GARDEN RULES

Sandringham, Vic

We forage in the kitchen gardens of three very different people inspired by the Italian approach to produce.

We forage through the kitchen gardens of three very different enthusiasts, all of whom are inspired by the Italian approach to home-grown produce.

“I’ve been interested in gardening since I was a teenager, but my true obsession for growing edibles started when my nonno brought around some tomato seedlings as a house-warming present when

I first moved out of home.

My dad was born in Ciano, a small town in the hills of Calabria, and my mum’s side originates from a place called Montagnareale in Sicily. My choice of which plants to grow at home is a reflection of my cultural background.

“I live in a small house with a beachside garden. My name, Fabian, means ‘bean grower’, so with that in mind I grow a lot of broad beans – they’re great for providing produce at the start of spring, as well as feeding the soil for summer crops of tasty tomatoes, capsicums, zucchini, leafy greens and runner beans (remember: you’re growing soil before you’re growing plants). I love to grow peperoncini and cucumbers. The chillies remind me of my Calabrian heritage and can easily be grown in pots and preserved, and I love eating the cucumbers straight off the vine on a hot summer’s night while watering my garden.

“Gardening is never the same and every day is different. My garden reminds me to take each day as it comes. Enjoy it for what it looks like today – it will never look like that again. My main advice would be to grow what you love, for who you love. And don’t talk at your plants; let them talk to you.”

Fabian Capomolla’s book Growing

Food the Italian Way (Pan Macmillan Australia, $44.99) is out now.