{"id":127,"date":"2009-04-16T05:31:47","date_gmt":"2009-04-16T09:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=127"},"modified":"2009-04-16T05:31:47","modified_gmt":"2009-04-16T09:31:47","slug":"un-po%e2%80%99-di-giardinaggio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/un-po%e2%80%99-di-giardinaggio\/","title":{"rendered":"Un po\u2019 di giardinaggio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oggi facciamo un po\u2019 di giardinaggio<\/strong> (today\u00a0we are going to do a bit of gardening). At this time of year we are very busy working on the orto<\/strong> (vegetable garden). I wouldn\u2019t say that we are big gardening experts, but we have\u00a0had an orto<\/strong> for many years now and we manage to be self sufficient with our vegetables throughout the summer and autumn. In the winter we still have a supply of cipolle<\/strong> (onions), aglio<\/strong> (garlic), patate<\/strong> (potatoes), and zucche<\/strong> (pumpkins), plus of course all the marmellate<\/strong> (jams), frutte<\/strong> secche<\/strong> (dried fruits), and\u00a0verdure conservate sott’olio <\/strong>\u00a0(pickled vegetables)\u00a0that we have made during the autumn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those of you who enjoy\u00a0il giardinaggio<\/strong> will probably find the vocabulary in this article useful.<\/span><\/p>\n

We begin with il terreno<\/strong> (the land). We have about 500 square meters of terreno<\/strong> spread over three terrazze<\/strong> (terraces) on a south facing hillside. Being south facing\u00a0\u00a0\u2018il nostro orto<\/strong>\u00a0e\u2019 molto soleggiato\u2019<\/strong> (our vegetable garden is very sunny) and therefore good for growing things like pomodori<\/strong>\u00a0(tomatoes) and meloni<\/strong> (melons) which need a lot of sun to get nice and sweet. The downside is that in the hot months\u00a0\u2018la terra diventa molto secca\u2019<\/strong> (the ground gets very dry) and it\u2019s necessary to annaffiare<\/strong> (to water) regularly, either with il tubo dell\u2019aqua<\/strong>\u00a0(the hose, around here they call it \u2018la gomma\u2019<\/strong>, literally \u2018the rubber\u2019) or with the annaffiatoio<\/strong> (watering can).<\/span><\/p>\n

But all of that happens a bit later in the year, first of all comes the hard work with la vanga<\/strong> (the spade), il forcone<\/strong> (the fork), la zappa<\/strong> (the mattock, a sort of cross between a hoe and a pick), and il rastrello<\/strong> (the rake). We use la vanga<\/strong> to vangare<\/strong> (dig) la terra<\/strong> (the soil), and while we are digging we diserbare<\/strong> (weed),\u00a0le<\/strong> erbacce<\/strong> (the weeds) that we pull out going onto our compost heap where they eventually break down into terriccio<\/strong> (compost).\u00a0Whilst digging\u00a0the terreno<\/strong> it\u2019s also a good idea to concimare<\/strong> (fertilise) with a good lettame<\/strong> (manure), preferably lettame di stallatico<\/strong> (stable manure from horses or cows). Another attrezzo da giardinaggio<\/strong> (gardening tool) which we find very useful\u00a0is la carriola<\/strong> (the wheelbarrow) which helps us to shift terra<\/strong>, lettame<\/strong>, and sassi<\/strong> (rocks).<\/span><\/p>\n

When\u00a0il terreno<\/strong> is ready, and the time\u00a0is appropriate we use la zappa<\/strong> to fare i solchi<\/strong> (make the furrows) in which we seminare<\/strong> (sow) the semi<\/strong> (seeds), patate<\/strong>, cipole<\/strong> etc. The locals here tend to say \u2018mettere giu\u2019<\/strong> instead of \u2018sow\u2019. e.g. \u2018ho messo giu’ due patate\u2019<\/strong> (I\u2019ve planted a few potatoes).<\/span><\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s a matter of maintenance: c’e\u2019 da sradicare l\u2019erbaccia<\/strong> (you have to root out the weeds),\u00a0proteggere le piantine dagli uccelli e\u00a0le lumache<\/strong>\u00a0(protect the young plants from birds and slugs), e\u00a0annaffiare<\/strong>. Luckly we don\u2019t have much of a problem with slugs and snails because the muri a secco<\/strong> (dry stone walls) of our orto<\/strong> are full of lucertole<\/strong> (lizards), frustone<\/strong> (the whip snake, a bit like a big grass snake), and orbettini<\/strong> (slow worms) which tend to eat them before they can eat our plants! The main pest that we have, particularly on the fave<\/strong> (broad beans), are gli afidi<\/strong>, or as they call them round here i pidocchi<\/strong> (the aphids, pidocchi<\/strong> actually means lice).<\/span><\/p>\n

After all the hard work we hope, of course, to have un buon raccolto<\/strong> (a good harvest), and we get a huge amount of pleasure, and\u00a0satisfaction from sitting down to a \u2018home grown\u2019 meal. I have to admit that many vegetables don\u2019t even get as far as the plate, who can resist a sweet crunchy carota\u00a0 <\/strong>(carrot) freshly pulled and rinsed, or una manciata di piselli freschi<\/strong> (a handful of fresh peas) straight from the pod!<\/span><\/p>\n

While we are on the subject of gardening I can\u2019t resist ending this blog\u00a0by giving you\u00a0one of the most unpronounceable words in the Italian language: aiuola <\/strong>(flower bed). I\u2019m afraid you\u2019ll have to find an Italian, and ask them to say the word aiuola<\/strong> (probably about 25 times) in order to learn the pronunciation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oggi facciamo un po\u2019 di giardinaggio (today\u00a0we are going to do a bit of gardening). At this time of year we are very busy working on the orto (vegetable garden). I wouldn\u2019t say that we are big gardening experts, but we have\u00a0had an orto for many years now and we manage to be self sufficient…<\/p>\n

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