclun Greens
Wild Greens
Agretti
Agretti Cooked
Spring Salad
Asparagus
Asparagus Hedge
White Beans and Asparagus
Broad Beans
Crimson Fava Beans
Favas, artichokes & peas
Broccoli Raab
Summer Italian Vegetables
Artichoke
Costoluto Genovese tomato
Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter
Tomato & Nettle Ravioli
Corno di Toro Pepper
Carmen Hybrid Pepper
Rosa Bianca eggplant
Eggplant Parmigiano
Tony's Spread
Cocozelle Courgette
Mint, Courgette, & Almond pesto
Florence Fennel
Fennel and Grapefruit Salad
Summer Garden Care
Organic Mulch
Animal Manures
Cow vs Horse
Fish Fertilizer
Worm Poop
Zoo Doo
Side Dressing Fertilizer
Succession Planting
Organic Insect & Disease Control
Diversity is Key
Crop Rotation
Encourage Beneficial Insects
Plant Resistant Plants
Mechanical Controls
Vegetable Garden Traps
Targeted Sprays
Fall Italian Vegetables
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts
Cardoon
Celeriac
Celeriac Roots
Radicchio
Celeriac and Radicchio Salad
Leeks
Leek, Potato and Cheese Bake
Scorzonero
Garlic
Ready to Mange!