Paul Miragliotta talks of his tomatoes with palpable pride.
The Keilor farmer rattles off names of a few of the 30 heirloom varieties he and his farm hands, Angus and Rich, planted last year, now ripening into beautiful shades of crimson, orange, green and yellow.
And they can be hand-picked from the vine by appointment until April when Mr Miragliotta opens his Day’s Walk Farm to the public.
“There’s a whole bunch of tomato varieties people don’t know about so we planted 30 of them in a bunch of shapes and colours,” he said.
Last week the farm celebrated its first anniversary, capping off a year’s labour of love since the 33-year-old quit his job as a radiographer to work the land.
Mr Miragliotta’s change of heart, and vocation, stemmed from a trip to Italy in 2008 to understand the land of his great grandparents, who immigrated to Melbourne from Sicily and Puglia, and to brush up on his Italian.
He spent a year volunteering as a farm hand in Lombardy, Sicily and Sardinia, in exchange for meals and board, and gained an appreciation of the Italians’ connection to their land and their traditional farming methods.
He said Keilor, with its rich volcanic soils, was an obvious choice to set up. And he said working the land made him happy. “It’s super hard work, but I feel connected and content.”
His only fear is that the agricultural value of the land, which is far exceeded by its residential value, will one day give way to housing.
The farm is open twice a week, with hand-picking, by appointment, until April. Details: 0407 085 370 or pomodoropeople.eventbrite.com.au
