Lasagna Gardening: Grow Your Own Italian Feast

You can't grow pasta, but you can cultivate every fresh ingredient for authentic lasagna and Italian favorites. Homegrown tomatoes and herbs deliver flavor that transforms your cooking.

Tomatoes for Sauce

Tomatoes fall into three categories: cherry, slicing, and sauce. For lasagna, choose meaty, low-seed sauce varieties. 'Big Mama' leads the hybrids, followed by 'Viva Italia' and classic 'Roma'.

Add sweet basil (pinch shoots for branching, remove flower buds), Greek oregano, and parsley—curly for garnish, flat-leaf for flavor. 'Summerlong' basil handles heat well.

Grow onions from sets, garlic from cloves. Why not add lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, and summer squash for fresh salads? Only crusty bread and cannoli remain store-bought!