Blog

When planning your fall garden, you first need to write down two dates: the date when there is a 50% chance of a light frost (32*F) and the date when there is a 50% chance of a freeze (28F). You can find this information by putting your zip code into this calculator. If you have row cover like our  fleece blanket or fleece easy tunnel, you can expect about 2 degrees of frost protection, so you can move your planting dates back a bi… Read more

Many of summer’s best flowers are easily started from seed about 6-8 weeks before warm weather arrives. Seed-grown flowers save you money compared to buying plants. And our generous seed packs mean you can plant lots of flowers — for a beautiful yard, to attract pollinators, and to cut and bring inside. Not all flower varieties will bloom in the current year, though, so if you’re new to flower gardening, choose from the following varieties… Read more

At Seeds from Italy, we sell 30 varieties of lettuce and five salad mixes that contain lettuce. Sometimes customers will ask “What’s your best lettuce?” That’s like asking “What’s the prettiest color?” Or “What’s the best ice cream flavor?” The best lettuce, like most things in life, depends on your taste. What we can tell you is that all varieties of lettuce have nutritional benefits. They provide nutrients, antioxidants, and dietary f… Read more

Planning the garden is a winter ritual that brings pleasure to experienced gardeners. Just a few hours of planning and plotting now will ensure that you are ready to go as soon as spring arrives. Here are five steps to help you organize your garden plan: 1. Review last year’s results. Ideally, you keep notes every year about what you grow, when and where you plant it, and how well it does. If not, did you at least take photos that would help… Read more

Italy is a vast country with a varied climate and has the culinary diversity to prove it. Each region is famous for its own specialties, many of which would not be possible to cook without the local heirloom vegetable varieties that have been lovingly cultivated for generations by the region's inhabitants. Many of the heirloom varieties we import from Italy are named for those regions or cities where they first arose and became an intrinsic part… Read more