A d v i ce . Id e a s .
I n sp i ra t i on
Volume 2, Issue 46
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Inside this issue:
Po t t e r i n g ar o u n d
Anita’s Garden
Top 5 gardening tasks
for the week
Bits and pieces
How to grow salsify
Anita’s Garden
Editorial
Welcome to the forty sixth issue of
my newsletter Anita’s Garden for
2020.
I hope you have all had a good week.
Contactless plant nursery
We are now at level 2, but as this is
all unchartered territory I am keeping
the service contactless for the time
being. This means you must order
and collect outside our home in Papa-
toetoe, Manukau in Auckland.
Punnets are $3.50 each or 3 for $10.
Punnets contain at least 6 seedlings
I have the following in stock.
 Silverbeet/spinach (I’m sorry I
can’t say with certainty which
it is as the writing on the plant
labels faded and I can’t tell
them apart)
 Lettuce (cut and come again)
 Mixed brassicas (they are a mix
of cabbage, broccoli and cauli-
flower. I can’t sell these indi-
vidually as the writing on all of
these labels faded and I can’t
tell the plants apart)
2
The steps for ordering are as follows:
 Place order
2
 Receive confirmation
 Make payment via internet
banking
2
 Receive a message when plants
are available for collection
3 If you wish to place an order, please
contact me via my Facebook page or
email me at anitakun-
du.nz@gmail.com.
5 June 2020
Seed swap
I have the following Heritage beans to
swap. They are from the Heritage Food
Crops Research Trust.
 Dwarf Red Kidney Bean
 Dwarf Rijdal A Bean
 Dwarf Amish (Pennsylvania)
 Dwarf Canadian Wonder
 Dwarf Dutch Brown Soup Bean
 Frada Climbing Spanish Dry
Bean
 Gold of Bacau Climbing Bean
 Good Mother Stallard Dry Climb-
ing Bean
 Hidatsa Shield Figure Dry
Climbing Bean
 Indian Hannah Climbing Bean
 Major Cook’s Climbing Bean
 Nell’s Climbing Bean aka
Jimenez
 Persian Climbing Lima Bean
 Prince’s Cherokee Dry Climbing
Bean
 Purple Star from Tarahumara,
Mexico
 Tarahumara dark purple climb-
ing bean
I am looking for superhot chillies.
Please email me at anitakun-
du.nz@gmail.com if you’d like to do a
trade.
Have a great weekend.
Anita Kundu
PAGE 2
Pottering around Anita’s Garden
Here is a selection of photos from
our garden for you to enjoy
Our Lamb’s Lettuce is coming
along nicely. This variety is called
Verte de Cambrai and is in the
Franchi Seeds range, distributed
by the NZ retailer Italian Seeds
Pronto. It is incredibly easy to
grow. I usually raise it in seed
raising trays and sow seeds direct
into some potting mix, covering
lightly. I sowed this seed back in
early April, so it took around 8
weeks to reach this stage.
Top 5 gardening tasks for the week
1. Order lily bulbs
For the best selection, don’t waste
any time. Place your order now!
2. Plant garlic
You don’t have to wait for the
shortest day. You can start plant-
ing garlic from now until July
3. Tidy your nursery
Bits and pieces
Cauliflower and broccoli grain
We made a delicious cauliflower
and broccoli gratin with our green
Macerata Cauliflower and Cala-
brese Broccoli, both grown from
Franchi Seeds obtained from Ital-
ian Seeds Pronto. Click here to
view the recipe. We have more of
these veggies and will definitely be
making this tasty dish again!
AN IT A’S G AR D E N
For Christmas last year, my Aunty
Joan gave me a gardenia
“Veitchii”. I have never grown
gardenias before and was unsure
where to plant it in the garden.
After doing some research, I dis-
covered that it is possible to grow
gardenias in pots, so I potted ours
up into a 35 litre black plastic pot.
It is in a sunny position, alongside
our carrots, which are coming
along nicely. We are looking for-
ward to harvesting them in late
winter.
If you enjoy raising plants from
seed like me, you may have a dedi-
cated area for doing this. Tidy
your workspace so everything is in
order for spring. It will save you a
lot of hassle later on.
4. Plant strawberries
Strawberries can be planted over
the next couple of months but the
advantage to planting earlier is
that they form stronger roots and
Cauliflower and broccoli gratin
V O LU M E 2 , ISSU E 4 6
I was so pleased with our harvest
on Queen’s Birthday, which includ-
ed the green Macerata Cauliflower
and Broccoli Calabrese from Fran-
chi Seeds, obtained from the NZ
retailer Italian Seeds Pronto. As
you can see in the photo, these
varieties are of the highest quality.
It is rare for us to have both broc-
coli and cauliflower mature at the
same time, so we took the oppor-
tunity to make a delicious cauli-
flower and broccoli gratin with our
harvest (see below).
will crop earlier, too.
5. Buy seed potatoes
If you live in a frost-free area, you
may want to plant potatoes on the
shortest day, in which case you’d
better get on to ordering them
soon. Seed potatoes need at least a
month to chit, that is, form
sprouts, before they are ready to
be planted in the ground.
Bulbs Direct
The marvellous mail order bulb
company Bulbs Direct have just
uploaded their range of gorgeous
lily bulbs on their website. They
also have a lovely selection of seed
potatoes in stock. I strongly advise
placing your order early to avoid
disappointment. Their excellent
seed garlic sold out in no time at
all!
 V O LU M E 2 , ISSU E 4 6 AN IT A’S G AR D E N PAGE 3

How to grow salsify

Salsify is one of the most over- and white salsify for $3 each. Serving suggestions
looked winter veggies around and
is well worth growing. Salsify is a Tips for growing salsify  In salads
good source of potassium, vita- 1. As with growing parsnips,  In soups and chowder
mins B and C, folic acid, magne- use fresh seed for the best
sium, and phosphorus. Salsify is germination results.  Roasted with olive oil, herbs
easy to grow and matures in 14-21 and garlic
weeks. Salsify is the kind of vege- 2. Don’t leave sowing seeds too
table which you might find on the late. February is perfect.  Steamed
menu of top-end restaurants. It is
3. As salsify is a root crop, it is  Sautéed
not found in supermarkets, mak-
ing it a good veggie to grow. You best not to add fresh com-
post or sheep pellets to the  Baked
can get black and white salsify.
ground prior to planting, or
Salsify tastes a little bit like fresh  Braised
oysters. Some say it has the fla- you may end up with forked
vour of asparagus and artichokes. roots.  Barbecued
4. As you would do for growing  Caramelised
How to grow salsify
parsnips and carrots, it is a
Italian Seeds Pronto recommends good idea to dig the soil deep  Fries
sowing seeds directly in late sum- down before sowing seed, to
mer, for harvesting in winter and avoid forked roots.  Fritters, croquettes and ros-
spring. The roots of scorzonera ti
5. Water well after sowing
reach their full length about nine  Boiled and served with a
seeds and keep the area
weeks after sowing, after which cheese sauce
moist to aid germination.
they increase in diameter. Frost
converts starches to sugar and 6. To keep your plants looking  Used in the place of potato
improves the flavour. healthy, you might want to in haute cuisine
liquid feed them weekly (recommendation from Eg-
Varieties with a water soluble plant mont Seeds)
food or sea-
weed tonic if  The leaves
you’re gar- “Salsify is one of the most can be used in
dening organ- overlooked winter veggies Mesclun mixes
ically. around and is well worth (recommendation
growing” from Egmont
7. Salsify can be Seeds)
harvested as you require it.
There is no need to dig it all  Mashed, with a little cream,
up at once. butter, salt and pepper

Picture taken from Italian Seeds
Pronto’s website
Italian Seeds Pronto stocks Salsify
(Scorzobianca) a Fiore Blu (5g
packet) in the Franchi Seeds
range. This is a white salsify
with a blue flower. The long ta-
pered roots grow to about 30 cm.
It looks like a parsnip and has a
great taste. The texture is akin
to asparagus. The attractive
blue flowers and young leaves
can be eaten raw in a salad mix.
Egmont Seeds also stocks black
8. Harvest salsify carefully, as  With pasta
the roots snap easily.
 In risotto
9. It is best to harvest salsify
after it has been exposed  In vegetable gratin
to cold weather while still  Added to stews
in the ground. Cold tem-
peratures activate the con-  Pancakes
version of starch into sug-
ar and so salsify actually  With meatballs
sweetens as the weather  With a roast
grows colder.
Have a great weekend
10. Salsify can be stored in the
fridge for up to a week. Happy gardening!