The inspiration of our traditions lives in our kitchen, thanks to our traditional Sicilian cuisine. Hotel Casale Milocca is the first and only hotel in Sicily with a ‘synergistic restaurant’, which not only uses quality products with 0 food miles, but actually uses the vegetables grown in our own vegetable garden. This combination creates a unique, special experience in the synergistic restaurant.
L’ orto sinergico
The synergic vegetable garden is based on the principles of natural agriculture studied by a Japanese agronomist and adjusted by a Spanish farmer to the Mediterranean climate. Synergic agriculture is the most natural conceivable method of farming, since it does not consider the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Its philosophy depends on how the soil is considered a real living organism, able to adjust and improve itself without our invasive intervention. As a matter of fact the very same plants will fertilize the soil thanks to their organic wastes along with the insects and the bacteria which naturally coexist with them.
The precautions to be taken are very simple and do not consist either in ploughing nor in fertilizing the land, but they especially apply in sowing at the same time at least three different vegetable species. When certain cultivations are conveniently chosen it is possible to obtain completely natural results, like the absorption of atmospheric nitrogen by the soil thanks to leguminous plants.
The removal of bacteria is performed by sowing garlic, onions or flowers such as calendula; the above procedure enables the soil to fertilize and protect itself autonomously, only taking advantage of the natural capability of the plants to synthesize the necessary elements. One of the first steps towards the realization of a synergic vegetable garden consists in creating pallets, raised flowerbeds that are necessary for the ventilation of compact soil. The pallets can be realized in any shape or dimension. Another fundamental characteristic for the creation of a synergic vegetable garden is mulching, procedure where the pallets are covered with materials such as straw, leaves or other vegetable wastes.
The aforesaid process has the function to protect the soil from atmospheric agents, maintaining the humidity and improving the proliferation of microorganisms useful to the soil. The irrigation is performed with a drop by drop method, created with a simple irrigation system under the mulching. Thanks to these simple but at the same time strategic choices, synergic agriculture represents the method of farming, the most respectful of nature and its balance and above all sustainable.
Sustainability is more and more important for a better relationship with the environment.
