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.
Welcome to the wattles
Walking through the bush at the moment, you can’t miss the yellow of Acacias flowering profusely. Acacias - commonly known as wattles - grow in different landscapes across the continent. With close to 1000 varieties they’re Australia’s largest plant species. There are...
Reducing waste during the pandemic
Many Sustainable Macleod members are passionate about reducing waste. Some of us have a particular focus on food; others have their sights on plastic, paper and cardboard, chemical, textile, electronic and other categories of waste. During the pandemic, it’s become an...
Growing kohlrabi – king of the cabbages
What is kohlrabi? It is hard to imagine why kohlrabi is not cultivated more often as it is easy to grow, crops twice a year and is delicious raw or cooked. There are two types of kohlrabi in Australia - white (or light green) and the princely purple. Both grow a bulb...
Greening your ride
Given the growing interest in electric vehicles (EVs), you might be wondering exactly what the Australian government is doing to support their take up. The simple answer is that there is no support. The interest in EVs is clear. According to the Electric Vehicle...
A clean energy plan for Banyule
Banyule City Council has released the Community Climate Action Plan, following feedback and submissions through the Shaping Banyule Portal on the BCC website. The Plan is intended to have the Council take the lead in "planning for, and responding to, climate change."...
Growing ginger, galangal and turmeric in Melbourne
This article is based on my own experience. Over 40 years ago my first shot at growing ginger was when I was owner of the first Tasmanian herb nursery. Planting ginger was an experiment with little expectation of success. I cut the ginger rhizome into pieces each with...
Garlic growing hints for September
From now until 2 weeks before harvest in November - December… Water your garlic twice-weekly, deeply, directly onto the soil. Don't allow soil to splash onto the plants and avoid overhead watering. Weed your patch. Mulch well with sugar cane mulch. Keep the mulch...
Growing celeriac
What is celeriac? Celeriac is the bulbous root of a member of the celery family. It is often described as ugly as it is rough and knobbly on the surface but when peeled this gives away to crisp flesh similar in colour to parsnip. Short celery fronds top the bulb. How...
A winning lime sorbet
Winning in-season recipe To celebrate the launch of our new website, Facebook Page and Instagram account, we ran a virtual baking/cooking competition using in-season item, LIME. Thanks for sharing your yummy recipes. Although we didn't get to taste all the entries, we...
A glut of cabbage
Chocolate cabbage cake This is fun to make. It consists of a double chocolate sponge covered with leaves of dark chocolate formed by using the leaves of a fresh cabbage as moulds. Choose your favourite sponge recipe and make 2 cakes in 20 cm tins. Fill the layer...
What to plant in September in Melbourne
What seeds to plant in September in Melbourne and how to plant them Tips by Robin-Gale Baker. First, any seeds planted in August in punnets that have reached the 4-leaf stage can be picked out and planted in potting mix in trays or pots. These can be planted in the...
What to plant in August in Melbourne
What seeds to plant in August in Melbourne and how to plant them Tips by Robin Gale-Baker. In punnets* Lettuce, tomato, pumpkin, squash, sweet corn, onion, leek, silverbeet, spinach. In punnets if you have a heat mat Capsicum, chilli and eggplant (capsicum germinate...