Friday, August 1, 2008

That's some serious cabbage!

It's Friday, it's the beginning of a summer weekend, and I feel like posting something fun. So here goes...

His back yard garden in Graniteville looks more like the produce section of a supermarket. And it's not just for show: Colella shares his wealth of fruits, vegetables and knowledge with his neighbors at no cost.

"I've lived here for many years. My neighbors are like a family," said [Joe] Colella. "When I got too much, what am I gonna do with it? Throw it away?"

Colella takes pride in his garden which features 17 different varieties of eggplant; five types of tomatoes; 15-pound cabbages; zucchini; carrots; Swiss chard; broccoli rabe; string beans; romaine lettuce; mushrooms, and peppers, not to mention potted planters of herbs like oregano, parsley and basil.

"He's got cantaloupe growing back there. Is that normal?" said his daughter Anna.

The 75-year-old tends to the garden all on his own according to his daughter and spends up to seven hours a day working on it.


How does his garden grow?

And to go with the produce, how about a glass of home-delivered milk?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome, I wish I had a neighbor like him!

Anonymous said...

Joe, you're a living saint and a generous spirited real New Yorker.

I'm coming over for some some broccoli rabe.
The more bitter it is the better I like it.

The Americanos stopped calling it by its real name "broccoli rape" a long time ago (I guess for X-rated reasons).