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.
Volunteering in crisis!
There has been growing concern among Banyule charities and groups who rely on volunteers, about the downturn in volunteering since the beginning of COVID-19 and more particularly, the lack of bounce-back this year. This led me to research what is happening more widely...
Sustainable housing – incorporating new technologies
In the last two articles on sustainable housing, I have briefly looked at getting the basics of sustainable house design right and some simple ways to improve the energy performance of existing homes. At some point, most of us will add technical solutions to create...
Which liquid fertiliser should I use?
Which liquid fertiliser should I use? I'm often asked questions about liquid fertilisers such as: Are all liquid fertilisers the same? Can I use them interchangeably? What's the difference? How would I know which one to use? The short answer is that they are not all...
The difference between organic and inorganic fertiliser
The fundamental difference between organic and inorganic* fertiliser is their source. Organic fertilisers are derived from living things including plants, animals and manures while inorganic are synthetically derived chemicals plus minerals from the earth. From this...
A pink, red and white spring show
Take a drive to many places in Victoria at the moment and you’re likely to see our state’s floral emblem in all of its splendour. But did you know it grows exceptionally well as a pot plant or planted directly into your garden? The Common heath (Epacris impressa) is...
Poor & declining: the state of our environment
The State of the Environment report 2021 came as an unsurprising, but nonetheless devastating blow last month. In June 2021, 1385 plant and 533 animal species were listed as threatened, including 21% of all Australian mammals. The report was completed in late 2021 but...
Food Security
Towards a Banyule Food Strategy Recent rises in the prices of basic foodstuffs has come as a shock to many of us. Most of us would take for granted that food is both available and affordable, but how secure is our access to food really? Not as secure as we might like...
How to resolve the complexity of crop rotation!
Whenever I plan my next season vegie garden I'm faced with the tricky question of how to rotate my crops. It may sound simple - just grow something different in each plot each season - but in reality there are a lot of factors to take into account which do not resolve...
Preparing a spring/summer vegetable garden
The first section here covers soil preparation, watering tips and site selection. With these covered, not much can go wrong! Below this section, are 7 families of vegetables and herbs with specific guidelines for each. It is worth reading the whole article to get a...
Preparing an autumn/winter vegie garden
The first section here covers soil preparation, watering tips and site selection. With these covered, not much can go wrong! Below this section, are 6 families of vegetables and herbs with specific guidelines for each. It is worth reading the whole article to get a...
Urgent jobs in the garden for August
Weed, weed, weed! As the weather warms in August, seed germinates and weeds take over. Make compost. Prune fruit trees once they have lost their leaves; remove all mummified fruit from the branches. Spray peach and nectarine trees a full 360 degrees to cover every...
What to plant in August in Melbourne
August is the month to plant spring seedlings in punnets and some direct into the ground. Should a frost be imminent, cover seedlings the night before with cloth. If the worst comes to the worst and you find frost on your plants the following morning, and the sun has...
August garlic hint
This hint covers the end of winter and the beginning of spring which have slightly different requirements. The first thing to do is observe your garlic plants and note whether there is any yellowing on the tips or on older leaves. If there is, spray with fish emulsion...
Lettuce and light
Light-dark requirements for lettuce seed germination Top tips: lettuce seed needs light to germinate lettuce seed has a shelf life of one year prepare a firm, moist seed bed for planting lettuce and keep seed moist at all times know the light and dark requirements for...
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.