August Newsletter
Hi <<First Name>>
Welcome!
Welcome to new members: Tehan, Amelia, Sarah, Sue and Brooks.
We currently have 236 members.
If you are not a paid-up member, go to our website and complete a new membership form, then pay your annual fee directly into the Sustainable Macleod bank account - details on the website.
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Vegie Swap - cancelled
 The August vegie swap scheduled for this weekend has unfortunately been cancelled due to COVID restrictions.
As the last swap was cancelled also there are no produce stats for July.
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Growing great spuds
Part 1 - cultivation
July and August are the perfect months to plant potatoes in our Melbourne climate.
Top tips
- Grow in rich soil in full sun
- Grow in well drained soil
- Leave potatoes beneath ground for good storage
- Start harvesting when plants flower
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Growing great spuds
Part 2 – eating
 Wonderful things about potatoes include their varied skin and flesh colours, textures, tastes and variety of culinary options.
No longer is a potato ‘just a potato’. They are now known by name and carefully selected for their characteristics and uses. They are even made into desserts.
Read more
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Solar – who’s got your back?
 Residential solar power is a great way of saving money and making a significant contribution to reducing the CO2 that Banyule produces. Banyule City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, with the goal of making Banyule carbon neutral by 2040 and household solar plays an important part in this transition.
Australia has one of the best uptakes of residential solar energy in the world. Last year alone 334,000 homes installed rooftop solar.
Read more
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Ribbit ribbit, what frog is that?
 As spring approaches, more and more frogs can be heard calling. Because they’re so good at camouflaging themselves, you’re much more likely to hear a frog than see one.
There are plenty of frogs local to Macleod. Once you know the sounds you’re listening for, it’s not hard to identify the species.
Read more
Photo by LiquidGhoul, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Your plastic free ideas and resources
 Last month we posted 31 daily tips, resources and ideas from members for Plastic Free July on our social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram). We appreciate that not all members use social media, so here is a wrap-up of some of the ideas and resources for eliminating plastics.
Read more
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Queensland Fruit Fly Strategy Blog #3 – take action NOW!
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There are 2 things to do right now:
- Put out your pheromone lures to monitor when Queensland Fruit Fly arrives in your garden. The lures, if you use the Wild May attractant available from the community garden, will also drown the QFF (not all lures kill them). Hang the lures at about head height on the east side of the tree.
- Spray your citrus trees with Kaolin Clay. Do this weekly for the next 3 weeks, covering the leaves and any fruit until the clay drips off. If there is very heavy rain, inspect the trees to see if you need to reapply. Light or moderate rain is not sufficient to remove it. Buy Kaolin Clay as ‘Overhaul’ from Bulleen Art and Garden.
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Upcoming events
These events are free for members, but they need you to register to attend.
SATURDAY, 28 AUGUST, 1PM-2.30PM
Preparing a Spring vegie garden – Zoom online
Getting good results in the vegie garden takes some know-how, but is within everyone’s scope. In this workshop Robin will include soil preparation, site selection, vegie selection, whether to grow in punnets and transplant or sow direct, perennial vegetables, watering and how to protect what you plant. There will be plenty of time for questions. A ZOOM link will be sent prior to the workshop.
Free to members; $15 for non-members.
WEDNESDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER, 7PM-8PM
Botany for home gardeners – Zoom online
Did you know we all use botanical theory in our garden, even if we don’t realise it? By learning more about how plants work, we can make the most of how we manage our gardens. In this workshop we will share interesting snippets of botany and how we can apply the information at home. We will try and keep things as simple and practical as possible, perfect for newcomers to botany. A ZOOM link will be sent prior to the workshop.
Free to members; $15 non-members.
Please register for these events so we know you're coming and can update you if details change!
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Dirt and climate change
Sustainable Macleod member Bev Middleton recently gave a terrific workshop on dirt and climate change, showing how it is possible for farmers to put carbon back into the soil. As well as helping deal with climate change, farms that follow the practices described are able to withstand drought and remain profitable when neighbouring farms are suffering poor outcomes.
Bev holds a Masters in Environmental Studies and is Secretary of the Healthy Soils Association and a former EPA environmental programs manager.
You can view a video of the workshop on YouTube here.
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Other events of the past month
With the second half of July being hit by lockdown, we were very lucky to run five events including one on Zoom.
The month kicked off with two school holiday events for kids. Rodolfo Maia ran a terrific 'Children's Nature Hunt' and members of the garden followed up with a composting, seed sowing and harvesting session a few days later. It is great to see kids enjoying the community garden.
Nina ran a new members' session for five new members and Robin a Fruit Tree Pruning workshop with 21 people.
The highlight was undoubtedly the Queensland Fruit Fly workshop on Zoom with Angelo Eliades. 57 attended (74 registered) and we were able to video the session which is now available to everyone. It was a cold, wet day and that (as well as lockdown) contributed to many last minute enrolments. You can view the video here.
We did have to postpone 'The Mudbrick Wall' workshop and the 'Seed Planting' workshop but we will reschedule once out of lockdown.
Another highlight was the month-long Plastic Free July event. Many thanks to Gabrielle for preparing 31 posts for Facebook and Instagram during the month focusing on a range of plastic free initiatives. Thanks also to those people who contributed hints and commented on the posts. We made Wednesdays a ‘Bulk Buy’ Day and offered garden supplies and extra virgin olive oil through the community garden and promoted two local businesses Angela’s Pop-Up-pantry in Macleod and Wholemilk Continental Cheese in Kyalta Road, West Heidelberg.
Thanks to Elizabeth Townson and Jane Glynn for organising our events and all the presenters and members who assisted.
Written by Robin Gale-Baker
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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 such as Charlie Carp to increase available nitrogen. (Fish emulsion is not the same as seaweed solution. The latter is a mineral and trace element liquid, not a nitrogen fertiliser.)
Late winter/early spring calls for a top dressing of blood and bone if you did not improve your soil before planting, but no later than this as nitrogen can interfere with bulb swell. The addition of sulphur will help your bulbs develop sulphur content. Once spring is underway, spray with seaweed extract (Seasol* or Maxicrop) and/or worm juice every 3 weeks.
Continue to keep your garlic weed free, well watered (but avoid overhead watering) and netted against cockatoo strike.
*Seasol is Australian made
Written by Robin Gale-Baker & photo of 'Ajo De Cambio' garlic thanks to Gabrielle Guthrie.
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News from Macleod Village shops
John at Macleod Pharmacy is administering COVID vaccines
Walk-ins are welcome but bookings are preferable to minimise wastage.
Macleod Pharmacy is an approved vaccination provider for the COVID vaccine, helping to provide COVID immunisation for our local area and wider community. As per government guidelines, ALL COVID vaccinations are FREE. In preparation for your vaccination, please visit the Australian Government's COVID-19 Vaccine website. Feel free to contact the pharmacy to enquire further: Drop in at 70 Aberdeen Road, call on 9457 4147, email macleodpharmacy@hotmail.com or visit online.
Are your face masks wearing out? Do you need socks?
Macleod Pharmacy also has a great range of colourful face masks for sale. Check them out on the stand outside the shop and perhaps also buy some of the fun socks displayed on the next stand. Decorate your feet with owls, bees, flamingoes, pandas, cats, monkeys, trucks, dart boards and other designs. These make fun gifts, too.
The Macleod Community Fete has been postponed.
Spring flowers
Namy at Macleod Florist has a superb array of spring flowers including daffodils and jonquils at the moment. Namy will gift wrap your purchase and also has a range of beautiful cards to accompany gifts.
Cold pressed nectar at Touchstone
Touchstone cafe on the corner of Aberdeen and Erskine Roads has a new range of cold pressed nectar drinks. Each drink contains a variety of nutritious fruit or vegetables.
Support our local community, support our shops
It has been wonderful to see how many Macleodians are 'doing the right thing' with regard to masks. This came home to me recently when I attended a medical appointment in Collingwood and was shocked to see over 70% of people there wearing masks around their necks and another 10% not wearing masks at all - that is about 80%. Driving back through Macleod, I observed about 98% of people complying (Yes, I counted!).
Should we have another outbreak of Delta, the very best thing we can do to protect Macleod is to ignore the 5km rule and simply shop locally. Every time one of us goes beyond Macleod to shop, especially to department stores or large supermarkets, we are exposed to sites that will have hundreds of people through them daily. This exponentially increases the risk of bringing Delta into Macleod. This is a time to embrace being a village!
Written by Robin Gale-Baker
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President's Report
Control of Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) has been high on the agenda for Sustainable Macleod. Firstly, a huge thank you to Angelo Eliades, who generously gave his time to run a terrific workshop on Zoom. An audience of 57 were fortunate to get the best possible information on all aspects of QFF control. You can view the video of the workshop on the Sustainable Macleod YouTube channel - make sure you subscribe for gardening tips. A video on spraying Kaolin Clay to prevent QFF and gall wasp is also on the channel.
We now have an online store linked to the Sustainable Macleod website. You can order and pay for a range of Queensland Fruit Fly lures and ‘Wild May’ attractant, as well as some other gardening items. Go to www.sustainablemacleod.org.au and click on 'Shop' on the menu.
This year is a special one for Sustainable Macleod. October marks our 10th anniversary. We had planned to celebrate with a huge event at Macleod Organic Community Garden. Very good friend of Sustainable Macleod, Costa Georgiadis, had agreed to come. With current concerns about safety and the possibility of further restrictions, we have decided to postpone the celebration. We will let you know when we have confirmed the date.
Paul Gale-Baker
President
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It's a lean time for produce in my vegie garden, but the Asian greens are a quick growing cold-weather crop. I've eaten bok choi for years and years, but only just started BBQ-ing it. If you haven't tried it, give it a go.
Note: my bok choi seedlings got ravaged by slugs the other night, so this is using some shop-bought produce!
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BBQ bok choi with miso and lemon
Served as a generous side dish, for 2 people.
- 3 head of bok choi
- 1 tbs white miso*
- 1 tbs butter (preferably unsalted) softened
- squeeze of lemon or dash of vinegar
- dribble of extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Preheat BBQ grill or griddle pan on medium.
- Slice bulbs lengthways in half.
- Wash and dry the bok choi well (I put it on a tea towel and pat it dry)
- Trim the leafy part off, and finely shred the leaves. Place on serving plate.
- Dress the raw shredded leaves with a squeeze of lemon or a dash of vinegar (I like raw apple cider vinegar), a dribble of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix butter and miso together, then rub all over the halved stems.
- Place bok choi cut side down on the grill and cover/close the lid on the BBQ for 5 mins.
- Turn over and replace the cover for another 5 mins.
- Remove from heat, place on top of the shredded leaves.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon and a grind of black pepper.
*White miso is the lightest flavoured variety - you can use another one such as the red type, but use less as it has a stronger flavour and more salt. There's a new-ish Asian grocer store at Rosanna shops which stocks a range of misos.
Submitted by Jen Willis
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How do you use Asian greens?
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If you've got a way you love to cook your Asian greens (tatsoi, bok choi, mizuna, gai lan, choi sum etc.) we'd love to hear about it.
Go to our Instagram or Facebook page and share it.
And we'd love you to use the hashtag #sustainablemacleod as well.
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