Blog
Our blog features a variety of gardening and growing tips on topics such as soil biology, wicking bed construction, composting, grafting, pruning, water-saving and irrigation. Plus we regularly post recipes to help you make the most of the ‘seasonal glut’ and tips on how to live in a more sustainable way.
The life in the soil and why you should soil your undies!
Diversity is important. Above ground, there is an amazing array of plants, birds, animals, flowers and insects. In the ocean, there are amazing fishes, crustaceans and other animals. Diversity below the ground is important too. The micro-organisms below the soil are...
8 Ways to Reduce Light Pollution Impacts on Wildlife
Leaving unnecessary lights on at night is a waste of electricity, carbon emissions and money. Importantly, it’s also creating harmful impacts on some of our wildlife. Artificial light at night directly impacts the health and safety of individual creatures and...
FOGO Waste Collection in Banyule
The kerbside green waste revolution coming soon A new waste management system is coming our way soon, with the start of the Food Organic and Garden Organic (FOGO) waste collection in the City of Banyule. From 4 July, food and garden waste will be collected every week....
Simple steps to make your home more energy efficient
Last month I wrote about some of the basics in building a more energy efficient home. This article describes some of the ways you can make an existing home more energy efficient with some simple steps. While a full 'ground up' retrofit can make a house far more energy...
Queensland Fruit Fly blog #8
Now is the perfect time to put out Wild May to attract overwintering male QFF. Place fresh Wild May liquid in QFF containers and position on the east side of the tree, 1.2-2m high within the canopy. Lemon trees are ideal places to hang the containers as males collect...
Growing perfect parsnips
Top tips for growing parsnips use fresh seed cultivate the soil to a fine tilth keep ground moist from seed sowing to emergence of seedlings thin seedlings at 5-6 weeks My survey this week (last week of May) revealed that parsnips on average are $12.50 per kilo and...
The Swift Parrots are back!
The Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) have returned to mainland Australia. Research published in December 2020 suggests there may only be several hundred Swift Parrots left, meaning they are on the very brink of extinction. Logging and habitat destruction are the most...
Sustainable Housing
Looking around at new houses being built in Macleod, there are multiple examples of houses that could be far more sustainable if they followed some simple principles of environmental design. Older houses in the area also suffer from not following some basic principles...
Recycling Footwear
It's the start of the sports season and you realise that your budding footballer or netball star has outgrown their shoes. How will you dispose of them? A few enterprises are now focusing on upcycling or recycling sports footwear and equipment or making recyclable...
Queensland Fruit Fly Strategy no.7
It is now late April and Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) is abundant, infesting raspberries, guavas and feijoas in particular. Watch out for infestations also in persimmons and tamarillos as they ripen, and later in citrus. There are three actions to take: Remove any fruit...
Figuring out the fig!
The fig family is a complicated one when it comes to fertilisation, choice of variety, cropping and pruning, but very easy to grow in most soil conditions and in our climate. Different types of fig There are 4 types of fig: Adriatic or common figs which are a variety...
Jagajaga Volunteer Award recipients
The annual Jagajaga Volunteer Awards which were presented on 2 April to 51 recipients including six members of Sustainable Macleod. Most recipients received awards for service to Jagajaga across a number of organisations. The awards were presented by our federal...
What worked and didn’t work for prevention of Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF)
Please send us about 200 words on what worked and didn't work for you. Thanks Greta and Marie-Claire for your contributions! From Greta in Heidelberg Heights: This summer QFF infected our nectarines and to a lesser extent our Chinese quince. Nothing else was affected....
The under-rated turnip!
Turnip top tips Net seedlings Water well Succession plant for a constant supply Eat when young Turnips are a much under-rated but easily grown vegetable. The root can be eaten raw either grated into a coleslaw or sliced for a salad or cut into fingers for dips;...
Join Sustainable Macleod
Become a member and get access to the community garden, the tool library and our seed library. We welcome all members of the community and have regular events and workshops to enjoy.