OUTER KAITI COMMUNITY GARDEN SPLIT DOWN THE MIDDLE OVER WHETHER KALE IS A PRANK
Half the plot reckons it's a vegetable. The other half reckons someone's having a lend.
A community garden in Outer Kaiti has descended into what one member called "a bit of a situation". The cause is four kale plants that appeared near the compost bay a fortnight ago. Nobody has owned up.
A handwritten sign reading "HELP YOURSELF" is taped to a bamboo stake. Several members consider the sign itself suspicious.
Longtime gardener Moana Whaitiri, 71, said she'd been coming to the plot since it opened. "Silverbeet, yes. Cavolo nero, at a stretch. But kale? In Kaiti? Somebody's taking the mickey. I tasted it. Bloody awful. That's how I know it's real. Now I'm not sure again."
Another member, Rangi Petera, is firmly in the prank camp. "Back in '74 we grew things you could eat without pretending. This stuff tastes like a hedge. Someone's laughing at us from a Toyota somewhere." Rangi has proposed a vote. The chair has ruled kale "not a constitutional matter".
Gisborne District Council said community-garden kale did not require registration, but added the query was "the most Kaiti thing we've heard this week". No bylaw prevents the planting of brassicas as a joke.
The kale is still in the ground. The sign has been amended in a different hand to read "HELP YOURSELF (IF YOU DARE)." Nobody has, yet.
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Reader Letters
tired_in_riccarton
Kale is a bloody menace.
Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, vegetables had to earn their place on the plate. It wasn't all about trends and jokes. If it didn't taste decent, it wasn't worth planting. I grew up on solid stuff like spuds and carrots. None of this kale nonsense. Moana is right to be suspicious!
susie_from_kaiti
Mate, it's not like anyone's keen on munching kale. Geoff would have sorted it by now if he was around.
organic_wayne
Someone in Outer Kaiti is definitely having a laugh at your expense. Leave kale to the hipsters in their overpriced urban gardens.
Chad_7G
Mate, I tasted kale once. It was like chewing a piece of flat cardboard. Just admit it's a joke and move on.
garden_guru_jill
Doesn't matter if kale is a prank, the real issue is if it's taking valuable space from other veggies. I've seen it happen before in plots. Next thing you know, you're munted on kale!
BrettTheBrave
Mate, kale is hardly taking over the world. It's just a plant in a garden. A bit munted to blow it out of proportion.
EnviroEd_Gizzy
If someone didn't want kale there, they'd have dug it up. Let them be, it's good for compost anyway.
Norman-NZ
No one's mentioned cabbages or brussel sprouts! Stake your claim on old fashioned veggies before they turn trendy too!