Caring for garlic
Avoiding rust, fertilising, mulching, and harvesting scapes. Everything you need to get your garlic through the season, to a good harvest.
Everything I know about planting garlic
When to plant garlic in New Zealand depends on your garden’s climate. Here’s what nearly a decade of growing in the Far North has taught me.
Smoking paprika
A bumper paprika crop means it’s time to make one of my best decisions so far and smoke it.
Companion planting
Does companion planting actually work? Why don’t the lists agree? The science behind which plants help each other, and which ones don’t.
Growing peanuts in New Zealand
What I’ve learned about growing peanuts over the last three seasons.
September in the garden
Heading into spring the garden jobs begin to build up. Find out what needs doing in September.
Improving soils organically
What is healthy soil? And what is organic matter? Learn the basics of soil and how to improve yours using the resources you have at hand.
June in the garden
Winter doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do in the garden. Find out what needs doing, and what can be planted in June.
Seed saving
How to collect, clean, store, and swap seeds from your garden. The skill that makes gardening significantly cheaper, and more resilient.
Planting peanuts
I’m feeling more on top of things in the garden, so I’m growing something new.
Vegetables that pay off
All things considered, what vegetables deliver the best returns on investment in the garden?
Harvesting and storing potatoes
We eat a lot of potatoes, so we grow a lot of potatoes. Here’s how we harvest and store them to feed us through winter.
It’shallot of shallots
Shallots are one of the easiest things I grow in my garden, with an excellent rate of return.
Planting potatoes
Potatoes can be planted as soon as the last frosts pass. Find out what to do now to great crop next season!
Square foot gardening
Low rainfall in summer each year means my garden always suffers. This year, I’m planning to share our water with one bed that really pumps… and grows everything.
About Kat
Kat is a gardener and purrveyor of Kat's Nip. Most Sundays she writes about her life on her lifestyle block in Te Hiku (Far North), New Zealand.
