Anita's Garden
Volume 1, Issue 1
It’s Spring…
Winter is finally behind us and spring is here! With the
days gradually becoming longer and the temperatures
getting warmer, being outdoors in the garden seems
more appealing. Enjoy spring bulbs which are now
blooming. Continue to harvest winter veggies as we
slowly start to make way for the season ahead.
September is a busy time for gardeners, as we start to
prepare for the spring and summer garden. See page
2 for a comprehensive list of what to sow and do in the
garden in September.
Daylight Saving reminder
Don’t forget to put the clocks forward one hour on
Sunday 24 September
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
2 What to sow and do in September
3 Growing Guide: Potatoes
4 Q&A
September 2017
NEW! Monthly Newsletter
Welcome to the first issue of my monthly newsletter. I
plan to use this forum to provide you with news from
Anita’s Garden, including:
o Developments in Anita’s Garden
o What to sow and plant each month
o Growing guides
o Stock availability in the plant nursery
o Upcoming workshops
For gardening advice, ideas and inspiration, check
back on my website regularly and follow me on my
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Webpage: http://anitasgarden.weebly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Anitas-Garden-
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I’m excited to announce that I have very recently
branched out (excuse the gardening pun!) into
consulting! I am currently advising a family about how
best to create a first home garden and composting
system. Live overseas? I would love to help you with
your garden remotely. For all enquiries, please contact
me directly.
Mailing list
To receive this newsletter direct to your inbox, please
send email me at anitakundu.nz@gmail.com so I can
add you to my mailing list.
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What to sow and do in the garden in September

Edible garden Flower Garden

INDOORS o Sow sweet peas, poppies and wildflowers directly

o Sow tomatoes, capsicums, chillis and eggplants
indoors on a heat pad or in a warm place like a
hot water cupboard
o Wait until next month before sowing all your
favourite cucurbits, including cucumbers,
pumpkins, zucchini, squash and melons
into the ground as they hate being transplanted
o Sow cosmos, either directly into the ground or in
punnets for transplanting later on
o Wait another month before sowing sunflowers
outdoors
o Plant cheerful pansies and polyanthus

OUTDOORS o It’s still not too late to plant roses – visit your
garden centre for standard, bush and climbing
o Sow carrots, parsnips, radishes and beetroot varieties
directly into the ground
o Plant gladioli corms
o Sow lettuce, rocket, spinach, silverbeet, celery,
o Plant new dahlia tubers
leeks, spring onions and celeriac in punnets for
transplanting into the ground later on
o Now is a good time to divide existing dahlia
tubers if they’ve become very large
o Sow peas and snow peas directly into the
ground as they hate being transplanted

o Plant lettuce, silverbeet, spinach

Plant Nursery at Anita’s
o Sow parsley directly into the ground as it hates
being transplanted
Garden
In this column, I will post a list of stock that is
o Sow borage directly into the ground as it has a
long root and hates being transplanted currently available for sale and the prices.

o Plant seed potatoes into the ground

o Now is the last chance to plant strawberries but
don’t leave it any later
o Plant other berries such as blueberries,
raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries and
hybrid berries
As I am busy germinating seeds for the spring and
summer seasons, I don’t have any seedlings
available for sale this month.
I am selling sunflower seeds harvested from my
magnificent flowers from last summer for $3 per
packet. Contact me directly to order yours!

o Mulch garlic with pea straw to keep the weeds

down and liquid feed weekly

Fruit Trees

o Plant citrus such as lemons, limes, oranges and

mandarins

o Plant stone fruit such as peaches, plums,

nectarines and apricots

o Now is also a good time to plant other fruit trees

such as apples, pears, feijoas and persimmons

o Wait another month or so before planting sub-

tropical trees such as bananas and avocados
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Growing Guide: Potatoes

Every spring I look forward to planting potatoes. This rather Line a row of potatoes in the trench, spacing each potato
humble crop is one of my favourites. For starters, it is hard approximately 30 cm. Cover the trench with soil.
to beat freshly dug new potatoes on Christmas day. This is
possible if potatoes are planted by September at the latest in
New Zealand. Another reason why I find growing potatoes
so appealing is because they are rather easy to grow. I will
outline my top tips for success later in this article.

This year, I am planting three varieties: Liseta, Jersey Benne

and Agria. Liseta is an early crop variety which matures in
just 70 days. It is supposed to be a very high yielder and
was commended for this in a potato trial carried out by the
New Zealand Gardener Magazine several years ago. Jersey
Benne is also an early crop variety of potato which matures
in around 90 days. It remains a firm favourite on the
Christmas dinner table in New Zealand and I have always
planted this variety ever since I started gardening about five
years ago. Early varieties of potato such as Liseta and
Jersey Benne have waxy skins and are ideal for boiling. The key to growing potatoes successfully is to continue
Agria is a main crop of potato which matures in to mound the potatoes (i.e. cover around the tops of the
approximately 100-120 days. This variety is ideal for potatoes with soil). This is essential to ensuring that the
roasting as the flesh is more floury than early varieties such potatoes do not turn green and therefore toxic to
as Liseta and Jersey Benne. Perfect for hot chips! consume. This occurs when potatoes come into contact
with the sun. My advice is to mound potatoes as they
A variety which I am very fond of but which I am
grow. Be careful not to break the tops of the potatoes as
unfortunately not growing this year in the interests of space
you do so.
is Heather. An early-main variety, Heather is a prolific
cropper and the soft-skinned potatoes are perfect for boiling About a week or two from the time they are due to be
and for making potato salads. Another popular main crop harvested, you can ‘bandicoot’ some potatoes for a meal.
variety is Rua. Like Agria, the floury flesh is perfect for This is also a good way to test whether the spuds are on
baking or roasting. target for their due date. You need only use your hands.
Gently scrape soil away from the sides of a few potatoes.
I highly recommend using certified seed potatoes rather than
You should be able to feel potatoes as you do this. Very
relying on planting odd potatoes that have accidentally
carefully separate them from the mother plant, if they are
started sprouting at the bottom of an old bag at the bottom of
not already loose.
the pantry. While the latter will probably produce potatoes,
certified seed potatoes are preferable in the interests of To harvest potatoes, I recommend using a fork rather
avoiding diseases in the ground. If certified seed potatoes than a spade. Work slowly and carefully. Start by
are used, then the resulting crop will come true to type. digging about 30cm from the tops of potatoes, gently
working your way inwards. Don’t worry if you spear a
Potatoes can be grown in a number of ways, including in
few along the way. Put these ones aside for cooking
trenches in the ground, in containers or in tyres. Having
first, the others can be consumed later. I always use a
experimented over the years, I have found that the traditional
willow basket with a handle when I harvest potatoes. If
method of digging trenches and burying potatoes in the
stored properly, potatoes can last much longer. We
ground is the most successful way of growing spuds.
always store potatoes in a dark place in old hessian
Container grown potatoes produced a pitiful yield. I have not
sacks, which prolongs their life.
tried growing them in tyres.
Try to remember not to grow potatoes in the same place
Start by mixing compost and sheep pellets generously into
the following year in order to prevent diseases. It is also
the area where you intend to grow potatoes. Dig a trench in
helpful to avoid growing tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums
the ground three times as deep as the seed potatoes you are
and chillis (which are in the same horticultural family is
planting. Work in some potato food fertiliser to give your
potatoes) in the same location the following year for the
spuds an instant growth boost.
same reason. 3
 Questions and Answers
• A good rule of thumb is to add nothing larger than your
In this month’s issue of Questions and Answers, we will
examine the topic of composting. This is the first
instalment in a three-part series which will cover three
A different composting systems.
A Layer the brown and green waste, a bit like a sandwich.
Q: I’m a new gardener. I would like to create a
composting system. Where do I start?
Mel, Papatoetoe, Auckland
A: Composting is a great way to recycle our waste from
nature. Compost is essential for creating rich soil and
healthy plants. Did you know that it is possible to
compost both brown and green materials?
There are three main ways you can compost your waste:
o Composting bin
o Bokashi
o Worm farm
Each system operates differently. Over the next three
issues, I will be outlining each method. This month, I will
focus on how composting bins work.
COMPOSTING BIN
You will need some kind of structure to hold the compost,
such as a container or bin. You can buy a ready-made
composting bin or build your own from a plastic container
or pallet.
Choose a sunny spot for your compost bin. Ensure it is
easily accessible for adding ingredients and mixing
regularly. Layer your compost, blending carbon (mainly
brown waste) and nitrogen (mainly green waste). Aim for
a ratio of 30% green waste and 70% brown waste. This
means adding a mix of organic garden and kitchen waste
materials.
Green waste is normally soft, fresh and moist. Examples
of green waste include food waste and fresh green lawn
clippings. Brown waste is normally dry and brittle. It can
therefore take a long time to break down. Examples of
brown waste include dry leaves, paper, cardboard, twigs,
wood chips, vacuum dust and dry grass. Avoid adding
meat, dairy products or bread as these can attract
unwanted pests. Don’t add any diseased plant material
to avoid spreading the disease.
little finger. Break up larger items like sticks, twigs and
cardboard before adding them, to help them break
down more quickly.
Make sure each layer is no thicker than 10 cm. Start
with a brown layer, add a green layer and then another
brown layer. To help get the composting process
underway you can add some existing compost to each
layer.
Put a lid on your compost bin to enable it to decompose
quickly. Mix regularly. Compost should be moist like a
sponge. Add water to dry materials. Make sure there is
good air flow.
Compost is ready to harvest when it becomes a sweet,
dark, crumbly material and you cannot distinguish the
original materials in it. This normally takes 3-6 months.
Compost should be dug into the soil. Don’t plant directly
into compost as this can burn the roots of plants.
Compost has a variety of benefits when used in your
garden. It replaces nutrients that have been removed
during a growing season, improves soil structure and
increases the amount of oxygen available to plants.
Compost also conditions soil, improves moisture
retention, increases earthworm activity and improves
fertiliser use by plants.
COMPOSTING COURSE
The Auckland City Council runs a 2 hour workshop that
offers you a basic introduction to the three different
types of composting systems covered in this column.
After attending the workshop, you will be entitled to a
$40 discount voucher which you can use towards the
purchase of any of the three composting systems
covered in the course.
The workshops take place in a variety of locations and
are held regularly. For more information, visit the
following webpage: https://compostcollective.org.nz/
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Got a gardening question? Want the answer? Contact
me at anitakundu.nz@gmail.com and I will feature the
response in a future issue of Anita’s Garden newsletter.
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