Manu has been living in Auckland's Tamaki suburb since she arrived from Tonga a decade ago.
But with the high cost of living, she decided to create her own edible garden.
"With the rise in price of produce and meat, it's a lot especially with the [small] income that we have," she said.
"So the only other option to help with our living situation was to do my own gardening, grow my own veges so that we wouldn't be spending a lot of money on things that I can grow."
