Preventing Spread of the Queensland Fruit Fly
QFF depositing eggs in a tomato. Photo: J. Newman, M. Schultz Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) are tropical Queensland rain forest insects, that need the…
Seaweed as Fertiliser Pt. 2
Seaweed products are valuable sources of fertility for garden soil. Click on the image below for a video which is the second part of a Sustainable…
Seaweed as Fertiliser Pt. 1
Seaweed is a valuable source of minerals which are necessary for plant growth. Click on the image below for a video which is the first part of a…
Feeding Your Plants
Gardening is a bit like life really... the more you know, the more you know you don’t know. It can be so full of hits and misses, trials and errors,…
Green Manure
If you have a bit of space in your garden, growing green manures or cover crops is a great way to improve soil fertility and add organic matter to…
Are glyphosate products safe to use?
Unless you follow the news in detail you might not know about current debates regarding the weed killer, glyphosate, widely used in garden products…
Black Spot of Rose
Hi, my name is: Black Spot of Rose Describe yourself: Umm, my name pretty much says it all. I'm a black spot, kinda round with fringed margins and…
Snails & Slugs
Hi, my name is: Garden Snail Describe yourself: Like most of the snails in your garden I'm a foreigner to this land. I am a bit of a nomad,…
Pest Repellent Plants
Every garden is sometimes afflicted with pests - grasshoppers, cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, scale and aphids being very common. Is it…
Could manures, composts or mulch damage plants?
As sustainable gardeners we are probably relying quite a bit on commercially sourced compost, manures and mulch to help promote healthy plant growth.…
Plant Nutrients Explained
Although SGA recommends primarily using organic material such as compost and manures to promote fertility, it's worth thinking in more detail about…
Tips for Starting an Organic Garden
Just beginning to garden on an empty piece of land? Or making over an existing one? It can be confusing if you consult magazines or websites to know…
To Chop’n’Drop or Not
If you haven’t heard about “chop’n’drop” you can probably work out roughly what it means i.e. when pruning shrubs, trees or pretty much any plant,…
Seaweed Extracts for the Garden
The term “seaweeds” here to refers to macroalgae – the kind you see clinging to rocks at low tide, or in beautiful subtidal gardens (these can also…
Roses, Salvias and Sustainability
In Glen Waverley, Melbourne, a committed gardener has created what many might view as a fairly traditional garden – white picket fence and roses –…
Reducing Weed Spread
"Garden plants are the biggest source of weeds in this country totalling 70% of Australia’s combined agricultural, noxious and natural ecosystem…
Why Sustainable Gardening?
Some people might ask why SGA talks about sustainable gardening rather than just gardening. The fact is that horticulture in the hands of home…
Pesticides in Fruit and Vegetables
We are all aware that fruit and veggies produced commercially, unless they are certified organic, have been exposed to pesticides at some stage in…