After many requests, I have decided to take all of you on a tour of my vegetable garden so you can see what it looks like. Watch the video below to see my Calabrian orto (garden) that grows in the Oakland hills.
I hope you enjoy the tour!
Tour of my vegetable garden in June
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This was great. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Rosetta, enjoyed the tour and you have given me ideas for my garden. I liked how you have the citrus in one place and zucchini in another place and tomatoes in another place….I have those metal cages for my tomatoes but I like your idea better.
After a looooong vacation from planting, I have started a garden this year and what prompted me was the class you gave on preserving the Calabrian way…I bought your book and will attempt to preserve.
Thanks, again, for showing us your garden…
Mary
A paradise! My Calabrian grandparents (from Casabona) lived in Brooklyn and the homes had old, unused trolley tracks running through their yards; they transformed it into a garden as yours, minus the citrus trees, which I think is the most enviable part! Especially the Meyer lemons
Thank you!
Che bello! I hope to have a garden like that one day. Grazie!
Thank you Rosetta for the wonderful tour! A great way to start my day.
I am new to growing kiwi and noticed what appeared to be a wooden support “shelf” in your garden. Is this needed? We have a new home in a a zone that allows for this tropical fruit so I am busy planning and planting a whole new garden this summer.
Would appreciate your tips on growing these little gems.
Thanks again,
Rosanne
(a.k.a The Apron-clad Warrior)
Hi Rosetta! My daughter bought me your book “My Calabria” last Xmas; she also lives in the Bay Area. My grandfather was born in Catanzaro so I’m very familiar with the Calabrian cousine. And I loved your garden which brought back many memories of my father’s garden in Pittsburgh. However, where I live now in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is not a climate condusive to growing foods native to a Mediterrean clime. I must admit that I’m very envious of your being able to grow such an amazing garden. I’ve enjoyed your book very much and have it on display in my living room. I’m very proud of my Calabrian roots!
Marge (nee Cicco) Shannette
Your garden utilizes space wonderfully, Rossetta! I love the views from your home.
I live in New York City so my outside garden is really just a patio. I plant many things in pots, however, and have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, dill, thyme, tarragon chives, mint, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and lavender all growing in pots. I even have a 5 foot fig tree in a pot! We get about 150 figs from it every summer. I winter the fig tree in our unheated garage and it has done very well for over 15 years!
Delightful! I planted Marconi pepper plants per your suggestion in your book and they are doing great here in Charlotte. I look forward to making tomato conserva this year. I normally just can whole tomatoes or make sauce.
Hi Rosetta:
Thank you for the FANTASTIC tour of your garden! I marvel at how you and your dad utilize every area around your home, from the terraced gardens to the potted plants on the patio! Here in the midwest we have a short growing season, but you’ve given me many ideas.
Diane from Northwest Indiana
Your garden looks fantastic and it’s wonderful to see that you have used seeds from Calabria as well. Also your garden greens look as though they don’t have much of a problem with pests. Do you use or recommend any Calabrian methods for pest control?
Thank you for the tour of your garden….so beautiful and inspiring. I planted San Marzanos from seed for the first time and am so excited to see how healthy they seem to be. Only 4, but it is a beginning!!
Thank you for sharing your garden, Rosetta. Would love to have seen the chickens, too!
Thank you so much for the tour! Can I ask which direction your garden faces? I’m down near Piedmont Avenue so I’m still figuring out what I can plant where.
Katy,
My garden faces North -East. We have sun all day in the back as there are no trees around. If you have a spot that gets sun most of the day and doesn’t have large trees around, you should be able to grow all the vegetables.
so proud of what you’ve done and what you do. Rosetta, another calabrese.
Cheryl,
I guess we will have to do one more video soon to show off the chickens.
Alessandra,
My parents only use sulfur to keep pests and mildew away. Nothing else is used in my garden. They have an air blower bellow that they brought from Calabria and the fill it with sulphur and blow a small amount on the tomatoes plants when they are young. If you look it up on the internet here is what it says about using sulfur (my parents used to use sulfur in Calabria and they continued that method also in California).
Elemental sulfur is one of the oldest fungicides and pesticides. Dusting sulfur, elemental sulfur in powdered form, is a common fungicide for grapes, strawberry, many vegetables and several other crops. It has a good efficacy against a wide range of powdery mildew diseases as well as black spot. In organic production, sulfur is the most important fungicide.
Diane,
You have a lot more heat than we do so you should be able to grow most of the vegetables that we have in the garden.
Wow … I am amazed that you have a fig tree in a pot. I guess I would do the same to have figs if I lived in a cold place (I can’t live without them).
Marge,
If you come out to visit your daughter in the Bay Area you should come to one of my cooking class and taste some of our vegetables. I bring all my summer vegetables from August to October to my cooking classes.
Rosanne,
Kiwi plants are vines and they need support for the long vines. We have a trellis where the vines are tied and they climb all over. We could have build a very large trellis and they would fill it up, the vines can get very long up to 20 ft long. I am not sure if you know this or not, but you need to have a male and a female kiwi plant and it takes about three years before they bear fruits.
Any idea where I can get Peperoni di Senise seeds?
I love your book!!!!
Thanks!!
~Martin
Thank you for the tour of your garden. It reminds me of my nonno’s garden when I was a kid…a terraced backyard in the mission district in SF. I have almost always had an orto, some bigger than others…I couldn’t exist without homegrown tomatoes. I planted San Marzanos this year which will all ripen while Gardiner and I are in Italy!! Loved your class and appreciated your mother’s patience with my attempts at Italian.
Grazie, Adele
Hi Rosetta, I’m in Brazil and am crazy about navel oranges. Since they have no seeds, was wondering how I can grow them here. Great tour, beautiful garden, very inspirational.
Adriana,
You would need to buy a plant.
I so enjoyed the tour of your garden, it is absolutely beautiful and I learned so much from your video. I will be including many of your tips in my Ohio garden, but alas, no citrus. Thank you so much for sharing this tour.
Hello Signora Rosetta,
My compliments that garden looks awsome, what part of Calabria are You from?
I live in the Boston suburbs I hate the wheather here, are ther many calabresi there?
I love gardening but wheather here alouds only about three months for growing stuff, tehre is so many calabresi around here , they still make sopressate , pomodori sauce , sottoaceti etc etc.
I never been In California Myself, but a lot of people told Me the topography its similar to Calabria.
Thansk and all the best,
Vincenzo Talarico
Dear Rosetta,
My friend Dave Viola, who makes the most extraordinary ‘Nduja, suggested that I contact you. Dave is now salumi master at Farmstead in Providence, RI. I’m a farmer in western Massachusetts who raises heritage pigs and heirloom vegetables. I also make a bit of cured meats in the cellar here at the farm – pancetta, guanciale, lardo, prosciutto, testa. I’d like to add ‘Nduja with my own peppers grown here on the farm but I’d like to grow varieties similar to the Calabrian originals. Do you have any recommendations for the sweet and hot pepper varieties. Do you have seed? Thanks for your help and the tour of your garden. Keep up the good work! Boun appetito!
Hi – I’m loving your book – I’ve been a fan of Sicilian & Italian cooking for years – but this is my first venture into Calabrian cookery – and the results are delicious. Over the weekend we made meatballs in tomato sauce, chicken roast with oregano & red pepper, and making bread today. I don’t have a garden – but after seeing your inspirational garden – I’ll be growing fresh herbs & peppers on my balcony.
Lois,
Thank you for letting me know that you are enjoying cooking the recipes from my cookbook. Having fresh herbs right in your balcony is so much better than having to go to the store and you’ll use them more often since they are there in your balcony available all the times.
Dear Rosetta,
We are interested in growing Calabrian pepper varieties on the farm. We sent you an inquiry about what varieties you might recommend back on March 28th. Do you have any particular varieties that you like of both hot and sweet?
Thanks,
Dom
Rosetta,
It looks just like Calabria. We need to move to your area of the country – never mind the East Coast and New York City!
Thank you for sharing the video.
Best,
Vincenzo Scordo
Splendid! Thanks for the virtual tour.
I have a question. My late mother-in-law prepared a Christmas Eve dinner traditional to her family. Her parents emigrated from Petilia Policastro, the province at that time was Catanzaro in Calabria. The main meal was named something dialectic from that town. I can only cite it phonetically as it would be pronounced in Calabrese from that area, “ughi ha” (the ‘h’ is silent). Do you know what this dish is? If so, please describe it. If not, send an email to me and I will tell you what it is. No one of Italian heritage of whom I have asked this question could identify it.
BTW, i miei antenati non erano italiani. Sto italiano per matrimonio.
Wow that’s great! I wish to move to a place where it’s more suitable to grow vegetables all year round. One day!
Loved the tour of your garden, incredible…Thank you so much for sharing. I am definitely inspired for next year. I enjoy container gardening – less intimating! I have a full summer behind us and I have lots of peppers…not sure what is the best way to dry them? Looking foward to attending your class with my sister offered in January. Our grandfather was from Verbicaro!
Loved the tour of your garden, incredible…Thank you so much for sharing. I am definitely inspired for next year. I enjoy container gardening – less intimating! I have a full summer behind us and I have lots of peppers…not sure what is the best way to dry them? Looking foward to attending your class with my sister offered in January. Our grandfather was from Verbicaro!
my parents are from san giovanni in fiore calabria i love to hear an and all stories about that area your garden is lovely thanks for sharing