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Smart gardening in February
- Do you have lots of ripening fruit or veg? Whether it’s tomato passata or bread and butter cucumbers, it's preserving season. Too busy for bottling? The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray accepts donations of fresh food from home gardeners. You can also take surplus to food swaps and exchange for fruit or veg, honey, worm juice, seeds, jams etc. And did you know that you can hire a Fowler’s Preserving Unit from Seabrook Community Centre for only $10?
- Put that summer heat to work by drying fruit! Here are some fantastic DIY solar dehydrator plans, or keep it simple by using window screens on a corrugated iron roof
- Did you know one person’s shower or laundry water is sufficient for about 2 medium fruit trees? The most comprehensive source of greywater advice on the internet is Oasis Design – check out the laundry-to-landscape and branched drain systems and you can borrow the book and DVD from Hobsons Bay libraries.
- Keeping the water up to your pots can be a real challenge at this time of year. A great tip is to stand pots in a deep saucer or plastic tray which can be filled as an extra water reservoir during heatwaves. Also choose larger pots (at least 30cm deep) for greater root area and temperature stability, and mulch well!
- Don’t forget about our wildlife in the heat! Simply leaving out water for wildlife can be a lifesaver.
- Brassicas like broccoli take a few months to grow before they can be harvested, so if you want to harvest in winter then now is the time to plant seeds and seedlings before cooler weather slows growth. Our favourite is sprouting broccoli for an extended harvest over several months. You can also start planting rocket, lettuce, radicchio, fennel, mustard greens, leeks and more silverbeet. Young seedlings will appreciate a thick layer of mulch and some shade (old sheets, hessian bags or shadecloth) to help them cope with hot weather while they get established.
For a list of what to plant in February, see Gardening Australia’s Vegie Guide
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Creating a small garden bed
When : Wednesday February 26, 9.30 – 11.30am
Where: Maidstone Community Centre, 21 Yardley St, Maidstone
This two hour hands - on workshop run by the fabulous Ella Boyen, will show you how to establish a fantastic planter box style raised bed that you can adjust in size and height to meet your needs whether you’re growing vegies or flowers. This will cover design materials and positioning.
This is a free event but bookings are essential at eventbrite.
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Footscray High Sustainability Centre tour
When: Saturday February 29, 9 - 11am
Where: Footscray High School Sustainability Centre, Farnsworth Ave, just across from Kinnear St Footscray
Footscray High School is a leader in the area of Sustainability and Environmental education. Students undertake studies and develop individualised projects in the areas of Environmental Science, Horticulture, Permaculture and Sustainability. The college has a specialised "Farm” where students carry out in-depth real-world explorations in the area of sustainability. Students learn in the numerous exciting active spaces including the vegetable garden, hot houses, propagation centre, aquaponics, native bee sites, telescope tiny house and the Indigenous garden.
Footscray High School is committed to the Educational and Sustainable future of their students and community and have been recognised with numerous awards including:
- Victorian School Garden Awards - State Winner (2019)
- Sustainability Victoria (Resource Smart) - Sustainability Community Leader of the Year (2019)
- Victorian School Garden Awards - Western Suburbs (2018)
The community are invited to take a closer look and come on tour of this fantastic resource in the heart of our urban environment. Be guided through the various parts of The Farm with teacher and Sustainability Coordinator Jak Duntsan and propagate your own native plant to take home for free.
This event is part of the Sustainable Living Festival. It is a free event but registrations are essential at eventbrite.
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Beekeeping basics
When: Saturday March 14, 1 – 3pm
Where: Maidstone Community Centre, 21 Yardley St, Maidstone
This two hour session will be jam packed with information for the budding beekeeper. Join presenter Carmel Gerdsen from CMG Honeybee for an all you need to know afternoon covering everything from why to keep bees to the associated start-up costs and everything in between. Carmel will discuss the different kinds of bees and where to source them, bee behaviour and the different seasons of beekeeping plus all the materials you will need and the major tasks involved in hive management. She'll also take you through the legal requirements and safety aspects so you can walk away from this session totally prepared to get started.
This event is a free event but bookings are essential at eventbrite.
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Electric vehicles
When: Thursday 19 March, 6:30 – 8pm
Where: Council Chambers, 9 Kellaway Ave, Moonee Ponds (entry via Pascoe Vale Rd)
It’s an exciting time for electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia, with charging infrastructure increasing, prices of EVs coming down and the number of EV models available in Australia increasing.
Electric vehicles are better for the environment overall while also being cheaper to run and maintain for owners.
If you’re wondering about EVs and have more questions, join us at an EV mini expo to take a рееk under the hооd оf аn еlесtrіс vеhісlе and lеаrn how driving еlесtrіс hеlрѕ the рlаnеt.
This is a free event but bookings are essential at eventbrite.
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Fruit tree pruning
When: Sunday 22 March,10:30am – 12:30pm
Where: Avondale Heights Community Garden, 2- 22 River Dr, Avondale Heights
In this workshop you'll learn both the theory and practice of fruit tree pruning to keep your trees healthy and abundant.
This is a free event but bookings are essential at eventbrite.
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Nature strip gardening
When: Saturday 4 April, 10am – 12pm
Where: The Dwell, 78 St Leonards Rd, Ascot Vale
Lean how to plant up your nature strip to support our native flora and fauna.
This is a free event and bookings are essential at eventbrite.
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Backyard olives
When: Saturday April 18, 10am – 12:30pm
Where: Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre, 5 Sargood St, Altona
Olives are ornamental, drought-tolerant trees that are well adapted to our hot Melbourne summers. In this workshop we'll cover varieties, propagation, planting, care and pruning, plus you'll learn a few ways of processing green and black olives and of course there will be taste tests!
This is a free event but bookings are essential at eventbrite.
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End of Summer photo contest
Summer is wrapping up, vegetables are ready for harvest, and flowers are in full bloom. Had a great summer? Now you can show it off! We are having our first photo contest with an amazing prizes! Share the results of your summer work with the My Smart Garden community!
Photos may be featured in our newsletter as well My Smart Garden’s various social media pages. Simply post a picture of your summer garden and include @mysmartgarden and #msgsumgarden in you caption OR Email us at
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Clean Up Australia Day
Sunday March 1, various locations
Interested in joining a local clean up event or starting your own clean up group? There are a number of ways that you can get involved to help keep our environment clean and protect our waterways from litter. Join the litter clean up movement and get involved with Clean Up Australia Day!
You can create a clean up event, join a clean up event near you, or show your support for the clean up campaign.
To find out more go to Clean Up Australia Day Maribyrnong.
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February Reading
Preserving and fermentation
Can’t get enough of our workshops and want to learn more? Here’s a selection of hand-picked books to help you garden smarter. Many of these are available from your local library!
Art of Fermentation – Sandor Ellix Katz
The ultimate reference book on fermenting! Clear and detailed descriptions and trouble-shooting for all common ferments (sourdough, yoghurt, kefir, beers and wine, kombucha, sauerkraut and other pickled veggies) as well as fascinating accounts of other not-so-common ferments – chewed corn mash beer anyone?
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If you would like to submit a relevant gardening event to the My Smart Garden eNewsletter, please send a 50 word summary to contactus@mysmartgarden.org.au
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