habitat July 2012 - Australian Conservation Foundation

PLUS
2011/12
Ol man
Nonno
Fabian Capomolla (left) and
Mat Pember of Little Veggie
Patch Co.
Sarah Johnson introduces
the Little Veggie Patch Co.
Each month we try and bring a little bit
of garden to you and ask you to tell
us your success stories in the garden.
Often when we are researching what to plant
we end up consulting these guys, the Little
Veggie Patch Co.
Two Melbournians, both of Italian heritages,
run the Little Veggie Patch Co. Growing up
around veggie gardens they acquired a wealth
of knowledge from their older generation of
green thumbs and they hope to pass it onto
you. They’re not so old, but they do have
a passion for fresh food. So it is my great
pleasure to introduce Mat and Fabian to the
readers of GreenHome.
Mat Pember
Favourite veggie: Black Russian tomato
“My happiness is sitting in a summer garden
within arm’s reach of the season’s fi rst ripe
tomatoes (the other arm may be occupied
with a tall glass of homemade cider).”
Fabian Capomolla
Favourite veggie: Beans, all shapes and
sizes. “I’ve been surrounded by veggies all
my life. Some of my earliest memories are of
being told off by my Nonno for kicking the
footy into the veggie patch.”
My favourite part of this story is the credit
and gratitude both gardeners pay to their
grandparents. In the introduction of their fi rst
book, How to grow food in small spaces, they
talk about how much growing up in migrant
families, where the centre of family connection
and feasts, was the garden. They ate from
it, they sat around it and they toured after a
big lunch.
“Like so many other migrants new to
this country, our grandparents brought with
them skills they had learnt from a life closely
connected to the land – an informal education
passed down from their parents and
grandparents, and if they were lucky, greatgrandparents
too,” they share in their book.
“These skills were a way of life, a life
linked to the seasons, and it proved hard to
leave behind.”
There are stories of connection, family
and tradition, like this one, all over Australia.
Hopefully we can start entice more of them
out for all to share.
What to plant
Not much changes over the winter months in
terms of what to plant. Winter is a good time
to plant apples across all temperature zones
– cool, temperate, subtropical and tropical,
but if its brussel sprouts you’re after, you may
have to wait until next year. In fact July is not
a great month for loads of veggies, especially
the brassicas, but you can still get year
round favourites in like celery, fennel, lettuce,
mushrooms, peas, rocket, spinach (in cooler
areas) and a cheeky little strawberry.
Little Veggie Patch Co.
2A Brighton Road, St Kilda East, Victoria
www.littleveggiepatchco.com.au
Designed
and made in
Australia a
Green Tag
Certif ied
Recycled
Plastics
Environmental
Pledge:
Take-back at end of life
for re-manufacture
Wide range
ISO 14001
www.sustainablefurniture.com.au
Made to
order
global
find it on
ecospecifier.com.au
Environment
ISO 14001
7
RECYCLED
PLASTICS
GreenHome
habitat July 2012
21