Growing food, creating space, bringing people together
Creating isn’t always about making something from scratch. Sometimes it begins with a few herbs on a windowsill, a fruit tree in the backyard, or a garden bed built slowly over time. Speaking with Rachael Sanderson from Life a Little Greener, a small family-run business working with regenerative gardening and property care, the conversation stays close to the ground — food, knowledge and the way gardens pull people into the same space. She shares what she’s learned about starting and sustaining a home garden, whatever size you’re working with.
1. Starting small, thinking differently
For someone wanting to begin a garden, no matter how small, what matters most at the beginning?
Start small. One bed is enough. Learn how that space works, then build from there.
Soil is doing most of the work. Get that right and the rest follows.
2. Making space, wherever you are
What are the simplest ways to start growing food at home in small spaces?
Go with perennial herbs and greens; sorrel, chicory, thyme, parsley, oregano, basil, nasturtium, rosemary. They stay in the system once they’re in.
In pots, go bigger than you think. Small containers dry out fast. Terracotta holds a steadier temperature than plastic, especially in the sun.
In small yards, you can stack a surprising amount in one space. Fruit trees, bananas, ginger, turmeric, sweet potato, herbs, flowers, ground covers — they sit into each other rather than compete.
3. The ground beneath it all
How important is soil health?
It is the foundation of everything. Start with good compost — either homemade or a high-quality source. Add mulch and keep it on the soil.
Avoid synthetic fertilisers. They may push growth quickly but don’t build long-term soil health. Organic inputs like composted manures, blood and bone, fish or kelp emulsions and biological amendments created locally by Soilife, support the soil system that feeds plants.
4. Quick wins that build confidence
What are reliable plants for beginners in this region?
Cool months bring sorrel, chicory, silverbeet, Brazilian spinach, spring onion, kale, snow peas.
Warm months shift into Malabar spinach, cucumber, rosella, hibiscus, warrigal greens, eggplant, basil, chilli, ginger, turmeric, mint.
They keep coming back if you keep picking them.
Seedlings make a difference at the start. Mad Mountain Organics grow strong ones, and Aura in Murwillumbah carries a steady seasonal range. What matters most is timing them right.
Comfrey helps hold a system together — chop it, drop it, feed it back in. Mushrooms like native oyster can grow on logs or woodchips and quietly build soil while they fruit (pictured below). Organisations like We Forest Earth can teach you how to grow endemic fungi in your backyard gardens easily.
5. Working with the land, not against it
How can home gardeners work with natural systems?
Think in layers. Nothing sits alone. Everything has a job in the mix; shade, mulch, food, habitat, pollinators.
Season matters. Some things won’t push through summer heat, others stall in winter. Once you start planting for the season instead of against it, the garden becomes easier to read.
Native flowering plants bring in insects that do a lot of the unseen work. Nurseries like Northern Rivers Natives, Rainbow Regen, Tree People, and Burringbar Rainforest Nursery carry what suits this place.
6. Learning as you go
What are common mistakes when starting out?
Soil is usually the weak point at the beginning. Without compost, nothing else stabilises. Mulch gets skipped, then everything dries out faster than expected. People often plant what’s on the shelf instead of what suits the season.
Flowers get left out, even though they do a lot of the balancing work in a garden. Most of it settles with time. The garden teaches you as much as you put into it.
7 . From garden beds to shared tables
How can gardens connect people beyond private spaces?
Food brings people together. Growing it, sharing it, eating it. What’s left over moves outward, neighbours, friends, local food groups.
Workshops and community gardens speed that up. You learn faster when you’re working beside someone else.There’s even a locally made app, Uforage, which helps connect people with backyard and larger-scale growers, as well as local foraging spots.
8. Why small gardens matter more than they seem
Why do home gardens matter in food resilience?
They cut dependence on long supply chains and bring people back into season and place.
In the Tweed, where weather events can disrupt access, small gardens and local farms sit side by side in keeping food available.
The region is also a remarkably diverse food bowl, with growers producing everything from leafy greens and herbs to citrus, mushrooms and staple vegetables. Farms like Summit Organics, Sylva Lining Organics and Green Bird Organics supply produce through local markets, including weekly farmers markets.
Places like The Farmers’ Store make local organic boxes more accessible for families who don’t have time to grow everything themselves, while the Bio Organic Farm Shop in Murwillumbah keeps locally grown produce within easy reach throughout the week.
Supporting local growers has a direct effect on the region. It keeps food moving through the local community instead of being pushed further into large distribution systems. It helps farms keep going, employ people, improve infrastructure and remain part of the region long term.
When you buy locally, you know who your money is going to. You’re backing families, growers and small farms that are part of the community itself.
Creating doesn’t always look creative in the way we expect. Sometimes it’s a garden bed slowly filling out, herbs growing by the kitchen door, or food shared across a table at the end of the day.
What begins as a few plants often becomes something larger, a reason to spend time outside, a way to eat differently, a connection to neighbours, seasons and the place you live. You don’t need much space to start, and you don’t need to know everything before you begin.
As Rachael says throughout the conversation, the important thing is simply to start small, pay attention and let the garden teach you the rest.
