The vegetable garden

OUR BEING FARMER

Farming, here at the Maso, is a heroic task: the topography, the altitude (here in Valsassina we’re 800 metres high), the sometimes-merciless weather put us to the test. But does it matter when the earth offers such satisfying fruits? Well, perhaps the word “offer” does not give the sense of the commitment, the stubbornness and the strong will of a farmer. But it does depict the surprise we feel each time, when life transforms a small seed into a basket full of vegetables.

Besides the self-production regulations we must follow as an agritourism, we could never conceive our work without food self-sufficiency: seasonal vegetables are one of the pillars of our Menus, which are also based on genuine products and a short supply chain. Very short: 30 metres, the distance between kitchen and vegetable garden.

THE GREENHOUSE

The simple and primary rhythm of the nature is the clock that sets the time at Maso Zambo. With a small exception (well, not that small): our greenhouse, which allows us to prolong the seeding and harvesting seasons capturing all the goodness of the sun.

THE PRODUCTS WE GROW

Peas, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, courgettes giving delicious flowers, zucchine trombette, beetroot, cabbage, chards, celery, carrots, onions. And beans, savoy cabbage, fennel and lettuce, Brussel sprouts, turnips, black cabbage and red cabbage – in other words: all the flavours, shapes and types of cabbage.

AND EVERYTHING ELSE

Maso Zambo is a secret garden that encloses the most precious fruits of Valsassina, among which stand out aromatic herbs and roots. Our life is surrounded by the scent of rosemary, thyme, mint, sage, lemon balm, marjoram, bay leaves, horseradish and rhubarb. And we have absinth and capers too! An aromatic bouquet that finds its use not only in the kitchen, but which can be transformed – suitably extracted using Zambo’s high tech pot stills – into essential oils for restoring treatments and herb teas.