A d v i ce . Id e a s .
I n sp i ra t i on
Anita’s Garden
Volume 2, Issue 38
Useful Links Editorial
Webpage
Blog Welcome to the thirty eighth issue
of my newsletter Anita’s Garden for
Newsletter back issues 2020.
Facebook
I hope you have all had a good week
Instagram and are staying safe during lockdown.
Plant nursery
Twitter
Linkedin In light of the lockdown to restrict
Covid-19, I am unable to continue
Pinterest running my plant nursery, even a con-
tactless service due to the govern-
ment’s stay home policy. I am also
unable to courier plants as courier
Contact me
services are for essential supplies only
during lockdown.
 Feedback
I have had some time to reflect on
 Newsletter input
how to provide an even better service
(tips, recipes, gar-
to my customers here at Anita’s Gar-
den photos etc)
den. Just prior to lockdown, the con-
tactless nursery I ran worked very
 To be added to my
well, albeit for a very short time be-
mailing list
fore we moved from level 3 to level 4
anitakundu.nz@gmail.com and I could no longer continue with
the service. Customers were all hap-
py and I received some excellent re-
views on my Facebook page.
Inside this issue:
Instead of using the current system of
making appointments to visit the
nursery, I am considering moving to-
2 wards a Grab n’ Go nursery via pre-
Po t t eri n g ar o u n d
Anita’s Garden orders, internet banking transfers
and collection outside our house, even
once Covid-19 is over.
Top 5 gardening tasks 2
for the week My reasons for moving towards a
Grab n’ Go system
1. It is the only way that I can
Tips for growing anemo- 2
realistically keep the nursery at
nes
Anita’s Garden running and
effectively manage all the tasks
How to grow peas 3 I must fit into a day—some per-
sonal time (exercise), sowing
seeds, potting up seedlings,
caring for the plants in my
10 April 2020
nursery, managing our own garden,
running the nursery and staying on
top of social media, including writing
my free weekly gardening newsletter
and blog, plus helping my elderly
mother around the home and doing
grocery shopping. Spring can be a cra-
zy time and there’s no other way I can
realistically manage on my own. I am
also busy working on another exciting
semi-related venture—to be an-
nounced in due course!
2. I will continue to offer the high-
est quality plants, hard-to-
source ethnic varieties and fan-
tastic customer service. If you
have any questions, I am happy
to answer them over Facebook,
text or a call
3. It saves you time by avoiding
the need for an appointment.
Sometimes it can take awhile to
prepare the plants you want and
you have to wait. Pre-ordering
and pick up is more time-
efficient for both of us
4. Those of you who have been to
my nursery will know how
crammed it is at the back with
plants, making it difficult to
navigate for more than one per-
son
5. It eliminates people making ap-
pointments and then not show-
ing up, which wastes my time
6. Customers can pick up orders at
their convenience and are not
locked into coming at a specific
time slot.
I will continue next week with the dis-
advantages. Stay home and stay safe.
Have a great weekend.
Anita Kundu
PAGE 2
Pottering around Anita’s Garden
Here is a selection of photos from
around Anita’s Garden for you to
enjoy.
Petunia “Night Sky”
The Night Sky petunia that mum
gave me for Christmas has re-
flowered! It didn’t look good at all
in February, so mum cut it back
and we never dreamed it would
bounce back again but here we
are! I’m hoping to over-winter the
plant in our greenhouse.
Top 5 gardening tasks for the week
1. Sow more lettuce
You can sow more lettuce, Mesclun
and rocket. I highly recommend
the variety Quattro Stagioni from
Franchi Seeds.
2. Plant kale
If you haven’t already done so,
plant some kale in your garden.
It’s great for making smoothies
and kale chips.
Tips for growing anemones
In last week’s column, I covered
growing dutch iris. This week, I
thought I would provide some tips
for growing anemones. Bulbs Di-
rect have a fantastic range. It’s
not too late to get your order in but
don’t leave it any longer or you
may miss out on popular varieties.
Here are some of my top tips:
 Anemones benefit from a
AN IT A’S G AR D E N
Our winter garden
In this section of our garden, I
have planted fennel, leeks, 3 dif-
ferent varieties of kale (including
the wonderful Cavolo Nero from
Franchi Seeds), pak choi, perpetu-
al spinach and NZ spinach. The
last two are from Egmont Seeds.
I’m eagerly awaiting some rain to
help the plants settle in.
3. Plant pak choi
Plant pak choi/bok choy if you
haven’t already done so. The
leaves can be eaten raw in green
smoothies or they’re delicious
steamed or used in stir-fries.
4. Spray garlic
It may be that you haven’t planted
your garlic yet, but if you have, it
probably won’t have surfaced yet.
chilling period if you live in a re-
gion where winters are mild. Re-
frigerate for 4-8 weeks
 Opt for firm, healthy corms
 Soak corms in some water
for 2-4 hours to wake them
up and aid germination
 Enrich the ground with com-
post and sheep pellets
V O LU M E 2 , ISSU E 3 8
Garlic and onions
On the 2nd of April, I planted our
garlic and the first of our onions.
The garlic was the best cloves
saved from last season’s stock,
which came from Bulbs Direct.
The varieties include Elephant
garlic, Kakanui and Ajo Rojo. The
onions were brown ones that are
known to store particularly well,
but I also have plans to plant red
onions when they are a bit bigger.
It’s a good idea to start your spray-
ing regime with the ground. I like
to spray it with Potassium Per-
manganate to help prevent the
build up of rust later on
5. Sow peas
April is a good month to sow peas.
They will grow steadily over win-
ter and crop in spring. For grow-
ing tips, see page 3 of my newslet-
ter.
 Sprinkle a little bulb ferti-
liser in the ground prior to
planting
 Unlike daffodils, freesias
and dutch iris which can be
lifted and re-planted the
following season, anemones
are best replaced with fresh
corms each season.
 V O LU M E 2 , ISSU E 3 8 AN IT A’S G AR D E N PAGE 3

How to grow peas

Peas can be sown in April and will
grow steadily over the winter,
cropping in spring when the
weather warms up. Peas are very
easy to grow and kids love them.
Growing peas from seed
Peas are incredibly easy to grow
from seed. They don’t transplant
particularly well so my advice is to
avoid buying seedlings and start
them from seed.
Recommended varieties
Egmont Seeds have a fantastic
range of peas. I highly recommend
“Easy Peasy”, which I grew last
year.
Tips for growing peas
 Peas can be sown in autumn
or spring. April is the best-
month for autumn sowings.
Plants will grow steadily
over winter and crop in
spring when bees pollinate
the flowers.
2. Always sow seeds directly
where you want to grow
them. Peas don’t transplant
particularly well so I would
advise against raising them
in seedling trays before-
hand.
3. Seeds are large and usually
germinate easily. As John
McCullough of Egmont
Seeds explains, there is no
need to soak them before-
hand and doing so risks
them rotting in the ground.
9. entire pod? They are deli-
cious steamed. Or you can
grow snow peas, which are
meant to be eaten this way.
Peas can also be eaten raw,
straight from the pod.
10. If you have surplus, peas
freeze very well.
11. At the end of the season,
allow one plant to go to seed
so you can save seeds for the
following season.
Ideas for using peas
Peas can be used in many ways.
Here are some ideas to get you
started.
 Boiled or steamed
 With roasts
 Soups

 Peas climb and can do with  Salads

some support, so grow them
against a trellis.  Risotto

 Prepare the ground well  Pasta

beforehand, mixing in lots of
 Frittata
compost,
sheep pellets “Peas are incredibly easy
 Tarts
and general to grow from seed. They
garden ferti- don’t transplant  Quiche
lizer. particularly well so my
advice is to avoid buying  Pies
 Water plants seedlings and start them
regularly. from seed”  Curries
They need it,
especially as temperatures  Pesto
in early autumn can still be  Hummus
quite warm.
 Dips
7. For best results, liquid feed
“Easy Peasy” peas from Egmont plants weekly with a soluble  Pakora
plant food or tonic such as
Seeds
Seasol  Fritters
Peas generally fall into three cate-
gories—climbing tall, dwarf and 8. Peas need to be pollinated in  Stir fries (snow peas)
snow peas (flat with edible pods). order to form fruit. This
normally happens in spring.  Pilaf
Other varieties stocked by Egmont Plant some flowers nearby
to attract bees.  With noodles
include Alderman, Chickpea,
Dwarf Massey, Dwarf Sugar Snap,
Feathers Tendril, Greenfeast, 9. Did you know that if you Have a great weekend
Mammoth Melting, Onward, Ore- pick them while they are
gon (snow) and Sugarsnap Tall. immature, you can eat the Happy gardening!