Supporting you to grow food

Yearly Archives: 2015

How to control possums melbourne — Possums are the bane of most gardeners, in the leafy inner eastern suburbs of Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, Malvern, Toorak, Glen Iris and beyond. I frequently get asked the best way to “deal with them”. Here’s my thoughts on the issue and how best to stop them damaging your garden. Why […]

How to Control Possums in Melbourne

This entry was posted in Garden Pests on December 22, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Michelle Bridges Woolies Ad creates online backlash — Dear Michelle Bridges and Woolworths, This morning on social media, you posted an advert promoting a new frozen food range. Frustratingly, during the video you labelled those who grow their own food as “Freaks”. Rather ironic, coming from “The Fresh Food People” don’t you think? Growing your own food doesn’t […]

An Open Letter to Michelle Bridges and Woolworths…..

This entry was posted in Media on November 6, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

How to Grow Cucamelons in Melbourne, Mouse Melon, Mexican Sour Gherkin. — Cucamelons lare great in salads or picked straight from the vine and eaten. Cucamelons are becoming an increasingly popular edible plant in Melbourne. More and more people are asking me how to grow them, and from where to source the seed. Last summer, I grew cucamelons for the first time, […]

How to Grow Cucamelons in Melbourne

This entry was posted in How to Grow on September 24, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Last summer, we undertook a project to grow a giant edible trellis. Many of you followed the project quite closely and I know that some of you are going to be trying, something similar for yourselves this summer. With that in mind, I’ve put together this blog post, with a […]

Giant Edible Trellis – Lessons Learned

This entry was posted in Giant Edible Trellis on September 13, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Hertiage Fine Chocolate Factory Edible Garden — Heritage Fine Chocolates is a Melbourne based company. It’s one of the few local producers of chocolate Easter eggs, left in Australia. Recently, I had the good fortune to visit their factory in Rowville. Managing Director, Michael Simons had contacted me, to discuss the edible garden that he had installed […]

Heritage Fine Chocolates and their Edible Garden

This entry was posted in Events on August 18, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

How to grow New Guinea Bean Melbourne — New Guinea Beans (Lagenaria siceraria), are an ironic vegetable. They’re not from New Guinea but actually from Africa – and, they’re not even a bean! They are actually a climbing edible gourd or squash – a member of the cucurbit family. Its common name comes from a taste similar to […]

How to Grow New Guinea Beans in Melbourne

This entry was posted in How to Grow on August 11, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

REA Group Edible Garden Wicking Beds — REA Group Limited is a multinational, digital advertising company, specialising in property. They’ve come a long way since starting out 20 years ago in a garage in Doncaster, in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne REA Group operates Australia’s leading residential and commercial property websites, realestate.com.au and realcommercial.com.au. They have diversified […]

REA Group and their Office-based Edible Garden

This entry was posted in Projects on August 5, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Top Ten Tips For Growing Citrus In Melbourne — Citrus trees are the most popular fruit tree to grow in Melbourne. In fact, problems with citrus are what I get the most inquiries about. To help you grow better citrus, here’s our top ten tips for growing citrus in Melbourne. Select citrus trees grafted onto the correct rootstock – […]

Top Ten Tips For Growing Citrus In Melbourne

This entry was posted in Citrus Growing Guide on August 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Citrus Pests and Diseases Melbourne — “What’s wrong with my citrus tree?” This possibly the most frequently asked question that I come across! Usually, a grower has had the unfortunate experience of all of the leaves, flowers and fruit suddenly falling to the ground. This sudden drop of fruit, leaves or flowers is a sign of […]

Citrus Growing Guide Part 5: Citrus Pests, Diseases and Problems ...

This entry was posted in Citrus Growing Guide on August 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Pruning citrus trees and pruning lemon trees Melbourne — Without pruning or training, citrus trees grow naturally into bushy trees and will initially crop well. However, trees will eventually become overgrown with high proportion of dense, unproductive and spent wood. If trained, shaped and pruned in a specific way, trees will be healthier, easier to manage and will crop […]

Citrus Growing Guide Part 4: Pruning and Shaping of Citrus ...

This entry was posted in Citrus Growing Guide on August 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Growing Citrus trees in Melbourne — In Melbourne, spring and summer are particularly critical for citrus trees. Care or lack of it, during this period will determine tree health, size and quality of citrus fruit crops. Soil management Citrus trees have very shallow root systems so never cultivate or disturb the soil under the tree. Chickens […]

Citrus Growing Guide Part 3: Ongoing Care and Management of ...

This entry was posted in Citrus Growing Guide on August 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Of all the fruit trees, Citrus are the most popular backyard trees in Melbourne. Citrus trees are attractive evergreens and fit well into the garden landscape with their glossy green foliage, beautiful white scented blossoms and colourful fruit. Here’s our guide on where in the garden you should plant your […]

Citrus Growing Guide Part 2: Where and How to Plant ...

This entry was posted in Citrus Growing Guide on August 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Recommended selection of citrus tree varieties for Melbourne — What’s wrong with my lemon tree?” and “Why isn’t my new citrus tree growing yet?” are two of the most common questions I get asked. So to try and help you all get the best out of your citrus trees, I’ve put together this comprehensive guide to growing citrus in […]

Citrus Growing Guide Part 1: Citrus Varieties for Melbourne

This entry was posted in Citrus Growing Guide on August 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Estelle Resturant, Josh Pelham, Scott Pickett — Earlier in the year, I took on the challenge of rejuvenating the vertical courtyard garden of Estelle Bistro. Based in High St, Northcote, Estelle Bistro is commanding an increasing attention, from the media and diners across Melbourne. They hold #27 in the Financial Review Australia’s Top 100 Restaurant awards for […]

Estelle Bistro and The Hotplate: Our Vertical Courtyard Garden is ...

This entry was posted in Media on June 15, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Bare-rooted fruit tree supplier Melbourne Dwarf Rootstocks — Winter in Melbourne is the time to attend to your fruit trees. It is important to invest time and effort into fruit trees during winter, to ensure that you have successful fruit crops in summer. Some fruit tree related tasks that are traditionally completed in winter are: Winter pruning of […]

Fruit Trees in Winter in Melbourne: Pruning, Planting and Care.

This entry was posted in How to Grow on May 13, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

It is important that you select fruit trees grafted onto the correct rootstock for your situation Most fruit trees available for purchase in nurseries, large hardware chains and online stores are grafted. This means that the desired tree has been added onto a rootstock, that can alter the growth habits […]

Buying Fruit Trees: The Importance of Choosing the Right Rootstock

This entry was posted in How to Grow on May 4, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Rain Guage for measuring rain fall Melbourne — Rainfall, without it, we’d have no plants, and therefore, no life on earth. Yet, somehow we often take it for granted, or even curse its inconvenience. With today’s busy, scheduled to the minute, lives we’re losing connection with the earth and the seasons. What better way to reconnect, than by […]

Measuring rainfall: Why you should be doing it.

This entry was posted in How to make on April 26, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

It’s been 28 weeks since we built the Giant Edible Trellis and this week we harvested the last of the produce. We harvested two large potimarron pumpkins, a few more zucchini tromboncino and the massive new guinea bean, from the trellis. There was a small moon and stars watermelon fruit, […]

Giant Edible Trellis Week 28: The Final Harvest

This entry was posted in Giant Edible Trellis How to Grow on April 17, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

How to grow watermelons in Melbourne — This was my fourth year of growing watermelons in Melbourne. Surprisingly, watermelons are very easy to grow in our Melbourne climate. You use similar methods to those methods used in growing pumpkins, but they take far less space than your average pumpkin vine. If you can spare a few square […]

How to Grow Watermelons in Melbourne

This entry was posted in How to Grow on April 16, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Gardiner Preschool Glen Iris — Gardiner Preschool in Glen Iris has a long history of growing their vegetables. The children are valued as decision makers and caretakers of the vegetable gardens. They decide and vote on what to plant. Strawberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, pumpkins, corn, beetroot, lettuce and potatoes are all favourites. The Gardiner Pre-schoolers […]

Gardiner Preschool Community Herb Garden

This entry was posted in Projects on April 13, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

The Patch. Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Tasmanian Community Food Garden. — Over the Easter long weekend, Caryn and I travelled to Hobart. During our stay, we visited the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. There are edible garden sections commonly known as “The Patch,” that I was keen to visit. Officially these gardens are titled The Tasmanian Community Food Garden. The gardens are […]

The Patch: Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

This entry was posted in Events on April 7, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

It’s been 26 weeks since we started our Giant Edible Trellis Project. That’s half a year! The time has flown, but we’ve had buckets of produce from this small space. Our tromboncino plants are still producing dozens of fruit. The new guinea beans are also quite prolific. The large new […]

Giant Edible Trellis Project: Week Twenty-Six

This entry was posted in Giant Edible Trellis on March 31, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2015 — On Friday, I was fortunate to visit the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, which is in its 20th year. On my visit, I discovered some amazing gardens in the Achievable Gardens section. It was inspiring to see Students from NMIT, Swinburne, Holmesglen and University of Melbourne creating such small, […]

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2015

This entry was posted in Events on March 27, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

CH James Edible Courtyard Garden — CH James Cafe, is a new cafe that launched in Station Street, Fairfield in December 2014. CH James Cafe is modern but features a “nod to yesteryear” with its compelling story of local Charles Henry James, who was prominent in the northern suburbs, in the halcyon period of Melbourne’s development. Charles […]

CH James Cafe and our Edible Courtyard Garden

This entry was posted in Events on March 6, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Grow it local grower's feast in Melbourne as part of the Sustainable living festival — On Sunday night, I was fortunate enough to join 49 other growers at The Melbourne Growers’ Feast, at the Testing Grounds in Southbank. The event was organised by Grow It Local as part of the Sustainable Living Festival. The Grow it Local Melbourne campaign began in January, when they distributed […]

Grow It Local, Melbourne Growers’ Feast

This entry was posted in Events on March 3, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Here’s my autumn planting guide for warm-temperate based vegetable patches (such as Melbourne). With the onset of autumn, your planting options change. I actually prefer growing vegetables over winter to growing during summer. Winter veggies require less care and attention. With the cool, wet Melbourne climate, winter vegetables practically grow […]

Autumn Planting Guide For Melbourne

This entry was posted in What to plant on March 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Coriander seed is ready for collecting — The winner of the race to the top of the trellis was the new guinea bean. I’ve never grown them before, and I’m quickly finding out how rampant they are. Not only is the main vine growing quicker than any of the other crops, but the lateral (side) shoots are […]

Giant Edible Trellis Project: Week Twenty-Two… New Guinea Beans

This entry was posted in Giant Edible Trellis on February 19, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Powdery white spots on your zucchini leaves are a sure sign of powdery mildew infestation. Here’s what to do about it. This is the vegetable disease that I am asked about the most. Many vegetable plants are prone to powdery mildew. It is quite common for cucumbers, pumpkins and other […]

How to Treat Powdery Mildew

This entry was posted in Garden Pests on February 5, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Coles Junior Landcare Garden Grant — The Coles Junior Landcare Garden Grants Program is offering funding of up to $1,000 to kindergartens, schools and youth groups to help create gardens in their grounds and communities. There are approximately 250 grants awarded per year across Australia. Leaf, Root & Fruit are encouraging all primary schools, secondary schools, kindergartens, […]

Coles Junior Landcare Garden Grants Program

This entry was posted in Events on February 2, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

Zucchini Tromboncino — The race is on! One of the Potimarron Pumpkin vines looked as if it was on track to be the first to reach the top of the trellis, but in the last week, it has been overtaken by the New Guinea Bean vines. The New Guinea Bean has soft, feathery […]

Giant Edible Trellis Project: Week Nineteen… Tromboncinos!

This entry was posted in Giant Edible Trellis on January 30, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

One of my favourite summertime recipes is Basil Pesto Pasta. There’s nothing better than harvesting your own basil and turning it into a delicious pesto. You can do so much with basil pesto, but my favourite is Basil Pesto Pasta. Here’s a guide on how to turn your excess basil […]

Duncan’s Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe

This entry was posted in Recipes on January 16, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

The snow peas have not handled the recent heat, or the wind very well. They were prolific croppers early on, but are now starting to die back. The good news is that the runner beans are starting to pick up where the snow peas have left off. In some parts […]

Giant Edible Trellis Project: Week Sixteen

This entry was posted in Giant Edible Trellis on January 9, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit

We live in a rented house in Hawthorn East. It has a reasonable sized yard, but I don’t like to waste precious growing space on vining plants such as pumpkins and watermelons. I usually grow these sorts of things on the family farm. However, we have a single car garage […]

Growing Watermelons on the Shed Roof

This entry was posted in In Our Garden on January 4, 2015 by Leaf, Root & Fruit