South Australia is packed full of great people working on tons of truly inspiring gardening, permaculture, farming and sustainability projects — and, happily, many of them are on Instagram.
I love the insight these accounts provide. You feel like you’re right beside a gardener as they discover a new and better way of germinating seedlings. You witness the highs and lows of regenerative farming. You understand that organic flower farming can be as heartbreaking as it is beautiful (frost and earwigs are the devil, apparently).
So I thought it high time I compiled a list of all my favourite South Aussie Instagram accounts, so you can share in their awesomeness, too. These are the folk I love to follow for constant inspiration, tips, knowledge exchange and ideas — and all of them are based right here in SA. That’s important to me, because I often bump up against the perception that all the cool stuff in Australia happens on the east coast. Not true!
Bonus points: if you live here in SA, you can easily support local and reduce food miles by buying from any of the good peeps below.
I’ve called this list my favourite 50, but this list is by no means exhaustive — these are just the wonderful folk I’ve found so far. I’m happy to keep adding more people as I hear of them. Nominate yourself or others in the comments, please!
Gardeners in Adelaide + wider SA
- @sophiespatch — if you watch Gardening Australia on tellie, you know Sophie. Her beautiful drought-tolerant garden in the harsh Mount Barker climate is an inspiration for Aussie growing.
- @edible.adelaide — an account by my genius friend Jacqui, who is an absolute powerhouse of gardening, foraging and sustainable living knowledge. Keep an eye out for her Insta stories, which contain so many tips.
- @_welcometomygarden_ — an insight into Monique’s urban organic garden in Adelaide. Loads of inspiring pix of the bounty you can grow, even while living in the city.
- @thedanielladiary — Dani shares weekly sustainability tips that are so helpful for making positive change in the world, plus loads of photos from her beautiful garden.
- @ligayagarden — this family grows veggies from a teeeeeny tiny block in Gawler, and blogs about all they learn.
- @shecooksshegardens — Erin is a pro-gardener based in Adelaide and so generous with her knowledge, sharing pearls of wisdom across Insta and also her blog.
- @thepeacefulseed — Keitha is an Adelaide herbalist who shares loads of useful info about growing, making, seed saving and bringing up a little person, often infused with deeply personal learnings and wisdom.
- @forest.road — a little Adelaide Hills farm, home to gardener, indoor plant lover and accomplished potter, Megan. They have a farm gate stall launching soon.
- @half.time.hippy — Shelley shares little vignettes from her life and veggie garden in the Adelaide Hills, with a couple young boys in tow.
- @a_kailyard_in_adelaide — Rachel and Jamie grow organic produce on a regular suburban block in the Adelaide foothills, and sporadically blog about the process too.
- @jessofspotsandstripes — Jess lives on the Yorke Peninsula and shares tips and photos from her wonderfully productive home garden … all the more impressive because she’s also a mum of four!
- @charlies.patch — Charlie is a beginner grower in the Adelaide Hills, sharing loads of great photos and videos of his garden slowly developing and flourishing. He’s definitely a green thumb!
- @saurbanfood — an emerging non-profit focused on creating a local and regenerative food system in South Australia. Lots of local info, events and knowledge shared, plus regular ‘case study’ stories on local foodies.
South Aussies practising permaculture
- @koren.helbig — um, yep … that’s me! Instagram is the main place I share my own journey to learning more about permaculture and biodynamics.
- @yarnauwi — Joel and Sophie are slowly regenerating this Fleurieu Peninsula former sheep farm using permaculture principals. They often host group tree planting days and also have a brilliant Etsy store.
- @my_little_permaculture — one to follow if you’re renting. This inspiring account is all about converting an inner-city quarter-acre block into a thriving permaculture garden.
- @emma.lewellyn — Emma’s feed is a dream to wander through, full of beautiful photos and tips on gardening and permaculture life. She’s a teacher, too, so there’s lots of good stuff here for those with little folk of their own.
- @portadelaidefoodgardening — this brilliant little indie nursery in Port Adelaide is run using permaculture principals. Stop by for seedlings, seeds, SA-made worm farms and other useful gardening bits and bobs.
- @soilbleedsgreen — a self-described “permaculture newbie” documenting all the wonderful shifts that come with this lifestyle.
Biodynamic, organic + regenerative farms in South Australia
- @jembellafarm — Sally and Brian’s insightful posts about life on their biodynamic Barossa Valley farm have taught me all sorts about bee and chicken keeping, animal husbandry, veggie gardening and cooking. Check out their Angaston farm stall in person and Sally’s blog online.
- @little_forest_farm — based on 40 acres on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Hailey and Rohan are slowly building a native food farm using regenerative agriculture principles. Seriously stunning photos abound! (Probably because Hailey is a pro photographer…)
- @nomadfarms & @farmerfalkai — these two young couples are taking regenerative farming next-level, with two businesses working in tandem from the same Fleurieu property. Nomad farms beef and meat birds, and Farmer Falkai follows behind with laying chickens.
- @unspunhoney — Matthew is one of few South Aussie commercial beekeepers following natural beekeeping practices and using Warré hives. He’s based on the Limestone Coast. Awesome stuff.
- @growandharvestsa — Bec’s little market garden is already feeding 25 families in Tatachilla, and growing. She hosts regular workshops and volunteer days, with excess produce sold at the garden gate. An inspiring example of small-scale resilience.
- @papershellfarm — an organic almond orchard at Willunga, which also has a thriving veggie patch, honey bees, weekly yoga classes and a lodge where you can stay for a night or five. Beautiful pix on this account.
- @cockatoocreekfarm — long-time Permaculture South Australia president Chris and his partner Bridgett farm garlic, sheep and cattle regeneratively on their Yankalilla property.
- @sovereign_soil_farm — Dominic and Holly are creating a farm growing Indigenous and conventional food, herbs & flowers at Two Wells, north of Adelaide.
- @ecosystemfarms — this totally natural (chemical-free) aquaponics farm on the Fleurieu Peninsula grow cracking produce and seedlings.
- @villagegreensofwillungacreek — created by Nat and friends, these young farmers cultivate a one-acre market garden beside the Aldinga Arts Eco Village. Catch them at the @willungafarmersmarket each week.
- @nassaorganic — the national organic certification association is based here in South Australia, in Stirling (Adelaide Hills). Pretty cool, huh?
Locally grown, organic seeds and seedlings
- @heirloom_harvest — if you’re looking for veggie seeds grown locally, Heirloom Harvest on the Fleurieu Peninsula is the go. Also home to @dancingwatersfarm.au.
- @joesconnectedgarden — a truly amazing concept, this group of neighbours in Elizabeth tore down their fences and now share gardens. (They’re a lot more active on Facebook than Insta.) Don’t miss their open days and plant sale days.
- @redochrefarm — a small-scale market garden in the Barossa, also often selling top-notch seeds and seedlings during weekend sale days at Salisbury Park.
- @saseedbank — this account is just plain cool if you’re into plants and seeds. This conservation group works from within Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens, banking and storing seeds from SA’s threatened flora — and sharing super-cool photos in the process.
Produce boxes & honesty stalls in South Australia
- @the.local.yum — an honesty stall at Devon Park, on Adelaide’s northside, selling organically grown veggies, seedlings, wild-foraged olives + more. I might be biased on this one, as it’s my own stall…
- @organicbox_sa — we get a box of organic fresh produce delivered by Vanessa + Jason each fortnight, and can’t sing their praises highly enough. They also grow a ton of their own food on their Adelaide Hills property.
- @girlfridayorganics — another Adelaide Hills-based option, Peta offers certified organic produce and pantry items and delivers to houses across South Australia.
- @harris_street_farm — located at Glenelg East, this little stall sells herb and flower posies, as well as excess homegrown fruit and veggies.
- @one.tree.farm — this super-inspiring farm stall at Middleton features fabulously fresh organic produce grown on the family farm. Yum.
- @korinyafarmgate — Mary-Anne and Scott are regenerative farmers at Cummins on the Eyre Peninsula, selling beef, pork and chicken (plus other yum things) from their farmgate stall, and also running regular cooking and sustainability workshops. Love!
South Aussie organic flower farmers
- @theroseandradish — Rosie and Oscar grow flowers using organic principles from their little farm in Picadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills). Check out their gorgeous farm gate stall, too.
- @littlelyndochflowerfarm — Rob and Katie are creating a beautiful flower farm in the Barossa Valley, while also rebuilding an old farmhouse.
- @kidmanflowers — my sisters and I took our mum up to this beautiful Hills property a few years back, for a native flower arrangement workshop. Such lovely memories. They also do shed door sales and farm tours.
- @ollys_farm — flowers grown in the Adelaide Hills, plus hand-thrown pottery. What’s not to love?
Sustainability, zero waste and cool practical life skills
- @earthshipironbank — one of the first official Earthships built in Australia, a powerhouse example of off-grid living. And now bookable on Airbnb!
- @folkofalltrades — Dani and Sam share skills around sustainability and simple living from their Aldinga strawbale home. Their live how-to videos (mostly on Facebook) are a must-watch.
- @love.earth.laura — Laura shares easy actionable tips to make your life more sustainable day-by-day. She really breaks it down into tiny steps that are super easy to bring into your life.
- @grannyskills — Rebecca is a regenerative farmer in Clare, and also has a bunch of cookbooks and sustainability books to her name. Check out her amazing native foods project @warndu, with her partner Damien.
- @the_good_life_with_amy_french — Amy blogs about zero waste and sustainability matters, with a healthy dose of gardening bits and bobs thrown in for good measure.
- @naturestreetcreative — one to follow if you have kids and want ideas on how to get them outside more. Or, y’know, if you just love pretty pix of the great outdoors … Claire is a great photographer!
- @adelaidesustainability — a community environment centre within Adelaide’s former bus station, which hosts a bunch of amazing organisations and informative events. Also home to @thejoineryadelaide and @thefoodprintexperience cafe.
- @honest.earth — based in Adelaide, Sarah is all about organic edible garden design (um, does it get any cooler than this?!) and all things sustainable. Also check out her @honestearthgardens account.
- @resourcefulrachel — Rachel is a mum-of-two living on an Eyre Peninsula farm, who regularly shares simple and easy sustainability tips for gardeners and those with little people.
Other accounts I love
- @thewildfoodhuntress — Kate shows us just how much delicious and nutritious food is growing all around us … often mistakenly labelled “weeds”. I’ve been on a couple of her foraging workshop walks and they are brilliantly informative.
- @moth_nut — his Insta stories! Tom takes you behind-the-scenes on ecologist jaunts into far-flung corners of SA. You’ll hear bird calls, learn different plant types, watch land regeneration in action…
- @northbrightoncommunitygarden — Alex is in her 20s and set up this vibrant community garden at Brighton — impressive, huh? Her posts are really informative, full of tips on what to plant, how to harvest + more.
- @hello_slow — I just love her beautiful, minimalist photos of everyday life around SA.
What do you think? Did I get them all?
Do feel free to nominate yourself or others in the comments, please — I’d love to keep slowly growing this list.
This was a GREAT read and I have followed most of these accounts now. Great stuff Koren! :)
Oh yay, thanks so much Hayley – glad it was useful :)
I love that this is an SA list :) I follow many, but I’m always looking for more south Aussie IG accounts to follow, and you have provided! :)
– Corryn@DewalEdibleGardens
Hooray! So happy to hear this, Corryn :)
Great list! I’d love to be included @prettyfoodforest
Wow – go Kate. Your garden looks epic! Thanks so much for commenting here so we can all connect with you :)
What an incredible list! I’ve dabbled in organic vegetable gardening over the years, but I’m having a lot of trouble this year with pests and disease, so I’m wanting to learn all I can. Thank you for your time and effort in compiling this resource. Namaste from Govinda
So glad it was helpful, and good luck with getting your garden back on track. :)