A d v i ce . Id e a s .
I n sp i ra t i on
Volume 2, Issue 48
Useful Links
Webpage
Blog
Newsletter back issues
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Linkedin
Pinterest
Contact me
 Feedback
 Newsletter input
(tips, recipes, gar-
den photos etc)
 To be added to my
mailing list
anitakundu.nz@gmail.com
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 turnip top
Anita’s Garden
19 June 2020
Editorial
Welcome to the forty eighth issue of
my newsletter Anita’s Garden for
2020.
I hope you have all had a good week.
Plant nursery closed
Now that we are officially in winter,
the time has come for me to temporar-
ily close my plant nursery to the pub-
lic. Depending on what the situation
with Covid is in spring, I look forward
to welcoming you to my plant nursery
and helping you get your summer gar-
den sorted. In the meantime, I have
the large task of ordering seeds ahead Holy Basil (Sacred Basil or Tulsi) -
Kings Seeds)
of me. I will start propagating seeds
in August. I hope to re-open the
10g bag (much bigger than a standard
nursery in spring.
packet). Unopened.
Plant requests
Expires in 3 years’ time
I am currently thinking about what
$15
seeds to order for my nursery this
coming spring. It’s therefore a good
time to get in touch with me with any
requests you may have for plants that
you would like me to sell in my nurse-
ry. I will do my best to accommodate
them, but it depends on demand and
availability of the seed. I am only
able to source seeds within New Zea-
2 land.
Seeds for sale
I currently have the following seeds
2 for sale. Pick up is Papatoetoe, Manu-
kau in Auckland or I can post them
for a fee.
2 Asian Loki Gourd—Kings Seeds
Contact me on 021 02762091 if you
20g packet (much bigger than a
wish to purchase either of these.
standard packet). Approximately 70
3 seeds. Have a great weekend.
Unopened. Expires in 3 years’ time. Anita Kundu
$20
PAGE 2
Pottering around Anita’s Garden
Here is a selection of photos from
our garden for you to enjoy.
The first of our spring bulbs have
flowered in our garden! These are
an assortment of Erlicheer and
Paperwhite jonquils which I pur-
chased in previous years. There
are lots more buds, too!
Top 5 gardening tasks for the week
1. Plant shallots
Traditionally, shallots are planted
on the shortest day (21st June),
along with garlic, but anytime this
month or next month is fine.
2. Source garlic
The good varieties tend to sell out
fast. Fortunately Bulbs Direct still
have Printanor available but don’t
leave it too much longer or you
Bits and pieces
Bulbs Direct—seed potatoes
Head on over to Bulbs Direct’s
website to shop the best range of
seed potatoes.
This year, Bulbs Direct have an
exciting new variety called Divaa,
which is an early crop. It has
long-shaped, pure-white skin and
flesh tubers and is recommended
for making chips. Divaa has
AN IT A’S G AR D E N
One of the things I love most
about winter, besides spring
bulbs of course, is lemons. We
have a 20 year old Meyer Lem-
on tree on our front lawn and
every year it is laden with lem-
ons, without fail. I usually
feed the tree some citrus ferti-
liser in spring and autumn.
may miss out!
3. Prune roses
This is the time that rose garden-
ers traditionally prune their roses.
Afterwards, spray the canes with
Yates Conqueror Oil to help seal
the wounds.
4. Plant strawberries
Now is the perfect time to get
good disease resistance.
Awapuni—Cultivated News
Did you know that Awapuni, New
Zealand’s leading mail order plant
nursery publish a newsletter with
lots of gardening tips and infor-
mation about specials and compe-
titions they run from time to time?
To sign up to the newsletter, click
here. The link also takes you to
V O LU M E 2 , ISSU E 4 8
Over the weekend, our lovely
neighbour Prakesh gave me a pom-
egranate from a tree in his garden.
I’m going to dry and save the seeds
so I can propagate my own plants.
It will be an interesting experi-
ment and I will let you all know
how I get on with it.
strawberries into the ground. The
earlier you plant them, the strong-
er their roots will be.
5. Source seed potatoes
Like garlic, the best varieties tend
to sell out quickly so get in quick.
This year, I’m planting Liseta,
Swift and Summer Delight. The
latter was very hard to find and I
ended up ordering three bags from
Mitre 10 in Henderson.
previous issues.
Italian Seeds Pronto—Beeline
and Seedyworks
In addition to stocking a variety of
seeds in the Franchi Seeds range,
Italian Seeds Pronto also sell Bee-
line and Seedyworks seeds which
are ancient French and Italian
seeds hand sorted and packed from
a reliable local producer.
 V O LU M E 2 , ISSU E 4 8
How to grow turnip top
Although I have grown turnips in
the ground before as a root crop, I
had never heard of turnip top until
the lovely Gillian Hurley-Gordon
of Italian Seeds Pronto included a
complimentary packet with a seed
order a few years ago. I eagerly
sowed some seeds in late summer
that year and was amazed by how
quickly they matured. Turnip
greens are part of the same family
as broccoli and kale. They are a
rich source of many minerals, in-
cluding calcium, magnesium and
potassium. They have a bitter,
peppery flavor with a hint of lemon
and are loved by Italians. Don’t be
put off by the fact you haven’t
heard of turnip top. Some upmar-
ket restaurants have started using
turnip leaf in haute cuisine.
How to grow turnip top
I simply sprinkled some seeds in a
punnet filled with a little seed
raising mix in late summer and
left them in our patio to germi-
nate. When the seedlings were
large enough to be pricked out, I
potted them up in a seedling tray,
the way I would do for kale and
broccoli. When they were large
enough, I planted them out into
the garden.
For a continuous supply, you can
sow turnip top every month from
February to June.
Varieties
Italian Seeds Pronto stocks two
varieties of turnip top—Sessantina
and Quarantina. Sessantina ma-
tures in 60 days, whereas Quaran-
tina can be harvested in as a little
as 40 days. Both retail for $7.50.
AN IT A’S G AR D E N
Tips for growing turnip top
1. Sow seeds in punnets for
transplanting in late sum-
mer and autumn. For a con-
tinuous supply, you may
want to sow successive
rounds.
2. Keep the punnets moist to
aid germination.
3. When seedlings are big
enough, prick them out and
pot them into punnets or
seed raising trays for plant-
ing into the garden later on.
4. You can grow turnip top
with your other leafy
greens. I grew ours beside
our kale, which is in the
same family and they quite
happily grew next to each
other.
5. To keep your plants looking
healthy, you might want to
liquid feed them weekly
with a water soluble plant
food or seaweed tonic if
you’re gardening organical-
ly.
“Turnip greens are part of
6. Here’s a little
the same family as
tip from Ital-
broccoli and kale. They
ian Seeds
are a rich source of many
Pronto—
minerals,
ensure you calcium, magnesium and
pick before potassium”
the florets
turn yellow
and go to seed. If left too
long they will go stringy
when cooked.
7. When the weather warms
up in spring, you may find
that your turnip top has
run to seed. If you wish to
save seeds from your
plants, simply allow one
plant in your crop to go to
seed and harvest the seeds
when they turn dry.
PAGE 3
Tips for eating turnip top
 Tender young turnip leaves
can be eaten in a salad or
mixed with other leaves
 Here’s a tip from Italian
Seeds Pronto— use in the
well-known pasta dish from
Puglia, Orecchiette with
turnip tops (cime di rapa)
and chilli. This sounds ab-
solutely delicious!
 They can be used to make
kimchi
 Turnip tops make a fantas-
tic alternative Christmas
vegetable. They work well
in a creamy sauce with
smoked bacon lardons and
chestnuts, as its bitterness
cuts through the cream
 Turnip top can be used as a
substitute for kale
 Turnip greens have long
been a favourite in the
Southern states of America.
They are usually eaten with
cornbread and
hot pepper vine-
gar sauce
 Turnip leaf
can be served on
including
top of pizza
 Try frying
turnip top
 The leaves can be used in
cassoulet
 Turnip top can be used in
pesto
 Try sautéing the leaves with
some garlic
 Turnip top can be braised
 It can be prepared much like
spinach
Have a great weekend
Happy gardening!