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 March
Urgent jobs in the garden for March Save seeds from the garden. Net fruit trees including citrus, guava, feijoa, pear, apple, quince, loquat, persimmon, grape and olive. Also net tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums and chillies. Use fine net, tying tightly at the base to...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Urgent jobs for February
Check fruit fly lures for fruit flies. Continue painting eco lure bait onto branches or onto a piece of wood and place in tree. This kills both male and female fruit flies. Net your fruit trees including guava, feijoa, pear, apple, quince, loquat, persimmon, grape and...
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...
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...