Kathy's Farm in Italy

17/08/2026

Tiny tomatoes, tiny mozzarella, and tiny Greek basil leaves. 🌱
These are called spoon tomatoes. They're mostly a novelty to me and tedious to harvest. I didn't plant any this year but there were so many volunteers from last year they filled a bed.

16/08/2026

Garden Gazpacho

Straight from the garden and perfect for a hot day. Here's how I make it. You'll have to figure out the amounts. One medium - bell pepper, cucumber and four or five medium tomatoes makes a huge bowl. That usually calls for one cup vinaigrette and one cup juice.

* Equal parts (or a little more tomatoes) diced tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper. A little less diced onion, plus some minced hot pepper. I usually use jalapeño but didn't have any so I used fresh cayenne.
* Vinaigrette of red wine vinegar and good extra virgin olive oil.
* Tomato juice (V8 works great too).
* About one to two tbsp. chopped fresh oregano and mint.
* Salt to taste.
* Garnish with avocado, crumbled bacon, or grilled shrimp — or nothing at all.
* Serve cold. Keeps three days in the fridge.

Great as a starter, or make it the main event alongside a sandwich. Enjoy!

16/08/2026

They just keep coming. A friend asked what I'm doing with them all. Well, lots of tomato sandwiches, gazpacho, greek salad, tomato tart -- and I'm giving away most of them. Plus, I take them to my two restaurant customers and we trade produce for meals.

07/08/2026

My neighbor leaves me treats from his garden. He made a hook to hang the bucket on the fence and knows I can see it from where I sit in the living room.

While I grow melons, mine are not ripe yet, so he gives me some of his. He knows not to give me tomatoes since I'm overrun with them. But he doesn't grow cherry tomatoes, and I grow quite a variety, so I add those to his bucket upon its return.

He has given me a fortune in squash flowers. They're quite costly in the store. Since it's too hot to stuff and fry them up, and that's just a lot of work, I make a squash flower tart. I use a countertop airfryer/oven so it doesn't heat the kitchen. Just thrown together: pie crust, smoked gouda, cotta ham, flowers, grated fresh Pecorino cheese, basil leaves, and some sliced cherry tomatoes. I made another one with ricotta but didn't like it as much.

04/08/2026

Wild blackberries from my property. These are the tastiest blackberries I've ever had - with some mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese).

25/07/2026

Four types of cherry tomatoes - red pear, red, yellow, and green striped. And four types of basil - sweet, opal, African and Greek.
The yellow tomatoes are sweet and my favorite.

14/07/2026

Hi everyone! This is Kathy. I want to share my newest project - and now my new job. (It has nothing to do with my farm or Italy)

I created GroceryShare.org a USA app to help save money on food, decrease food waste, and make some new connections.
(Over 10 Italians have asked me if this will be in Italy, too. I need to start in the US and see how it goes, first.)

I built the website and app myself with the help of Claude AI (I'm a retired therapist, not a coder, lol). I registered the LLC in April, and 250 hours later have a functioning app. Now the real challenge is getting members.

As you all know, the cost of food is crazy, and nobody should have to forgo the foods they like or need because of inflation.

Buying in bulk saves money (typically 20% to 40% per ounce), but for singles, seniors, and small families, the quantities are too much. Who can use up a 10 lb bag of fresh apples or onions before they rot?

GroceryShare connects people in their area to split bulk and family-size grocery items. For this to work, clusters of people need to sign up in the same area, so there's a group of folks to split with.

It's free—no fees, no ads, no subscriptions. I don't use cookies, I won't share your info, and members can only see your username and town.

Please take a look, and if you think it could be helpful, join and share it with people in your area.

* And be aware that it will take some time to get going while member numbers add up in each location.
Many thanks. ❤️

https://groceryshare.org/

How It Works Join the App Sign up with your nickname, your town, and favorite stores. Search or Post Browse the sharing opportunities in your area or create

12/07/2026

The artichokes have passed. At the end of the season, they get mowed. It amazes me how fast they grow again.
After they're cut to the ground, I cover them in a thick layer of straw. It really helps keep the weeds down. My neighbors have a large artichoke patch, and this year they had none because the weeds took over. I'll add straw a couple more times before they start growing.
They sure have a beautiful flower.

12/07/2026

Ciao everyone. I've been absent because I jumped down a rabbit hole for another project. Three months and 250 hours, I'm finally coming up for air. I'll tell you all about it soon. In the meantime, the garden is doing its thing. The days have been very hot, and of course, with the Italian humidity, it has been rather uncomfortable. I LOVE my fan!

The honeysuckle is going great. It'll be growing over the top of the old cabana frame soon.

My gardener found these two giant planters. I was thinking small trees of some kind, but haven't researched yet. Whatever goes in there will need to like the heat since that black will warm things up. Any suggestions?

I've scattered gladiolus through the garden, and they're beautiful.

12/06/2026

The figs are starting. Please see this article I wrote on the fig tree. Along with the olive tree the fig has been an instrumental tree and fruit in the development of civilization... it's really old!

The fig tree (Ficus carica) is as intertwined with the development of society as the olive tree. The fig has historical and mythical significance.