Elizabeth Bosworth and her two sons, Harry, 4, and James, 7, grow their own veggies and have fruit trees entirely covering their backyard in suburban Robina. Picture: Adam Head
Gold Coast mum Elizabeth Bosworth never expected a blueberry obsession would transform her suburban backyard into a mini food farm.
But after struggling to buy enough berries for her young son during the Covid pandemic — and watching grocery prices climb — the 36-year-old decided there had to be a better way.
With grocery prices soaring, more Queenslanders are turning to growing their own food.
Now, the Robina mother-of-two grows much of her family’s fresh produce at home, including bananas, spinach, strawberries, carrots, tomatoes and citrus fruit, all on her 700sq m block.
“We started with blueberries because my son was eating a punnet a day and they were so expensive during Covid,” she said.
“I remember thinking, ‘There’s got to be a better way’. Then it went on to spinach, strawberries, carrots and fruit trees.”
A photo of some of the vegetables Elizabeth Bosworth and her family have been growing on their property in Robina. Image: @theheritagelivingco Instagram.
Today, the family has 15 banana trees, citrus trees and a mango tree that produces about 200 mangoes each season.
“We haven’t bought bananas in almost two years,” Ms Bosworth said.
“When they’re in season, we freeze and dehydrate them so we’ve always got enough when they’re out of season.”
The family also freezes capsicum and tomatoes for meals, dehydrates citrus fruit and composts food scraps and grass clippings to reduce waste.
A photo of Elizabeth Bosworth’s son helping harvest the mango tree on their property in Robina. Image: @theheritagelivingco Instagram.
Mrs Bosworth estimates the family saves about $50 a week on fresh produce and has not bought leafy greens in three years.
“A big part of cutting costs is learning how to save your seeds,” she said. “At the start I was constantly buying plants from Bunnings, but now we grow from seed and replant from what we already have.”
The growing interest in home food production comes as new figures by Primara Research commissioned by Money.com.au reveals Queenslanders are leading the nation in plans to become more self-sufficient, with 57 per cent intending to grow their own food at home.
Queenslanders are leading the nation when it comes to food self-sufficiency, according to a new study. Picture: Andy Rogers.
Mrs Bosworth said more people had started reaching out for advice amid growing concerns about rising grocery prices and supermarket shortages.
“When I started three years ago, nobody I knew was growing food,” she said.
“I was learning everything from YouTube. Now friends come over and can’t believe you can grow bananas in suburban Robina.
“I think since this talk of food shortages, more people have been reaching out.”
A photo of the veggie garden on Elizabeth Bosworth’s property in Robina. Image: @theheritagelivingco Instagram.
The survey of 1000 Australians also found residents in the Sunshine State are the least likely to dismiss the need to prepare their homes for global instability, natural disasters and rising living costs.
“I think we’d be a lot more prepared than other people,” Mrs Bosworth said. “We have a constant food supply and knowldedge of how to grow our own food.
“With all thats happening lately — all the talk about supermarket shortrages — we’ve got enough (food) as a base to go off.
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