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.
The Swift Parrots are back!
The Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) have returned to mainland Australia. Research published in December 2020 suggests there may only be several hundred Swift Parrots left, meaning they are on the very brink of extinction. Logging and habitat destruction are the most...
Sustainable Housing
Looking around at new houses being built in Macleod, there are multiple examples of houses that could be far more sustainable if they followed some simple principles of environmental design. Older houses in the area also suffer from not following some basic principles...
Recycling Footwear
It's the start of the sports season and you realise that your budding footballer or netball star has outgrown their shoes. How will you dispose of them? A few enterprises are now focusing on upcycling or recycling sports footwear and equipment or making recyclable...
Queensland Fruit Fly Strategy no.7
It is now late April and Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) is abundant, infesting raspberries, guavas and feijoas in particular. Watch out for infestations also in persimmons and tamarillos as they ripen, and later in citrus. There are three actions to take: Remove any fruit...
Figuring out the fig!
The fig family is a complicated one when it comes to fertilisation, choice of variety, cropping and pruning, but very easy to grow in most soil conditions and in our climate. Different types of fig There are 4 types of fig: Adriatic or common figs which are a variety...
Jagajaga Volunteer Award recipients
The annual Jagajaga Volunteer Awards which were presented on 2 April to 51 recipients including six members of Sustainable Macleod. Most recipients received awards for service to Jagajaga across a number of organisations. The awards were presented by our federal...
What worked and didn’t work for prevention of Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF)
Please send us about 200 words on what worked and didn't work for you. Thanks Greta and Marie-Claire for your contributions! From Greta in Heidelberg Heights: This summer QFF infected our nectarines and to a lesser extent our Chinese quince. Nothing else was affected....
The under-rated turnip!
Turnip top tips Net seedlings Water well Succession plant for a constant supply Eat when young Turnips are a much under-rated but easily grown vegetable. The root can be eaten raw either grated into a coleslaw or sliced for a salad or cut into fingers for dips;...
Urgent jobs in the garden for May
Make compost. Collect autumn leaves to make leaf litter or to add to compost. Add sparingly to compost as too much in a layer causes matting. Mix leaves well with other ingredients to prevent this. Net brassicas and Asian greens with exclusion netting, weighing down...
What to plant in May in Melbourne
May is an ideal month for planting winter vegies in well prepared beds. Continue to water well through any dry spells and install dripline for brassica family vegies and garlic. Plant seeds in punnets broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Florence fennel, kale, kohlrabi,...
May Garlic Hint
If you haven't already planted your garlic, do so immediately. You will only get small bulbs, if you plant later. Garlic must have time to develop roots and shoots before the shortest day of the year on 21 June. This is a 4 -6 week process. After that, lengthening...
Banyule Bicycle Strategy
Rising petrol prices, increased road congestion with the pandemic and the indisputable health benefits have all made cycling more popular than ever. Banyule City Council have released the Banyule Bicycle Strategy for 2022-2027, building on the 2010-2020 Bicycle...
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...
Banyule’s No Local Species Extinction plan – part 2
Jen Willis interviewed Banyule’s biodiversity adviser, Paul Davis about the No Local Species Extinction Plan that Council are developing. If you haven’t already, you can read the first part of the interview with more information about the six key indicator species...
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.