Sign up to be a Grower
We are looking for volunteers to grow and supply produce for the first Home Harvest Regional Feast. The feast will be held in Eltham (Victoria), so anyone who can get there is welcome to take part. Sign up as a grower and receive a free seasonal meal created using Grower’s produce at the feast. All registered growers will receive a small gift of vegetable seeds.
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Phew… it’s finally January. The relies have gone, the tree’s packed away (I hope), the last scrap of wrapping paper has been recycled, a child’s longed for gift has been broken or abandoned for the box it came in, and we finally have time for a rest. But, don’t put your feet up for too long… while we have been overfed and overwatered, our patches have probably suffered the opposite fate, and are in need of some serious loving at the moment.
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Living in Canberra sees a variety of climates ranging from hot to very cold with some frost including at times even snow. The snow falls have been rarer in later years with the city growing and warming up.
After dealing with the worst years of the drought, letting the lawn go brown and later installing a rain water tank, we finally got stuck into creating a sustainble food garden. The idea at first was to grow as much food as possible especially our most consumed vegetables, some fruit as well as a few gourmet treats normally too expensive to buy in the supermarkets. We wanted the food to be totally organic using homemade compost to enrich the soil, chickens for eggs, manure and free digging machines.
If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to plant capsicum and chilies in all but the coldest areas of Australia. They are so easy to grow, and if you follow Helen’s helpful guide you should be munching down on them in no time at all.
Click here for all the growing tips you’ll need, along with a couple of very tasty recipes!
It is nice to reflect on the year that has been and to acknowledge with a sense of accomplishment a year of hard work and many milestones. And I’m not simply speaking of SGA where we lately celebrated our move into our enlarged, refurbished offices. Rather I am reflecting in a broader sense on one of our current projects – Community Gardens Victorian Bushfire Affected Areas.
To recap, SGA was fortunate in mid-2010 to secure funding from the Victorian based, philanthropic trust, the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust. Following the tragedy of the 2009 Victorian bushfires, the trust set up a $2m trust fund to assist in the restoration of community life in rural townships affected by the fires.
Coffee Grounds have been used as soil conditioner and compost additive for hundreds of years, and in our modern society it is available in almost limitless quantities. Coffee grounds have about the same amount of nitrogen as grass clippings – 2% or so, meaning they heat up quickly when added to compost and help turn the entire pile into a beautiful dark rich soil.
Choosing a designer, landscaper or maintenance gardener can be a tough decision, especially if you care about how sustainably they operate their business… and it’s probably a safe bet that as you are on the Sustainable Gardening Australia website this is something that is high on your list of priorities. If you haven’t heard about our ECLIPs program (Environmentally Certified Landscape Industry Professionals) Click here to find out why you should be using an ECLIPs member for your next Gardening project.
ECLIPs is being piloted in Victoria and NSW at the moment and if it proves to be successful we hope to expand into other states in the future as funding becomes available.
Oh, December! The fascinators have been packed away after another spring racing carnival, the weather is really warming up, the bikinis are coming out and the festive season is upon us! Now, before we all go Christmas crazy, lets not forget the garden… despite the heat, there are a few things we can do this month!
Heading off on a trip this break? Read our tips on preventing “holiday-itis”, an all too common occurrence that can turn the most beautiful backyard into a garden grave in a matter of weeks! Give your garden the gift of a bit of your time this December… you’ll be so pleased you did!
Prevent a triffid-style invasion of the worst kinds of weeds. Plants taking over your garden and worse, escaping into our natural areas to create mayhem for native plants and animals. Be alert and be very alarmed, as responsible gardeners do their bit to control the Battle of the Bush.
The Footprint Flicks 2 DVD set is available now in our webshop now. 17 short films for just $24.95. Click here to grab yourself a copy!
Think like a Koala and take a look at trees from a whole new perspective. The home of our famous Aussie icon can also add significant value to our homes, reducing energy use, improving air flow, building soil health, and more. Our friendly neighbourhood koala (who resembles a certain horticulturalist we know), gets enthusiastic about the many sustainable benefits of trees at home and how to maximize their value in the backyard. And if you have never seen a koala ride a bike, watch on…
The Footprint Flicks 2 DVD set is available now in our webshop now. 17 short films for just $24.95. Click here to grab yourself a copy!
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