“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.We forage through the kitchen gardens of three
very different enthusiasts, all of whom are inspired
by the Italian approach to home-grown produce.
FABIAN CAPOMOLLA Sandringham, Vic
GOURMET TRAVELLER 75PHOTOGRAPHY MARK ROPER