Hello. I’m Bec Pollock. I like thinking about dinner. Even at breakfast time.
I grow heirloom vegetables for the thrill of it. I love being out in the garden, hanging out with our chooks and bees. I get to be creative in the kitchen with baskets full of fresh, organic produce, making delicious meals, and natural products for my home and family.
My family and I have been living this ‘urban homesteading’ lifestyle since 2009. You can read more about our journey here (including the zombie prep). So, over the last 9 years I have:
- Started growing vegetables and herbs in Hugelkultur, No-dig & Wicking Worm Garden Beds, plus planting perennials, more fruit trees and berries
- Got chickens and bees, plus added a rainwater tank, solar panels, greenhouse, a worm farm and compost bins
- Started preserving, by bottling, dehydrating, pressure canning, lacto-fermenting and freezing
- Volunteered and co-run PermaBlitz ACT, and volunteering with Urban Agriculture Australia, at Floriade in 2013, presenting in the Gourmet Garden marquee.
- Completed a Backyard Organic Growing with Permaculture Principles, an Introduction to Permaculture course, a Milkwood Permaculture Natural Beekeeping Course with Tim Malfroy, and other short courses.
My family is just likes yours. We have an active schedule, we face dietary challenges, and we are trying to keep our kids healthy and happy. So why start growing our own food?
We started growing and preserving food as a way to be prepared, and to stop being so reliant on the food industry. It was an awesome way to embrace being more sustainable, earth friendly and ethical.
Plus there are so many other benefits for our family, not the least being affordable, chemical-free fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs, eggs and honey. I love eating real food, and I cook from scratch a lot, to cater to our gluten-free and low FODMAP requirements. I love making healthy, delicious family meals, trying to squeeze as many veges and herbs in as I can.
Feeding my family is a joy, but it’s sometimes a pain in the you-know-what. It’s never ending, right, they seem to want to be fed, like, every day! That’s why I turn to meal planning + meal prep, plus ‘cook once, serve twice’ recipes, as ways to save time in the kitchen. I am also into using up leftovers and creating recipes to hide those green vegetables. (What zucchini?! None in this brownie, kids!)
What I want is for your food and home to be less processed, more productive, and full of abundance. Eating good food doesn’t have to be a chore! We can start where we are, use what we have, and do what we can.
There have been lots of challenges over the years, though, including balancing life, family, work, and all the wonderful things that can sometimes drive you crazy.
It took my family a lot of years, and argh! moments to get to where we are with our urban homestead. (And we still have plenty of those moments!)
I remember feeling overwhelmed by too much information, and didn’t know where to start. If you are feeling the same way, I get it. I have been there! Some days it felt like we didn’t have enough time, energy or money to do everything we wanted to. We had to dig deep, become resilient and resourceful!
Even now that we have set up our urban homestead, things need maintenance, they evolve, and we face challenges… like partners & kids who are busy doing their own thing! Or a kitchen bench covered in produce waiting to be cooked or preserved!
Between troubleshooting naughty pests + disease dilemmas, encouraging our chooks to start laying again, cooking zucchini a million ways, or processing batch after batch of preserves… it can be tricky work.
It isn’t always easy, but it is do-able… and it is worth it. Let me show you how!
