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.
What to plant in March in Melbourne
Planting in March March is the time to put all your effort into preparing your soil for heavy-feeding winter crops which are best planted in April. Once upon a time, March signalled the beginning of autumn, and cooler weather, but climate change has altered this and...
Harvesting, curing and storing pumpkins
Pumpkins are planted in spring and harvested in autumn. That means they take up space for anything from 4-6 months so harvesting, curing and storing them carefully is a must if we are not to waste that long growing period and have our own supply throughout winter. How...
Urgent jobs in the garden for February
Check Queensland Fruit Fly lures for fruit flies. Net your fruit trees including guava, feijoa, pear, apple, quince, loquat, persimmon, grape and olive plus tomatoes, eggplants and capsicums with fine net, tying tightly at the base to prevent Queensland Fruit Fly...
What to plant in February in Melbourne
February is the time to maintain your summer garden with good watering but also to begin preparations for your autumn/winter garden. It is a tricky month, often hot without much rainfall. Cool weather, autumn crops are best grown in punnets, potted on, kept well...
Planning your garlic crop – start in February!
Although it may be several months before we plant out garlic, preparations must start now. There are 2 reasons for this. Firstly, you may need to order in garlic heads, and secondly you may wish to give your garlic a false winter (vernalisation) by placing it in the...
Urgent jobs in the garden for January
Spray summer vegetables with seaweed solution. Spray eggplant fruit with Dipel to prevent caterpillar infestation. Water citrus trees once or twice a week especially in extreme heat as they are shallow rooted and need water near the surface. Water, weed, and mulch all...
What to plant in January in Melbourne
January is a month in which I sow very little and plant out very little. Instead I put my attention into watering, weeding, and mulching to support the vegies already planted. It is too late to plant out vegies that have a long growing season. By the time they fruit,...
Batteries on wheels, when cities become power plants
A key question for those who have solar panels installed is how to make the best use of the power they generate. The typical household uses most power later in the day, when the sun is lower (or set), and less (or no), energy is being produced by the solar panels. The...
Affordable new and vintage fabrics await!
The Resource Recovery Centre is a social enterprise founded by Katrina Naish, whose journey began when she was asked to clear fabric and sewing items from three estates within two months. Katrina was already running textile upcycling workshops, however, the fabric was...
English gooseberries – rare and underrated!
Top tips: incorporate organic material into the soil water deeply twice weekly in summer prune to a single stem or develop a vase shape prune every winter. Have you ever considered growing English gooseberries (Riba uva-crispa)? These delicious berries come in green,...
What does the term ‘nature positive’ mean?
If you follow federal politics, you'll have heard that the Greens and Labor are negotiating the government’s Nature Positive legislation. Do you know what that term means though? Nature positive refers to an apporach to environmental conservation and sustainable...
Urgent jobs in the garden for December
Cover tomatoes, chillies, capsicum and eggplant with exclusion netting and weigh down the hem with soil, mulch or heavy objects so Queensland Fruit Fly cannot enter beneath the netting. Net your fruit trees with exclusion netting, tying tightly to the trunk at the...
What to plant in December in Melbourne
Plant in punnets It is too late to raise most summer vegies in punnets because, by the time they are big enough to fruit, the season will be almost over. The following quick growing vegies and herbs are the exception: lettuce, rocket, and salad greens mustard greens...
Native mint bush: A beautiful native alternative to a polygala
Native mint bush: A beautiful native alternative to a polygala Polygalas are flowering at the moment. With its purple pea flowers, they are a lovely looking large shrub often known as Sweet Pea Shrub (but not to be confused with annual Sweet Peas), Butterfly Bush or...
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