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.
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...
Wasps we should welcome
At primary school I had a teacher who was very concerned we’d swallow a wasp in a can of soft drink. He often told us to use a straw (before single-use plastics became recognised as an environmental disaster). He was worried about the aggressive invasive European...
Hilling all root vegetables
'Hilling' or 'hilling up' of potatoes is a well-known technique for producing more tubers and preventing 'greening', which is toxic to potatoes. Less well-known is that hilling up all root vegetables will lead to better produce and prevent shoulder greening of...
BANSIC Christmas Appeal
Can you help with donations of cash, food, toys, toiletries? I've been sitting in the front of my computer feeling teary as I read the recent BANSIC Donor Update. Life is, sadly, so challenging for many people in the Banyule community that BANSIC has gone from giving...
No tea bags or coffee pods in the green bin!
We have now covered 3 items in the last 2 newsletters that don't go in the FOGO* green bin in Banyule, Darebin and Manningham Councils. These are: stickers on fruit and vegetables bin liners including compostable ones food packaging. This month it is tea bags and...
Book review: Walking the Kurrum Yallock (Plenty River) History, Heritage and Environment
Making a strong connection to country, whether we are Indigenous or not, is a way of anchoring ourselves in the place we live and in our community. Anne Paul's book - 'Walking the Kurrum Yallock (Plenty River) History, Heritage and Environment' - does just that. Anne...
Switch and Save – check out the Sustainable Macleod Clean Energy Expo
Sunday 19 November 11am - 3pmMacleod College, Carwarp Street, MacleodBook here Most of us are willing to reduce our impact on climate change by reducing our home energy use. How to make our homes more energy-efficient, while not blowing our budget needs careful...
Transplanting advanced trees
About 12 months ago, Bulleen Art and Garden (BAAG) donated 3 advanced fruit trees to the Sustainable Macleod Community Garden. They were growing along the BAAG driveway that led to the landscaping yard and had to be removed to make way for North East Link works. I am...
10 hints for a great summer vegie garden
10 hints for a great summer vegie garden Install dripline. El Nino has been declared, signalling a very dry summer ahead. The key to good vegies is consistent water which dripline will provide especially if set on a timer. Sustainable Macleod is running a workshop on...
Banyule Community Garden Tour
Banyule Community Garden Tour - 28 October 10am - 2.30pm If you want to explore Banyule's community gardens, you can take an electric bus around Banyule to discover our five community gardens! Organised by Banyule City Council, the event will include a tour of each...
No bin liners or food packaging for the green bin – not even compostable ones!
Last month we started a series on what NOT to put in the FOGO bin - that's the green bin which now takes a whole range of food items that can't go into your compost or worm farms, as well as food that can. Moving on from our first item last month - those small, round,...
Queensland Fruit Fly – Bulk buy of Cera Traps?
Would you be interested in a Cera Trap bulk buy where you can purchase only as many traps and as much liquid as you need? Cera Trap is very effective in controlling Queensland Fruit Fly. It is a protein liquid that attracts both males and females. The QFF drown in the...
Tips on growing ginger and turmeric
On my recent travels I was lucky enough to meet a man who grows ginger and turmeric in Queensland and he gave me some great tips. As well as confirming what I had written in a previous article in 2020 based on my own experience, I now have some specific tips to pass...
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.