Orto Da Coltivare is a blog that has come a long way . In just over two years I have written nearly 500 pages on how to grow a garden, now every day over 10,000 readers browse the site and many follow the facebook page.
In addition to the usual culture advice, which will obviously continue, I wanted to tell great stories on agriculture and sustainability , the different ways of life, the ethical economy and the return to the land. The first story I’m going to tell you contains a nice conflict of interest, which I hope you’ll forgive me for: it’s about the farm where I am a founding member and tells about our small saffron farm in Brianza.
Contents
The history of Vallescuria: weapons returned to agriculture
tutorial was born in Brianza of a group of friends between 25 and 30 years old, passionate about manual work. There is an urge to do something together, including involving two boys with mild cognitive difficulties who are unemployed, so they start cultivating a small social garden.
When you do the garden you discover a passion for agriculture : the fascination of seeing something grow, the return to a closer relationship with the land, a beautiful job to do together, in which to share efforts and satisfactions.
They immediately choose to grow saffron, a crop which cannot be machined , which involves many hours of manual work: the ideal thing to do together. It’s crazy work, weeding the whole field by hand, shoveling baulature, peeling thousands of flowers to make a few grams of spice. In short, everything I explained when telling how this spice is grown.
From here the Vallescuria project is born , constituted as a simple agricultural partnership where all participants are equal partners. The choice is not to bureaucratically recognize the social character of the project, because due to its small size the form of agricultural society is currently the best tool.
personalized story
Would you like a personalized story for your little gardener?
In my story you can have a personalized story that the little ones will never forget. Teach them from an early age to take care of the planet.
A few years of trials, lessons and tours for saffron producers in Italy have produced a very fragrant and high quality saffron.
Vallescuria products
The main product of Vallescuria is saffron . This precious spice is grown in Brianza, using an entirely natural method. Great attention is paid to quality by harvesting the flowers every day at dawn before they bloom, and drying them directly during the day. Saffron in the stigmas can be bought in packages of different weights, elegant packages are also produced, perfect as gifts and personalized, to make wedding favors or corporate gifts.
To buy saffron on the stigmas means gastar approximately the double of the specie in polvo that can be found in the bowls of the supermarkets, pero the stigmas also its a guarantee of pureza and the organic cultivation without pesticides or other chemical products means a saludable product for the human beings and el environment.
In addition to saffron in the fields of Vallescuria, rhubarb and Jerusalem artichoke are also grown, using the same methods that respect the rules of organic farming.
Where to find Vallescuria saffron
Vallescuria does not have a physical store, you can buy the saffron on the stigmas directly in the field, in the saffron farm of Veduggio, agreeing on the day and time (you can write to info@vallescuria.it). You will often come across Vallescuria at local markets and fairs, especially in Brianza. You will hardly find it beyond Milan, because the choice is to favor the short chain and try to sell saffron in the region, following the zero kilometer philosophy. For more information you can visit the Vallescuria website.
Parcel delivery is still possible throughout Italy, but still to favor the short supply chain, deliveries are made in person free of charge in Alta Brianza, Usmate Velate and Monza. It is also possible to find pure Vallescuria saffron in Milan at the Piazzale lottery, thanks to the GASP SMS (ask info@vallescuria.it to check timetables and availability).
The company works a lot with solidarity purchasing groups, realities close to the philosophy with which saffron was born, which is why there is a price list reserved for gasoline, with dedicated discounts.