Blog
Our blog features a variety of gardening and sustainablity articles on topics such as soil biology, composting, grafting, pruning, water-saving and irrigation clean energy, waste and biodiversity. 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.
How to grow beautiful cauliflower
Top tips for growing cauliflower: plant seedlings deeply space according to instructions install dripline keep well watered Cauliflower is sometimes avoided by gardeners because of poor results but it is very easy to grow large, beautiful, compact, snowy headed...
Announcing our Partnership with Ryset
Sustainable Macleod is thrilled to announce a partnership with Ryset in West Heidelberg. We have been supported by Ryset for several years and recently they made a substantial donation of materials to the Macleod Organic Community Garden. You have probably bought...
Rusty vegetables?
Did you know that there are over 500 types of rust that affect plants? Rust is a spore that usually begins as white spots on the leaves or stems of plants and becomes yellow or orange or sometimes black as it progresses. It is a fungal parasite that is spread by the...
Sap sucking insects and what to do about them
Sap sucking insects, as their name suggests, suck the sap out of plant leaves leaving them at best pale and spotty and at worst, having devoured all the chlorophyll, white, dry and lifeless. There is a large range of sap sucking insects including aphids, leafhoppers,...
A food strategy for Banyule
Context Sustainable Macleod acknowledges the traditional inhabitants of Banyule and surrounds and further acknowledges their original role in managing this land to provide a sustainable and abundant food system. From the early days of European settlement, the area we...
Plant local and they will come
Autumn is all about harvesting the end of summer vegetable crops and getting your vegie beds ready for winter crops. But, it’s also the perfect time to be planting local native plants. Native plants come from anywhere in Australia. Natives plants such as grevilleas,...
Should I use a wound paint on pruning cuts?
Should I use a wound paint on pruning cuts? The short answer is 'No'! 15 years ago the answer may have been yes but there has been much research in this period of time which has definitively concluded that it is not only unnecessary but may prevent the tree carrying...
It’s time to begin saving dry seed!
What is dry seed? Dry seed is seed that forms on a stalk or in a pod as opposed to wet seed which forms inside a fruit such as a tomato or pumpkin or zucchini. It may be podless such as coriander or dill or lettuce or in a pod such as radish, peas or beans. Wait till...
Macleod Community Bus
Community buses are not a new idea, with municipalities and towns offering some form of local community bus service. Many of these services are designed specifically for people who have no other ready means of transport, such as the elderly and the disabled, while...
Fermenting tomato seed to remove disease
The easy way to save tomato seed is to squeeze it onto paper towel and dry it. However any diseases - viruses and pathogens - will be retained in seed dried this way. At Sustainable Macleod, we share seed with the community and grow seedlings for the Macleod Organic...
Water for wildlife
This summer has been a pretty wet one thanks to the end of the drought and the onset of La Niña. That said, we’ve had a couple of extremely hot days, which put our local birds, reptiles and marsupials living in the suburbs under extra pressure. Before widespread...
Sally Wise’s Plum Sauce
Congratulations to Mikoto Araki who won this months #inseason #cookoff with her recommendation of Sally Wise's plum sauce recipe. Ingredients: 3kg damson or other dark plums, washed (or greengage plums) 1.5kg sugar 6 cups cider vinegar 500g onion, chopped 6 cloves...
Help wanted!
Sustainable Macleod needs members willing to take on the following jobs: Minute secretary when we restart our monthly meetings at the garden Vegie swap coordinator. This position requires someone to be at either the community garden or rotunda in Macleod Park at...
Banyule 2041 – Shaping Our Future
Sustainable Macleod's vision for Banyule in 2041 is of a city which is an inclusive, connected community where all people feel valued and respected, a city that respects and enhances the environment and one which has achieved zero carbon emissions at Council, business...
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.