| | | Sunflower in the morning Standing in the garden All before you wake. |
| |  | | Local food forests, going subtropical and fighting for the bees | Spring is here! We’re seeing blossoms on all of our stonefruit, and look forward to our apple trees following suit – and the bees are loving it!
This month, we’re sharing a recent video of how well Fucshia’s food forest has flourished since her Permablitz a few years back, plus Simon Mulvaney’s story about his ongoing battle to protect our bees. The forecast for the next few months look pretty hot, so we’ve decided to re-share with you Terry’s excellent guide to planting your very own subtropical garden, especially important if you want to grow our Hero of the Month, the white sapote!
Our first blitz in a while is also coming up, this time at Jessica’s place in Belgrave. As always, it was booked beyond capacity within hours, which is testament to the interest out there to help others create something special in their own back yards. Keep your eyes peeled for further blitz announcements – there are definitely more to come.
Now that the soil is starting to warm up, we’re getting ready to plant out some of our seeds saved from last year’s sunflower harvest – which is as good a reason as any to give Vampire Weekend the song of the month honours for their recent single Sunflower!
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| | | | Blitz Requests | The Designers’ Guild has recently been joined by more talented people: both Yong and Hilary are doing their PDCs with Pete the Permie, and are itching to get some blitzing on!
The eastern suburbs have been lucky enough to see not one, but two new designs, with new designer Hilary teaming up with Vanessa for a blitz in Croydon, while Vanessa and Raffaella are getting stuck into a design in Sherbrooke – let’s hear it for these talented ladies!
If you’re in the Designers’ Guild and are looking for a challenge, check out the awesome design opportunities below!
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|  |  | | | Hero of the Month:
White Sapote | If you’ve got a spot in your garden for oranges, then you may want to consider White Sapote! Why? For the fruit of course! With fruit that tastes like vanilla custard mixed with creamy banana and peaches, you’ll definitely be wanting this in your yard!
Find out more about this yummy fruit tree here!
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| |  | | | How To:
Subtropical Garden Planning for Melbourne and Victoria | If you live in Melbourne, it is still possible to grow a range of tropical and subtropical fruit varieties. The key to success is creating the right microclimate in your garden – experienced designer Terry tells us how.
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| | Beets and Pieces |  | | | Naturally improve your home garden | Healthy soil yields healthy crops, which, as any good home gardener knows, can be the difference between an outstanding meal or just an okay one. But juggling rainwater management, climate and garden maintenance with the overarching goal of living and farming more sustainably can present challenges for all types of gardeners, urban or rural – even at Fat Pig Farm in Tasmania’s Huon Valley.
It’s a good thing Hannah Moloney from Good Life Permaculture is around to help him out! Check out her tips for good soil here.
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|  | | | Fighting to save the bees | Simon Mulvany is a beekeeper based on the Mornington Peninsula, who has made it his mission to educate people about the plight of bees in our environment, both indigenous and introduced.
This passion has taken him on a wild journey, from re-homing up to 500 bee colonies, to fighting legal battles with business giants such as Capilano, and even campaigning against his own council to protest the usage of insect-devastating pesticides – all while raising his young son Oscar as a single parent.
We were lucky enough to have Simon tell us his story – check it out here!
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|  | | | How Permaculture Started – the short film | This short film is part of a bigger film being produced Permaculture The Documentary, produced by Dogs Go Woof Productions.
This is a first reveal of the footage that has been shot with David Holmgren as he recounts how a chance meeting with Bill Mollison sprouted the idea of Permaculture; where it all started.
The next chapter is to shoot Bill’s story in Tasmania, where Permaculture began and discover how this simple idea evolved into the most sustainable design system that reconnects human culture with nature in an evolving world.
Watch the seven-minute short film (and keep an eye out for more) here!
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|  | | Back in the Garden | Spring is almost here! The days are getting a bit longer and the soil will soon be getting warmer, which means soon the summer crops will be going in! It’s definitely the time of year where the most seeds can be started, but don’t even think of putting tomatoes in the ground yet… it’s still too cold.
If you’ve been meaning to plant some bare-rooted trees, then don’t wait any more – get them in now. It’s also a good time to feed your fruit trees if you haven’t done so already.
It’s also a good time to get some potatoes in – not sure how? Find out how here!
Seeds you can plant in September include:
| | ● | Amaranth | | ● | Lettuce | | ● | Asparagus Pea | | ● | Luffa | | ● | Basil | | ● | Marrow | | ● | Beetroot | | ● | Mint | | ● | Burdock | | ● | Mustard Greens | | ● | Cabbage | | ● | New Zealand Spinach (Warrigal Greens!) | | ● | Cape Gooseberry | | ● | Oregano | | ● | Capsicum | | ● | Parsley | | ● | Carrot | | ● | Pear | | ● | Celeriac | | ● | Potato (once the frosts have finished) | | ● | Celery | | ● | Pumpkin | | ● | Chicory | | ● | Radish | | ● | Chili | | ● | Rhubarb | | ● | Chives | | ● | Rocket | | ● | Climbing Beans | | ● | Rockmelon | | ● | Coriander | | ● | Sage | | ● | Corn Salad | | ● | Salsify | | ● | Cucumber | | ● | Shallots | | ● | Daikon | | ● | Silverbeet | | ● | Dill | | ● | Snow Peas | | ● | Dwarf beans | | ● | Spring Onions | | ● | Eggplant | | ● | Squash | | ● | Endive | | ● | Sunflower | | ● | Fennel | | ● | Sweet Corn | | ● | Globe Artichokes | | ● | Tomatillo | | ● | Horseradish | | ● | Tomato | | ● | Jerusalem Artichokes | | ● | Turnip | | ● | Kohlrabi | | ● | Winter Savory | | ● | Leeks | | ● | Zucchini |
| Remember: some seeds do better starting off in punnets, some in pots and some in the ground. To get the best from your seedlings be sure to check the best methods first!
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