CONTINUING tradition
Joe Paola started gardening around the age of three in Conflenti, a small Calabrian town just above the foot of Italy. His inspiration and guiding lights were his parents, Antonio and Giovanna.
“We were passionate about how we lived and how we farmed animals and grew vegetables,” Joe recalls. “I owned a small patch of soil and grew beans and potatoes. It was exciting and fun.
“Mama and Papa grew tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers, chestnuts, grapevines, Morello cherries and especially wheat. We milled our own flour from it. We had plenty of livestock growing up that included goats, cows and chickens.”
It was a beginning that led naturally to a lifetime commitment to organic gardening. “If you have the opportunity to grow an organic,
