Green banana flour
An experiment in making a prodigious banana harvest last longer. More useful than expected, with some caveats
Harvesting the kūmara
After ignoring our māra kūmara for several months, we dug it up!
Poor peanut performance
Turns out, peanuts don’t much love being ignored for the entire growing season.
Smoking paprika
A bumper paprika crop means it’s time to make one of my best decisions so far and smoke it.
Garlic harvest 2025
Results from my much-smaller 2025 garlic crop.
Growing peanuts in New Zealand
What I’ve learned about growing peanuts over the last three seasons.
Home-grown peanut butter
Three years of growing peanuts came down to this. Home-grown, home-made peanut butter. Was it worth it?
Tidying up the catnip
A peek behind-the-scenes at how I grow wickedly-strong catnip.
Boiled peanuts
Hands-down the tastiest and easiest way to eat your home-grown peanut crop.
Citrus care guide
Everything you need to know about caring for citrus in New Zealand. When and what to fertilise with, sprays, pruning, and common pests and disease.
February in the garden
Summer crops come in thick and need storing. Seed saving for next year begins while your earlier plantings continue.
December in the garden
Last chance to plant most summer crops. Time to harvest garlic, berries, and potatoes.
The second peanut harvest
Results from my second season growing peanuts.
Gran Shirley’s Cauliflower and Pineapple Pickle
Years in the making. Literally, because growing the cauliflower took that long. Gran Shirley’s pickle was worth the wait.
Banana loaf
A reliable, delicious way to deal with an arm of quickly-ripening bananas. Freezes well too.
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.
