April Newsletter
Hi <<First Name>>
Welcome to new members
We have plenty of new members signing up, as well as renewals. If you have yet to renew for this year, 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.
Welcome to: Gudmund, Chang and Kiet-Hoa.
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Vegie Swap - this Saturday
The April Vegie Swap will be held on Saturday 17 April 11am - 12 noon at the rotunda opposite the Macleod shops.
For those new to Sustainable Macleod, the vegie swap is always held on the third Saturday of the month. Usually, the Macleod Market will be held at the same time. This month's market has been cancelled, but the vegie swap is going ahead.
Swaps are weighed, recorded and placed on tables between 11-11.30am, while we chat. After announcements at 11.30am, people choose what they would like to take home, being mindful that everyone needs to receive a fair share.
March swaps
Fruit and vegetables 14.2kg, bunches of herbs 35, packets of seeds 98, preserves 2, plants 50 plus miscellaneous items including egg cartons and worm tea. Sustainable Macleod also donated 75 packets of seeds to Olympic Adult Education.
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Growing beautiful cauliflower!
Top tips:
- plant seedlings deeply
- space according to instructions
- install dripline
- keep well watered
Cauliflower is sometimes avoided by gardeners because of poor results but it is very easy to grow large, beautiful, compact, snowy headed plants.
Read more of Robin's tips for growing beautiful cauliflowers
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Broad bean bonanza!
 Top tips:
- add potash to soil
- plant beans 5cm deep
- support plants to prevent stem breakage
- remove tips to prevent black fly
Broad beans are a wonderful crop to grow for 4 reasons. They are a delicious and nutritious food, they add nitrogen to the soil, supply great colour, and attract bees to aid pollination in the garden.
More about growing a broad bean bonanza
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How to reduce the height of fruit trees
At the community garden, we want to bring down the height of our fruit trees so that none of us need climb a ladder to pick the fruit. Gone are the days of leaving some for the birds, as we now need to remove any fruit that could be fruit fly infected.
Fruit high up is quite a danger to our hygiene strategy. Lowering trees also makes it easier to net them which will be essential to exclude fruit fly from now on. Making a specific pruning cut is the way to do this.
More details
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Dealing with rats while protecting birds of prey
 Like lots of others, I’ve got more rats in my backyard than I’ve ever seen. The growing conditions have created a feast of acorns on the huge oak tree and lots of tasty fruit and vegies in my garden.
How you deal with rodents is really important because many rodenticides are devastating to our local birds of prey.
So how should you deal with rats?
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A community battery for Macleod?
Sustainable Macleod and Banyule Clean Energy Group are actively looking at the feasibility of  community batteries in Banyule.
The building of a large battery storage by Tesla in Hornsdale, SA, brought large-scale battery storage to public attention. The battery has saved SA consumers more than $150 million since 2017 by helping stabilise the electricity grid and avoiding ‘cost spikes’ in the electricity market.
Read more about the benefits of community batteries
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Plant garlic in April in Melbourne
April and May are the months to plant garlic in Melbourne; the weather is cooling, there’s rain and our beds are prepared. See March hint for bed preparation.
If you have saved or bought Australian garlic that is rust free, the job is easy but if you have saved garlic previously affected by rust there is an extra step.
- Choose the day you want to plant your garlic cloves and only on that day pull the garlic head apart.
- Remove the large outer cloves – these will be the ones you plant – and save the inner ones for cooking. Separating them from the base plate any earlier, increases the possibility of infection entering the cloves.
- Using a dibber or a finger, make holes 15cm apart in rows also 15cm apart. Insert a clove per hole, base down and pointy top upward, backfill with soil so that there is 2-3cm coverage above the tip.
- Water well, mulch with sugar cane and in a few weeks, roots will be put down and tops will emerge. Continue to water regularly.
- If you have had rust previously, soak the cloves for 12 hours in a solution of 1 litre of water, 2 teaspoons of seaweed extract (Seasol, Maxicrop etc) and 1 teaspoon of bicarb. Then peel the cloves, dunk them in vodka and plant as above in ground not used for garlic for the previous 3 years.
NB Our experiments have shown, as has Local Food Connect’s, that it is too late to plant garlic in June in Melbourne. The result is very small bulbs as the cloves do not have time to develop adequate roots and tops before the shortest day (June 22) after which bulb swell begins.
Written by Robin Gale-Baker & photo thanks to Gabrielle Guthrie.
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News from Macleod Village shops
The Market
Macleod Village Market is usually monthly on the 3rd Saturday of the month, however the April Market has been cancelled. The Vegie Swap will proceed at the Rotunda though.
Music in the rotunda
'Music in the Rotunda' is held in Macleod Park on the 1st Saturday of the month from 10am - 1pm. This is a great event at which to chill out, sit back and be entertained by excellent local talent.
Macleod Newsagent
Have you visited the Macleod Newsagents lately? There is a great range of papers and magazines, cards, stationery, electrical accessories, batteries, puzzles, toys, colouring books and puzzle books, and giftware. It is a treasure trove but you need to visit and walk the aisles to see the wide range of items available.
Chris the Cobbler
I've just discovered that Chris can replace the zip slider, without having to replace the zip itself, on a bag. Another item saved from landfill at a very small cost.
General Gelato Co. now in Macleod
Clare and Nuri are offering a great range of gelato at General Chicken Co. Just inside the front door you will find the counter with some amazing flavours. How about liquorice and strawberry cheesecake or salted caramel and rum and raisin? That's Clare in the photo. We wish Clare and Nuri all the best with this welcome new venture.
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President's note
Banyule City Council is to be congratulated on a number of recent achievements in key areas.
FOGO
A major achievement is the introduction of FOGO (food organics garden organics), kerbside collection. Banyule City Council recently approved the implementation of a high-performance FOGO waste service which will provide a weekly 120 litre green organics bin service, commencing in mid-2022. The scheme will involve significant education of householders in the correct use of the system. The scheme will direct a huge volume of food away from landfill, and into useable compost.
The FOGO scheme is part of Banyule City Council's plan for zero waste to landfill by 2030. Given that currently around 20,000 tonnes of waste in Banyule go to landfill and waste collection services cost Banyule almost $9 million, the impact of this scheme will be huge. Read more information about FOGO here and see a guide to the scheme here.
Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub
Another great achievement is the completion of the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub. The opening of this centre provided an opportunity to see the new building and to meet some of the new councillors. Robin and I were delighted to be invited to the opening, along with representatives from other community organisations.
Banyule City Council, with support from the state government, has created a remarkable community resource with the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub. The building is visually exciting and has expanded well beyond a library into a major cultural centre for Banyule, offering studios for artists, gallery space for artworks, music venues, maternal child health facilities and an IT lounge as well as a host of other facilities, including community meeting rooms, facilities for the disabled and study spaces. Take a digital tour.
Social Enterprise Strategy
A third achievement is Banyule City Council's Social Enterprise Strategy. The scheme currently employs 150 disabled community members in a number of social enterprises. One of these is the new cafe at the Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub. Others include Chancez cafe in Greensborough and The Little Social cafe at Rosanna Station. These are great sustainable initiatives, helping build a stronger, more cohesive community.
Paul Gale-Baker
President
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Thanks to Katherine Keillor
Have you seen the new Sustainable Macleod signs, first used at the March vegie swap?
Katherine Keillor, a graphic artist and daughter of Carol Wall our vice-president, is the designer and what a fabulous job she has done! Katherine designed the signs free of charge for which we are most grateful. Thanks Katherine!
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Announcing our partnership with Ryset
Sustainable Macleod is thrilled to announce a partnership with Ryset in West Heidelberg. We have been supported by Ryset for several years and recently they made a substantial donation of materials to the Macleod Organic Community Garden. You have probably bought Ryset horticultural products from local nurseries. Look out for the name 'Ryset'.
In their own words:
“Ryset (Aust) is a proud Australian owned, family company with over 80 years experience. We specialize in the manufacture and wholesale distribution of tools and equipment for the Australian horticulture industry. Our objective is to provide a broad range of quality, specialized tools for use in vineyards, orchards, and nurseries.
We are Australian agents for a number of world renowned manufacturers the most famous being the French Electrocoup, German Lowe, Lisam from Italy, Corona from America, Bovi products from Spain and Vinetech which is completely Australian Made.”
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Lacto-fermented zucchini
- 200g zucchini
- 12g non-iodised salt i.e. sea salt*
- 200ml boiled water
- bay leaves/tea leaves/grapevine leaf**
- garlic, onion, dill, black pepper, mustard seeds etc. (optional)
- Boil water and pour into a jug with the salt. Stir to combine and leave to cool.
- Wash a large mouth jar and lid (500-600ml capacity is good for this recipe).
- Wash and then cut, grate or spiralise the zucchini however you'd like.
- Tightly pack zucchini in the jar leaving at least 3-4 cm headroom in the jar.
- Insert any spices or other flavourings and whichever leaves you're using for tannins.
- Weigh the vegetables down below the brine using a fermentation weight. You can buy specially-made weights, but I just use a cabbage leaf, a slice of daikon or an apple round.
- Secure the lid and give it a shake to release any trapped air bubbles - you can also use a skewer to wiggle them out.
- Place in a shallow bowl to catch any overflow as the fermentation happens.
- Place in a spot out of direct sunlight where you'll see it and remember to open the lid and 'burp' it to release the gases every day.
- Try on day 3 and if it is sour enough, place it in the fridge to stop fermentation. You can keep fermenting them, but they will get softer and mushier.
*using iodised salt can inhibit the fermentation and makes the liquid go more cloudy.
** these all contain tannins that will assist in keeping the pickles crisp.
Read more about the health benefits of fermented foods.
Submitted by Jen Willis
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 If you've got a recipe to use up a glut of in-season zucchini - we'd love to see it.
Go to our Instagram or Facebook page and share it.
Don't forget to tag us though!
And we'd love you to use the hashtag #sustainablemacleod as well.
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