Gardeners.

If you grow anything that’s edible – in your backyard or front yard, on balconies, in the community or via other forms of shared growing – you’re a ‘Gardener’ in our food system.

Below you’ll find every local resource we currently know about that will help you as a Gardener.

Want to get your hands dirty? Find out how you can connect with your local gardeners.

  • Grow It Local.

    Grow It Local is your local grow community. A celebration of backyard, balcony, community and window-sill farmers across the country.

    Grow It Local is a grassroots, purpose-driven mission to get more people growing, sharing and eating locally grown foods. You can jump onto the website, find growers near you, list your produce to sell or swap and find useful workshops and resources.

  • Rare Fruit Society of South Australia.

    Rare Fruit Society of South Australia members grow fruit and food plants originating from cool-temperate, temperate, subtropical and elevated tropical regions across the world. A wealth of knowledge in records are kept of member’s successes and failures. Members attend meetings and participate in field trips.

    Society meetings are held bi-monthly on the fourth Tuesday of odd months (January, March, May, July, September and November) and visitors are welcome. Once a year, deciduous fruit grafting sessions are conducted, which are open to the public.

  • Permaculture South Australia.

    Permaculture SA upholds the permaculture ethics of earth care, people care and fair share. Their purpose is to educate and inspire South Australians to use permaculture design principles to create regenerative communities and ecosystems, and to live sustainable lives.

    Visit their website to learn more about permaculture, membership, and to look up upcoming workshops and events.

Get connected via good ol’ social media.

Many fabulous interactive Facebook communities and pages exist for gardeners – here’s our pick of the best.

Facebook groups

Facebook pages

  • SA Urban Food Network – our very own page!

  • Nadja’s Garden – loads of tips from Adelaide permaculture garden designer, Nadja Osterstock.

  • The Food Forest – Annemarie and Graham Brookman produce huge amounts of food from their property at Gawler.

  • Sophie Thomson – plenty of videos and how-to guides from Sophie’s Patch in Mount Barker.

  • Joe’s Connected Garden – a series of connected neighbouring gardens in Elizabeth; keep an eye out for their open days and plant sales.

  • Ligaya Garden – get inspired by what’s growing in this very small yet very productive garden near Gawler.

  • Permaculture South Australia – events and ideas from permies across our state.

Want your group or page listed here? Email us at hello@saurbanfood.org.

Want to brush up on your theory? Flick through our resources on all things Gardeners.

  • ‘Starting a garden in Adelaide’ by Nadja’s Garden.

    This fabulous free eBook has been developed over the past decade by Nadja Osterstock, a permaculture garden designer based in Adelaide.

    “It’s important to me to refer to experience from local sources wherever possible. Our soils, seasons and native species differ from other places – so learning what works here can save a lot of time, energy and resources,” Nadja says.

  • How-to guide on efficient garden water use.

    This short free manual, compiled by SA Urban Food Network committee member Dr. Georgia Csortan, helps gardeners calculate and compare the water use efficiency of their food garden areas.

  • Every Day Sustainable Living.

    Founded in 2005 by Christopher Day, Every Day Sustainable Living provides advice and planning for permaculture design, and the installation of organic food gardens and edible landscaping. They also run workshops on sustainable education, growing your own food gardens, worms, and nature play.

    Chris and his partner also run Cockatoo Creek Farm on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

  • Milkwood Permaculture.

    Now based in Tasmania, Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar have run Milkwood in various locations across Australia for the past 10 years.

    Their website and blog are a treasure trove of information, resources and how-to guides for everything from making your own potting mix to growing garlic and cultivating your own mushrooms at home.

  • Good Life Permaculture.

    Good Life Permaculture, a small-scale permaculture property based in Tasmania, has a brilliant blog full of tips and tricks for Gardeners.

    We particularly liked when they asked a few of their ‘goat friends some questions – if you’ve ever considered goats for your garden or property, read ‘Four goat case studies from around Australia‘.

Visual learners and multitaskers rejoice! This video compilation is for you - all things gardeners.

  • Gardening Australia YouTube.

    ABC’s Gardening Australia TV show has a large collection of videos for growing great fruit, vegetables and herbs, and a brilliant YouTube channel. These are three of our favourites.

  • 3000acres YouTube.

    Melbourne-based urban community garden advocates 3000acres have a Youtube channel showcasing a great variety of food gardens. These are our two favourites.

Help us uncover those working towards a regenerative local food system. Do you know of something we should add here?

Email hello@saurbanfood.org 

Meet our ‘Gardeners’ connectors.

  • ‘Connectors’ are South Australians who volunteer their time to help link our network, providing information, contacts and connections to our members.

  • Are you our missing connector?

    We are looking for another Connector – are you interested or already engaged in this space? Do you have good connections with others? Or do you keep up with relevant events?

    What’s involved? Less than an hour a month (when needed) responding to questions and letting us know about resources or events within your food space.

    Get in touch.

  • Malcolm Haines.

    Malcolm tends to Ligaya Garden, ainy yet hugely productive food garden and family home. It is grown from a passion to create a more sustainable and healthy life. Malcolm is active in his community in Adelaide’s Northern Suburbs and is happy to help support and link gardeners in this area.

    Have a question for Malcolm? Join our network to gain Connector access, then just email us at hello@saurbanfood.org