Sustainable Macleod

16/10/2026

Our Macleod Shops Sale is TODAY!!! 9am - 12pm
A perfect day (and weather) to come to Macleod Village and grab a coffee and buy a few seedlings!
Support our not for profit community garden - organic and local - run by volunteers. 😊🌱🫛

14/10/2026

POP-UP MARKET AT MACLEOD VILLAGE
THIS SATURDAY (October 17, 9 am-12 noon), Sustainable Macleod is having our local market at Macleod Shops.
We will be selling seedlings of loads of tomato varieties, zucchini, cucumber, peppers, chilli, eggplant, basil, coriander and other herbs, strawberries, red currants and raspberries.
All locally grown and organic. Cheaper and better quality than Bunnings.
Plus, the team will be there to offer advice and help you select. It is a great time to plant.
We will be outside the old Wonderland shop next to Mr Macleod.
Hope to see you then!
Macleod Village

13/10/2026

In Tonight's 'HOW TO', we deal with the question of when to plant tomatoes. 🍅

Planting time for tomatoes is largely a choice based on weather and risk. I always plant my tomato plants in September because I want to have tomatoes by Cup Day.
I like to plant them early September but the cold weather this year meant that I delayed planting until the last week of the month.
(Traditionally, the advice was always to plant on Melbourne Cup Day but this means that you will not have tomatoes until after Christmas).

Weather plays an important role in determining when to plant but tomatoes are quite hardy and if there are a few sunny days forecast then plant at the beginning of that period. Risk is about the likelihood of the plants not thriving but my view is that if this happens and I need to replant, then nothing is really lost, especially as I grow my own from seed.

If planting is delayed by weather, then I pot my tomatoes into larger pots containing half potting mix and half compost, and by the time I can plant, the plants have matured and are much bigger and stronger and take off rapidly.

Tomatoes such as Siberian are a good early choice as these set fruit in colder weather - hence the name - so I always plant a few of these a swell as a good variety of cherry tomatoes which ripen more quickly than larger ones.

By Robin

Photo taken on 9 October, 2026

11/10/2026

Fermenting vegetables for beginners with Jen Willis.
This Wed Oct 14 2026, 7:30pm online via Zoom

Eating fermented vegetables is as old as humanity, but has dropped out of many Australian diets for a long time. Join Jen Willis to learn the basics of fermenting vegetables and the difference between pickling, canning and fermenting vegetables to preserve them. Consuming fermented food and drinks is a way to improve your health, and you can make so much more than sauerkraut.
Financial members: Free Non-members: $15

08/10/2026

Suprise! Our ‘How To’ is making a special Thursday night appearance. 👍

In tonight's 'HOW TO" we focus on leaf curl (Taphrina deformans) of nectarines and peaches. The recent heavy spring rains have washed fungal spores on the bark of these trees onto the leaves and into the buds infecting them. The infection, which shows itself as bumpy, blistery leaves which turn reddish over time, cannot be cured this season.
However, as leaf curl starts on the tips, generally on the lower branches, and works its way up the tree through splashing, it is worth removing any affected leaves immediately. Make sure none drop to the ground as this is one source of infection and do not add them to the compost heap. The good news is that when it warms up, a new flush of growth will arrive and the damaged leaves will fall off, leaving the trees looking healthier. To prevent curl leaf next season start a spraying regime in autumn at leaf fall and spray twice more before budswell.

07/10/2026

02/10/2026

PLEASE NOTE: Greenwood market closed tomorrow due to weather. Our Market at Eltham (Sunday) still going ahead.

At Eltham we will have peppers, eggplant, cucumber and zucchini and chilli seedlings as well as tomato’s 🍅.

30/09/2026

We have a BIG weekend ahead!
2 markets:
Greenwood Farm (open day) Bundoora, 10am - 2pm, Saturday
Eltham Farmers Market, 8am -12.30pm, Sunday

Morning tea at the Garden (everyone welcome), 11.30 - 1pm, Saturday.

Support our markets to support us financially or come to the Morning Tea to meet with us socially. Both great options.

Hope to see you this weekend with Sustainable Macleod 😊

30/09/2026

We have a BIG weekend ahead!
2 markets:
Greenwood Farm (open day) Bundoora, 9am - 12pm, Saturday
Eltham Farmers Market, 8am -1pm, Sunday

Morning tea at the Garden (everyone welcome), 11.30 - 1pm, Saturday.

Support our markets to support us financially or come to the Morning Tea to meet with us socially. Both great options.

Hope to see you this weekend with Sustainable Macleod 😊

29/09/2026

In tonight's 'HOW TO', we help you companion plant with marigolds.
Marigolds are a well known companion plant in the vegetable garden, benefitting a wide range of
vegetables including cucumber, tomato, asparagus, radish, carrot, lettuce, broccoli and zucchini.
There are various types of marigolds but you want to choose ones from the Tagetes family (pot marigold for example is from the calendula family and will not have the same effect).
Marigolds grow in quite a dense habit so allow space when planting. Some are low growing and
some taller and the taller need spacing to prevent them overshadowing young seedlings.
Marigolds attract bees, butterflies, ladybirds which devour aphid, and other beneficial insects.
They deter whitefly. Their roots repel nematodes but to do this they should be planted en masse in any area affected by nematodes before planting the next crop.
Planting a low marigold border around the edge of a vegie bed can be useful to deter unwanted
insects as well as adding colour and contributing to biodiversity.
Beans and peas do not do well when planted with marigolds and the jury is out about whether the same applies to cabbages.
Marigolds do attract snails and slugs so precautions do need to be made to prevent damage.
Happy gardening! 🌸