Rebecca's Blog

Rebecca Stewart: To share with the birds

Sometimes late summer harvests are better shared.

Rebecca Stewart: Homegrown Pergolas

Rebecca takes measures to ensure that their trees last a few more lifetimes.

Rebecca Stewart: Following in the footsteps

Rebecca reflects on the struggles of those who lived on their block of land before her family.

Rebecca Stewart: The hardwork reality of homegrown, handmade hazelnut biscuits

Rebecca cracks some hazelnuts and makes a delicious bikkie.

Rebecca Stewart: Living with the seasons

Rebecca reflects on the changes that come each day on the farm during a new season's approach

Rebecca Stewart: Nature will do what nature does

Each garden has different friends and foes, writes Rebecca.

Rebecca Stewart: All creatures great and small

Spring is here, and with it comes many livestock considerations.

Rebecca Stewart: The Good Life

Rebecca reflects on the joys of her homestead life and learnings.

Rebecca Stewart: The beautiful simplicity in a bare fridge

Rebecca Stewart reflects on how the need to have a full fridge falls away when growing to eat.

Rebecca Stewart: Bottling summer's sweetness

Digging, peeling, crushing and boiling yacon for a year of syrup.

Rebecca Stewart: The rise of the pressure canner

This modern tool adds a new string to the self-sufficient homesteader's bow.

Rebecca Stewart: The joys of an autumn evening

A walk through her land during an autumn evening sees Rebecca Stewart reflect on the work and reward of many years.

Rebecca Stewart: Finding silver linings in the summer that wasn’t

In a chaotic corner of the garden battered by a cyclonic south-easterly, Rebecca Stewart reflects on future possibilities.

Rebecca Stewart: Make tree hay while the sun shines

When wet weather makes traditional hay making a drama, Rebecca Stewart finds making tree fodder hay a much more enjoyable process.

Rebecca Stewart: Fragrance of life

One can not live off food alone. Beauty, too, is sustenance for the soul.

Rebecca Stewart: The flight of the bumblebee

The humble bumble is an adored (and necessary) friend in Rebecca's garden.

Rebecca Stewart: Winter’s final blast

Nature shows no mercy as it rips through Rebecca's homestead.

Rebecca Stewart: The long and winding road

The road leading to Rebecca Stewart's homestead is rocky, unpredictable, and full of stories.

Rebecca Stewart: A time of new life

With spring on the homestead, Rebecca Stewart welcomes the cycle of life.

Rebecca Stewart: The hearth fires of home

Winter in Rebecca Stewart's off-grid bungalow means everyone's drawn to the crackling fireplace.

Rebecca Stewart: Why small-scale sustainability is possible

It takes a village – until Rebecca Stewart suggests otherwise.

Rebecca Stewart’s Blog: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

When the to-do list grows, Rebecca Stewart turns to the world of secondhand – saving the planet one rescued tool at a time.

Rebecca Stewart's Blog: Living our best life

The beauty and hardship of self-sufficiency makes living off the land better than material wealth, writes Rebecca Stewart.

Rebecca Stewart’s Blog: Preserving up a storm

Bottling the last of the harvest is no easy task when the goal is a year’s supply of sauces, tomatoes and plum wine.

Rebecca Stewart’s Blog: The self-sufficiency mindset

Our new columnist, who lives on a six-hectare block in King Country, makes it her daily mission to live as self-sufficient as possible. A can-do attitude is a necessity, writes Rebecca.

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