Italian Seeds Offer Real Heirloom Varieties

Italian Seeds Offer Real Heirloom Varieties FARM HOME Food Franchi Sementi Italy’s oldest seed company has been in business since 1783 The family-owned seed company traces the heritages of many of their seeds back that far and longer says Daniel Nagengast exclusive North American distributor for Franchi Sementi “We carry more than 400 different varieties all of which have been grown for generations and selected for maximum flavor ” says Nagengast “These are almost all open-pollinated regional varieties You can grow them out and save the seeds They produce very flavorful vegetables ” Nagengast estimates that about 30 percent of his regular customers are of Italian heritage themselves He counts home gardeners market gardeners and even a few professional chefs as customers Some of them tell about their family growing the same variety of a vegetable for generations “A lot of our customers are very knowledgeable about particular varieties ” says Nagengast “In Italy growing vegetables and cooking are part of the same activity ” He credits the company’s high germination standards and grow-out policy on every batch of seed for the brand’s reputation for productivity However he suggests that flavor is the real reason Franchi Sementi seeds are so popular Other reasons include the unusual shapes colors and varieties “We carry cucumber melons and cauliflower that would be considered broccoli in this country ” says Nagengast “We carry 25 different varieties of broccoli raab alone 15 different radicchios and 14 to 15 different head lettuces with red fringe We have five different kinds of fennel They look similar but if you know fennel you can discern the difference ” Nagengast had one customer buy 50 lbs of arugula seed but most of his customers order 2 3 or 4 gram packages He says Franchi Sementi offers more than 25 different packaging options “We are working hard to provide bulk seed for vegetable growers who appreciate a varietal edge ” says Nagengast “We will be doing those mostly on a pre-order basis ” While the Italian seed company has no web presence or catalog sales Seeds from Italy offers both This year they will also be entering the retail store market with seed racks “We are going to work with independent nurseries farm stores and garden centers ” says Nagengast Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Daniel Nagengast Seeds from Italy P O Box 3908 Lawrence Kan 66046 ph 785 748-0959; www growitalian com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.