does anyone know of a good website xplaining what can be planted in what months for italy, i was going to wait untl next spring, but the weather tody is glorious, so i got out the gardening tools which came with the house, very authentic darlings and planted a couple of rows of garlic. any more suggestions would be gratefully received.
Perfect time for garlic. The shortest day, the classic garlic planting date, isn't far away. Apart from that, it's a bit late for much else. Except bulbs. Stick 'em in the ground now for spring flowering.
Yes. Fava = broad bean. Friends of ours here plant broad beans around now but their winter is fairly mild. It really depends how cold your winter is and how much frost.
Yes, fava beans are yummy. In the spring they just get piled in the middle of the table and everyone digs in, peeling and eating. They're great paired with red wine (I have to choose Montepulciano d'Abruzzo) and a good aged parmigiano.
I like them cooked too with fresh peas, pancetta, and garlic. Yummm.
We plant them in late October and November and typically our winters are pretty harsh with lots of snow. Last year was the exception. We did plant some in February during a warm spell, but they came in really late.
Originally posted by dawnbee: does anyone know of a good website xplaining what can be planted in what months for italy, i was going to wait untl next spring, but the weather tody is glorious, so i got out the gardening tools which came with the house, very authentic darlings and planted a couple of rows of garlic. any more suggestions would be gratefully received.
I give this advice hesitantly as I've yet to garden in Italy...but were I still in England, at this time of year I'd be planting/have already planted some/all the above - plus: - fruit trees/bushes - rhubarb - tulips. (Bit late for other spring bulbs, but go for it) - bare root roses - pretty much bare root anything in fact. And if you've any tender plants growing outside in pots, try and bring them inside somewhere to give them a bit of protection from cold and take some cuttings from others.
You basically get the feeling at this time of yr that you're planting bunches of twigs. You won't see much - or even any - signs of growth until spring. But the action's taking place under the soil, where any traces of residual autumn warmth will encourage roots to grow and establish, meaning come spring, your plants will have a head start.
I do miss gardening...
Incidentally, small tip for establishing whether a tree/shrub is dead/alive. Just scrape away a tiny portion of bark with a thumbnail. If there's green underneath - all's well. If brown underneath - you've an ex-plant. (Not 100% foolproof - but useful to remember)
This weekend in Italy I will be planting bare root plants as follows:
Peonies Hepaticas Foxtail lillies Phlox
I am also forcing hyacinth bulbs indoors and in a dark shed to hopefully get an early display - already the green shoots have appeared.
All my spring-flowering bulbs were planted in Sept/Oct but as Deebee says I reckon you could still get away with Tulips - in fact, gardeners' mags here in the UK say to wait until November to ensure that there is no risk of disease.
Primroses do very well at this time of year - I planted some out a few weeks ago in London and they are already flowering and multiplying. They're like tubers, so you can just cut a bit off and transplant elsehwere. I'd hoped to lug some out to Italy but following the visit of DH's parenti to London, our cases are too full of THEIR shopping (Primark particularly!) to bring back much of our stuff, so I will have to wait until January.
Since I to and fro between London and Lecce, I order the majority of my plants in the UK from a website called Thompson and Morgan. They should be able to deliver to Italy - EU rules state you can take plants. I got the peonies from a website called Claire Austin Hardy Plants.
Sadly this weekend I didn't get to plant anything - it had rained tons and the ground was too sodden. Back again on Saturday though so fingers crossed no rain and it is dry enough!
Already my narcissi, hyacinths and even the tulips I planted are showing green shoots. Freesias have had green leaves for some time - I guess the weather still confuses them. Hopefully they will just stay that way until it is time to flower, but I reckon we will get an early display this year.
This article is very helpful for growing tips but the company mentioned don't yet ship overseas. Not unless you have a friend who can visit from the UK!
We just put in little tiny onion sets and garlic cloves. I'm not sure it was the ideal time, but gardeners-in-the-know around here were optimistic that all would be well (we are SE of Rome, about 100km, coldest we get is around zero or -1, flurries ocassionally, but rarely any accumulation).
You're only about a month past the classic garlic planting date - the shortest day - so they'll be fine. You might want to protect your onion sets with some straw or mulch or similar.
