Advice. Ideas.

Inspiration

Anita’s Garden
Volume 2, Issue 3 9 August 2019

Useful Links Editorial

Webpage
Welcome to the third issue of my Gift certificates
Blog
newsletter Anita’s Garden for 2019.
I will still be offering gift certificates
Newsletter back issues for the nursery at Anita’s Garden.
Seed orders
They are perfect to give as a present
Facebook
Over the past week, I have been very for birthdays, Christmas and other
Instagram busy placing seed orders. At the mo- occasions. They do not have an expiry
ment, I am open to requests for varie- date.
Twitter ties you would like me to stock in the
plant nursery. I have already received
Linkedin some enquiries about what varieties I
Pinterest will be selling in the nursery and
some plant orders. However, I am not
in a position to provide a definitive
list of what will be stocked in the
Contact me nursery or process orders at this
stage. As you will appreciate, I still
 Feedback need to secure seeds and the propaga- Your input is welcome!
tion process is never certain, for some-
 Newsletter input
times seeds don’t germinate and To make Anita’s Garden even more
(tips, recipes, gar-
plants don’t grow. Be assured though successful than ever before, I am inter-
den photos etc)
that once plants become available for ested in your suggestions on the fol-
 To be added to my sale, they will be advertised in the lowing:
mailing list newsletter and on my Facebook page.
 Plants (veggies, flowers, herbs,
anitakundu.nz@gmail.com New readers fruits and other seedlings)
which you would like me to sell
There continue to be many new people in my plant nursery, plus any
who joined the newsletter mailing list. varieties you particularly want
Welcome! To receive the newsletter to obtain
Inside this issue: direct to your inbox, please email me
at anitakundu.nz@gmail.com and put  What topics you would like me
“subscribe” in the subject field. to cover in workshops held at
P ot te r ing aro u nd 2 Anita’s Garden
Loyalty cards – NEW!
Anita’s Garden
 Topics you would like me to cov-
I’m pleased to announce that I will be
er in my blog
introducing loyalty cards this year.
Top 5 gardening tasks 2 After your 5th visit to the nursery,  Services you would like me to
for the week you will receive a free plant! offer as part of my business, for
example, garden maintenance,
Franchi Italian heirloom 2 design/landscaping etc
seeds giveaway
Please feel free to email me at
anitakundu.nz@gmail.com with your
suggestions.
How to grow herbs 3
Thank you for your continued support.

Anita Kundu
PAGE 2 A NI T A ’ S G A R D E N V O LU M E 2 , I S S U E 3

Pottering around Anita’s Garden

Over the past week, I have been
very busy around the garden.
Planting more lily bulbs
I planted more lilies I purchased
from Garden Post, including the
varieties Yelloween, Corcovado,
Regale, Pink Heaven, Bellam and
Nymph
Triumphator Xmas lily in bloom
last summer
Sowing seeds indoors
I started sowing capsicums and
chillies on my heat pad. This year,
I am excited to try the following
new varieties from Egmont Seeds:
 Capsicum Sweet Shishito
 Capsicum Sweet Classic
 Capsicum Hot Jalwa India
See page 3 of Issue 1 for 2019 for
tips on how to propagate plants
from seed
Sowing lettuce outdoors
I sowed the Franchi varieties
Parella Rossa and Degli Ortolani
outdoors in punnets. These two
types are suitable for sowing in
August. To ensure you’re sowing
seeds at the right time, it’s always
a good idea to check the back of
the packet first.
Spraying garlic
As I mentioned in page 2 of Issue 1
for 2019, it has become necessary
to spray garlic due to rust. As it is
a relatively new strain, a specific
spray has not yet been developed
and some experimentation is re-
quired. I am relying on advice giv-
en to me by Wally. He suggested
that I use a combination of liquid
sulphur, liquid copper, potassium
permanganate, rainard and vapor-
gard. Now that my garlic has
started to surface, I intend to
spray at fortnightly intervals. I
will report back on the success of
using these sprays in due course.

Top 5 gardening tasks for the week

1. Sow seeds undercover 3. Plant strawberries 5. Prune roses

Now is the perfect time to sow heat
-loving veggies which need a long
growing period, such as capsicums,
chillies, tomatoes and eggplants
2. Sow lettuce outdoors
Some varieties of lettuce, including
ones from Franchi Italian heirloom
seeds, are suitable for sowing in
August (see above)
It’s not too late to plant more It’s still not too late to prune your
strawberries in your patch. roses. Spray with Conqueror Oil
Awapuni stock Camarosa and Ven- afterwards to seal the cuts
tana plants. For growing tips, see
page 2 of Issue 1 for 2019
4. Plant seed potatoes
Get seed potatoes chitting now
before planting in spring for a
Christmas feast

Franchi Italian heirloom seeds giveaway!

Gillian Hurley-Gordon of Italian
Seeds Pronto has kindly given me
a collection of Franchi seeds to
give away to one lucky gardener in
New Zealand. The prize contains
the following varieties:
 Zucchini Romanesco
 Onion Tropea Rossa Tonda
 Broccoli Spigariello
 Radish Gaudry 2
 Mesclun Quatrro Stagioni
AND a pomodoro tomato vegetable
soap
To enter, visit my Facebook page
and see the pinned post at the
top of the page.
Competition closes Monday 12 Au-
gust at 5 pm
 V O LU M E 2 , I S S U E 3
How to grow herbs
In my opinion, every garden
should contain a space for herbs.
They’re easy to grow and really
bring out the flavor of dishes.
They can also be expensive to buy
from the supermarket. Some reci-
pes require only a small quantity,
making the rest of the packet a
waste. Growing your own ensures
that you only pick what you need,
leaving the plant to continue to
grow in the garden.
Here are some of my favourite
herbs, together with some growing
tips for success.
Dill
 The perfect accompaniment
to fish dishes
 Useful to add to homemade
bottled gherkins
 Best sown directly where
you want it to grow
 Sow in early spring
 Tends to bolt to seed as the
weather warms up
Coriander
 Deeply aromatic, coriander
is a favourite in Indian and
Asian cuisine
 Coriander hates being
transplanted. Best sown
directly where you want it
to grow
 Best grown in spring and
autumn, as coriander bolts
to seed in hot weather
 Freezes well for later use
Parsley
 One of the most useful herbs
to have in the garden. Pars-
ley goes well with many
dishes, including eggs and
fish
 The two main varieties are
flat leaf (Italian) and triple
curled
A NI T A ’ S G A R D E N
 Parsley has a long tap root
and hates being transplant-
ed. For this reason, it’s best
sown direct
Oregano
 A favourite in Italian dishes
 Can be grown from seed or
purchased as a plant. As we
don’t use a large quantity of
oregano, usually one plant is
sufficient
Sage
 The perfect accompaniment
to homemade gnocchi with a
little butter
 Easy to grow from seed. As
with oregano, we don’t use a
large amount hence one
plant is sufficient
Thyme
 A very useful herb to have
in the garden
 There are
many differ-
“Every garden should
ent varieties. contain a space for herbs.
We always They’re easy to grow and
grow common
really bring out the
and pizza
flavor of dishes”
thyme
Rosemary
 Goes well with lamb and
potatoes
 One plant should be suffi-
cient
 Can be grown easily from a
cutting
Basil
 The ideal accompaniment to
homegrown tomatoes and
the perfect addition to Ital-
ian dishes. Great for pesto!
 This is a heat-loving herb so
it’s best to wait until No-
vember before growing basil
outdoors
PAGE 3
 Best sown directly where
you want it to grow
Chives
 Goes well with cottage
cheese. Lovely served in an
omelette
 Grows in the garden all
year round
 Best planted in the ground
Mint
 An indispensable herb. Can
be added to many different
dishes and drinks. You
can’t go past mint sauce
with roast lamb!
 Best grown in the ground
 Can be grown from a cutting
Catnip
 A favourite among felines
who love to sniff, eat and
play in it. We
grow catnip for
our cat Ginger,
who loves it, and
so do the other
cats in our neigh-
bourhood!
Catmint
 Another favourite among
cats, who enjoy sniffing and
eating it
Cat grass
 Sow directly in seed raising
trays. Your cat will enjoy
lying on it. Ours does!
General tips for growing herbs
 Make sure your herb garden
is near your kitchen, so
you’ll use them more
 For those of you who prefer,
herbs can be grown in con-
tainers. Herbs suitable for
pots include parsley, orega-
no, sage, rosemary, corian-
der, chives, mint, catnip and
catmint