It’s the garden clippers she carries in a pocket of her overalls shorts that give Tracy DiMarco away. On any given day, she spends half her time out in her backyard garden, so it only makes sense that she’s always prepared to snip a wayward weed or snap a ripened eggplant, okra or squash.
She just loves growing fruits and vegetables.
“The satisfaction I get is seeing something that I planted from a seed grow and produce something edible or beautiful flowers,” says the retired nurse, who moved from New Jersey to Fayetteville with her engineer husband, Mike, on Christmas Day. “I like to grow stuff that I can’t buy.”
They settled in a house in the Bayboro neighborhood south of Vander, close by one of their daughters and her husband, who is a major at Fort Liberty.
They loved the expansive backyard with scattered patches for gardening, as well as a detached garage perfect for Mike’s 1959 Corvette and assorted car parts.
Gardening is mostly Tracy’s thing, but Mike jokes that he comes in handy for watering. That’s OK with him, as long as he has time to tinker with those classic car parts.
On a sunny and humid morning in mid-August, Tracy’s leading a horticultural tour for a couple of visitors. What’s most striking is the bounty and variety of produce and how most of it is not growing in the earth but in containers.
More than a dozen fig trees. Varieties of eggplant that only a few local growers are likely familiar with: Chinese string, Shiromaro, Ping Tung, and white Casper.
Grapes and zucchini, big red and smaller yellow tomatoes, peppers both sweet and spicy.
Yeah, this rivals the produce section at your favorite supermarket.
“Anybody can grow anything they put their mind to,” Tracy says.
She prefers containers to in-ground planting because she can move the plants around and control watering or sunlight needs. Also, in containers, the plants are a bit elevated, which cuts back on the bending necessary to tend to them. She often sits the containers on dollies for easier mobility.
When they moved from New Jersey, Mike bought a used minibus to transport their containerized plants, including more than a dozen fig trees, some of which can be traced back to the early 1900s. When Mike’s grandfather came to America from Italy, he brought a cutting from a fig tree along on the boat and planted it at his new home. The DiMarcos, in turn, took a cutting from Mike’s grandfather’s yard and grew fig trees of their own.
“In Jersey, your season is shorter and not usually as hot for so long,” Tracy says about the difference since their move. “Here, I get three seasons of gardening outside. I am looking forward to exploring what more I can do here.”
Soon after their relocation, Tracy joined the Cumberland County Extension Master Gardeners program. She became known as “the lady in the overalls.”
She has since been approached about leading cooking classes for the Extension service, a logical connection to her love for growing fresh veggies.
“I’m so excited!” she says of the opportunity to share her culinary techniques.
The DiMarcos are no strangers to sharing. Their neighbors (and the occasional CityView writer and photographer) are often the beneficiaries of their generosity, leaving with grocery bags full of freshly picked goodness. Tracy loves, on the spur of the moment, to invite neighbors over for dinner and share dishes that showcase her gardening skills.
One time, a neighbor who was invited over for pizza said, “I’ll pay.” Tracy’s reply was: “Pay for what? I’m going to make the pizza.”
No Domino’s delivery at the DiMarco house.
A couple of neighbors are widows who live alone, and the DiMarcos cherish the opportunity to spend some time with them.
Since their move, they have invested a lot of time on the inside of their home as well as the garden, updating the kitchen and opening walls to make the living area brighter and more free-flowing.
The kitchen, naturally, is a focal point, centered around a gas-powered, six-burner, griddle-equipped, double-oven stove made in Milan. It seems bigger than the average Honda Civic.
New cabinets include a spice rack that would make Bobby Flay jealous. Personal touches include the “peach dust” that Tracy makes from dried fruit.
Nothing goes to waste. Fruits become jellies and jams; vegetables are turned into pickles.
They’ve got vintage floral wallpaper — only a few rolls left — to add charm and style to their front formal area. They’ve done much of the reno work themselves, taking advantage of Mike’s engineering expertise and their Army-serving son-in-law’s skills.
As hummingbirds flitter outside their breakfast room window, Tracy notes that one of her joys is watching the pollinators at work. She plants flowers to attract bees to her garden to help ensure that nature takes its course.
“The passion is creating something that brings me closer with the environment and nature,” Tracy says. “The work is worth it for the peace it brings to me creating it, enjoyment of sharing with others and eating something I grew. I like to tell people when they are eating what part of the meal was grown by me.”
Keeping it simple, sharing the rewards. For the DiMarcos, that’s what it’s all about.
Tracy DiMarco loves cooking as much as she does gardening. These recipes make good use of her homegrown produce.
MARINATED TOMATOES
2 cups cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ medium size onion, chopped into small bits
2 tablespoons capers
¼ cup basil, chopped
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix ingredients together and let marinate while preparing bread or pasta.
Rub sliced French bread with a garlic clove and toast.
Prepare ½ pound thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and mix in marinated tomatoes. Save ¼ cup pasta water and mix in if too dry. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
EGGPLANT STIR-FRY
2 to 3 long, thin eggplants, cut on the diagonal into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Sauce
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons sugar
Place eggplant into a bowl and cover with water. Sprinkle with salt. Place a small plate on top of eggplant to keep it submerged for 15 minutes, then pat dry and sprinkle with cornstarch. Set aside.
For the sauce: Combine ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
For the stir-fry: In 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat, space eggplant with cut side down on skillet. Cook until browned, then remove from skillet. Continue until all eggplant is cooked if preparing in batches.
Spread eggplant in a single layer in skillet. Add ½ tablespoon oil and saute, adding garlic and ginger. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to burn eggplant. Add sauce and cook until thickened.
Serve with white rice.