Meadowscape - Italian Vegetables

If you wish to know more about Italian vegetables, or wish to grow some from seed, we would recommend that you visit Seeds of Italy where you will be able to buy from the vast selection of Franchi Sementi seeds.

Italian Vegetables

Name	Culture	Tips	Image
Plum Tomato	Sow indoors February to end of May. Harvest July - September Plant 24 inches apart. Cut out the growing tip at four trusses.	The classic Italian plum tomato is used mainly for cooking as it has very little water inside and is very meaty. Use for making Passata.
Fennel	Sow from mid May-July. Thin to 12 inches apart. Harvest from September to the end of Nov.	In England this plant is very temperamental and will bolt if allowed to dry out or just because it feels like it, so grow in succession. Good in salads or baked.
Radicchio	Sow June to August. Thin to 8 inches apart. Harvest October to mid December.	An Italian favourite. Upright Red and white striped leaves. Bitter Taste. Good in salads and cooked.
Chicory	Sow March indoors, and end June through to September outdoors. Thin to 8 inches.	Like Radicchio but can be used to sprout a second crop after the main outdoor crop. A red alternative to Witloof.
Wild Rocket	Scatter sow in succession May through August	Stronger flavour than the cultivated variety (some say a better flavour), with a smaller leaf area. A must have.
Erba Stella (Bucks Horn)	Scatter sow in succession March to June.	Added to salads to give a pleasant bitter taste.
Squash Tromba d'Albenga	Sow mid March to mid August. Grow just like the common courgette.	Long, curved fruits, bulbous at one end. This variety is from near Milan in the cool North of Italy so grows well in this country.
Sweet Peppers	Sow February to end of May. Will only grow under cover in this country.	Very long, thin sweet pepper, native to the Lombardia region of Italy. A change to the normal capsicum pepper grown in this country.
Artichoke	Likes a rich-heavy soil. Sow March to end of August. Perennial.	This plant is both at home in the vegetable garden or the flower border.
Aubergine	Sow February to mid May. Will only grow in a greenhouse in this country.	The classic Italian eggplant is long, dark and slightly curved.