SEED TO SUPPER: Growing and Tasting Italian Heirloom Vegetables and Fruits To Create Taste Memories For Future Generations (A Culinary History Project)

Do you have special memories of Italian heirloom fruits and vegetables grown by your family and friends? Have you grown these varieties? Now is your chance to grow and sample vegetables from your favorite regions in Italy and share this vegetable heritage with future generations. We are seeking volunteers to grow a vegetable or two like, Radicchio di Mantova, Italian Torpedo onions (Rossa di Milano), (Costoluto Genovese) tomatoes and others. We'll provide the seeds and ask that you share your memories, growing tips and a few of your vegetables. We'll share our successes and feature the fruits of our labor at "special tasting" events and capture our "taste memories" through photos and interviews. We will record our results, impressions, vegetable uses (recipes), preservation tips and even garden designs for future generations.
We have vegetables and fruits including Italian heirlooms directly from our Sister City Partners! These varieties are grown in the Regions near Mantova, Italy: tomatoes (Cuore di Bue, cherry), peppers (Cuneo Giallo e Rosso, Piacentino Lungo, Mantovano, Porta Innesto), melons (capitol, dalton, giusto, honey moon), pumpkins/squash (bush delica, black, yellow, piacentia, round Ungherese), watermelon (merilee, mostarda, giant watermelon) and more!
Other varieties of vegetables that we're growing include tomatoes (principe Borghese, Roman Candle, Speckled Roman), peppers (marconi sweet, quadratto Asti Giallo), lettuce (mix (misticanza, which is an Italian mesclun mix)lolla rossa, riccia rossa d'America, rosa di Trento, rossimo, beets (chioggia), Many chicories (radicchio di Mantova), beans (different varieties of bush and vines, annellino, cannelino, trionfo violetto, borlotto) and squash (a large variety of summer and winter squash).
Groups that have grown our veggies include the Community Food and Gardening Network, the Kids Garden at Troy, the South Park Community Garden, Bay View Apts., some of the Atwood gardeners, and the St. Mary's Care Center.
Our small demonstration gardens will feature seasonal favorites and will be located throughout the city. We'll firm up these locations within the next several weeks due to the slow arrival of warm weather this season.

For information call or e-mail:
Susan Boldt at 608 849-8199 or susanboldt@slowfoodwisconsin.org