Welcome to your monthly guide to growing a productive, resilient and smart garden in Melbourne!
This newsletter is an initiative of My Smart Garden, a free program that will help you grow food, prepare your home and garden for a changing climate, create homes for local wildlife, use water wisely and recycle waste.
My Smart Garden is a proud collaboration between the cities of Hobsons Bay, Moonee Valley, Maribyrnong, Brimbank, Wyndham, Stonnington, Moreland and Yarra.
What to plant and prepare in August
Our resident smart gardener, permaculture designer and educator Kat Lavers, shares her tips and advice for August in your patch
Grow food at home
With Spring in sight, it’s time to start planting many of your summer seeds. While it’s still still too cool for most warm season vegies to be sown directly into beds or pots, you can start planting in punnets in a warm, sheltered microclimate (like a greenhouse or sunny windowsill). Catch up on our previous events to get started growing vegies and learn to grow plants from seed. Why not save money and have fun sharing seeds and plants with your local gardening group this Spring?
Feed your soil
- It’s time to give your soil a good feed in preparation for the rapid growing season ahead.
- Compost is full of beneficial microorganisms and moisture to keep your plants healthy and drought-proof your soil.
- Spread a 3-5cm layer of compost across the entire surface of your vegie bed or pot and follow up with about a handful per square metre of poultry manure, blood and bone or other organic fertiliser.
- Use a garden fork to gently aerate your soil and incorporate these goodies into the top layer of your patch and loosen the soil to allow roots to get down deep.
