Three Things I Got Wrong Building SideStall
I thought sellers wanted features. I thought buyers would search. I underestimated cash and trust. Three wrong guesses and what they taught us.
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The Same Saturday Morning, Two Very Different Ways
A trolley under fluorescent lights, or a drive to three stalls with the kids. Same shopping money, two very different Saturdays. The swap is one stall.
We're Small. That's the Point.
Every startup pretends to be bigger than it is. Here's the opposite: why being early on SideStall means the founder personally notices your stall.
The Best Marketing in SideStall's History Wasn't Done by Us
One seller shared her stall link with her own small following. It drove about a quarter of all buyers arriving on SideStall. Here's what she did.
We Made Five Sowing Guides and They're Free
Five free sowing guides, one for each Australian climate zone: 58 plants, month by month, with soil temps and harvest times. Tell us where to send them.
Turn Passing Cars Into Customers
A car that drives past your stall once can become a customer who orders every week. A sign, a QR code, and thirty seconds of setup.
Nervous About Your First Farm-Gate Pickup? Here's All That Happens
Drive up. Say g'day. Take the box with your name on it. A gentle guide to your first farm-gate pickup, for everyone who finds new things awkward.
How to Actually Find Things on SideStall
Search by what people sell, not who they are. Type honey, eggs or sourdough, or use the @ handle for a seller you know. Here's how finding works.
Who Put That Stall on the Map?
On some apps, anyone can list a stall they don't run. On SideStall every stall is put up and kept current by the person standing at the gate.
Alice Zaslavsky is sharing recipes with us, starting with a spring salad
Alice Zaslavsky is sharing some of her cookbook recipes with the SideStall community. First up, a spring salad, and where to find the greens for it.
If You Started a Stall and Stopped, This Is for You
Plenty of people create a stall on SideStall and stop one step from the finish. You're closer than you think. Five minutes, honestly.
The Steak That Should Have Been Graded Out
A shopper found what looked like an abscess in a supermarket steak. Coles says it should have been graded out. At the gate, the distance is a handshake.
Baked Eggs with Greens and a Little Chilli
One pan, twenty minutes, and a very good use of a cabbage. Eggs are the one ingredient we can point you to in four states this month.
What's Happened Since the Food Fraud Story
The ACCC is asking questions, the companies deny everything, and the testing itself is being argued over. None of it changes what you can do this week.
The Only Import Anyone Routinely Tests
Buried in the food fraud coverage: honey is the only imported food routinely tested for adulteration, and only 5% of it. Everything else runs on trust.
The Turmeric Had Paint Pigment in It
Testing for Four Corners reportedly found a paint pigment in one brand's turmeric. You can't buy turmeric at a farm gate. The lesson still travels.
The Carton Claim Nobody Can Test
Four Corners says a cage-free egg claim failed testing. The seller disputes it, and one expert says no test can check it. At a farm gate you just look.
Farm Gates and Roadside Stalls of Northern Tasmania
Northern Tasmania is full of stalls at the end of driveways. Here's a run of them, from a farm stand at Gawler to a fridge at Yolla, and how to find them.
Roast Pumpkin and Cauliflower with Black Garlic and Honey
A winter tray bake that converts cauliflower sceptics, with a note on which stalls around the country may have each ingredient this month.
Who Grew Your Tomatoes?
Testing for Four Corners failed a fifth of supermarket tomato products on origin. The companies deny it. Here's the version you can check yourself.
How to Finish Your Stripe Setup and Get Paid
The setup step that trips people up is Stripe. It's quick once you know what it needs, and this walks you through finishing it.
Run Your Stall From the Big Screen: A Guide to the Seller Portal
The Commercial plan adds a desktop back-office: bulk product upload, a photo library, tax invoices, and Stripe ID setup without your phone.
A Day of Stall Hopping in the Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are full of stalls at the end of driveways. Here's a day out, from garlic to sourdough to honey, and how to find them.
Every Farmers' Market On This Weekend, 15 and 16 August
48 farmers' markets are running across SA, Victoria, NSW, WA and Tasmania this Saturday and Sunday. Times and venues, confirmed at the source.
"What's the Catch?" SideStall's Fees, Explained Straight
No monthly fee to take payments on any plan. A platform fee only when a buyer actually pays in the app. Here is how the money works, nothing buried.
Selling Meat by Weight at the Farm Gate: Deposits, Weigh-Ins and Getting Paid
You can't price a lamb pack before it's cut, and a no-show on cut stock hurts. Here's how deposit-now, weigh-at-pickup ordering works, and why meat is the most open category on the map.
I Almost Shared That Food Secrets Reel. Then We Checked It
A reel doing the rounds says your chicken is bleached and your apples are waxed with petroleum. We checked every claim. Some hold up. Most don't.
A Grower Told Me It's Too Hard to Keep It All Updated
A fruit grower wrote back: too many platforms to update already, and fresh fruit is impossible to predict. Fair point. Here's my honest answer.
How to Take Cake Orders Without the DM Chaos
If your order book is forty unread messages and a screenshot of a bank transfer, here is a calmer system that does not cost you the personal touch.
The Toaster Test: Why Supermarket Bread Burns Before Real Bread Browns
Same toaster, same setting. The packet loaf goes to charcoal while a baker's loaf turns gold. Your toaster isn't broken. Here's the kitchen science, and where to find the real thing.
Why the Honesty Box Still Works in 2026
An unlocked tin on a country road should not survive a cashless decade. It does, and what keeps it working is more interesting than good manners.
The Watchdog Steps In: ACCC Opens Inquiry Into Food Labelling
The ACCC is investigating misleading food labels after Four Corners' testing found tomato paste, seafood, eggs and turmeric that didn't match the packet.
Barossa, Gawler and the Northern Plains: Buying Direct When It's Not Saturday Morning
The Barossa's market is a Saturday morning institution. Here is where to buy direct from growers and bakers across the corridor the other six days.
Flower Stalls, Honey and Farm Gates Within 30 Minutes of Mount Barker
Eleven stalls you can drive to from Mount Barker in half an hour or less: flower farms and florists, honey, eggs, pasture-raised meat and roasted coffee.
What's at the Farm Gate in August in South Australia
Winter is the underrated season at the gate: citrus at its peak, brassicas, root vegetables, and the year's garlic. Here is what to look for in August.
Can't Find Australian-Grown on the Shelf? Skip the Shelf.
Shoppers are hunting supermarket shelves for Australian-grown food and coming up empty. At a farm gate, the country of origin is standing in front of you.
Selling Home-Baked Goods in SA: The Rules in Plain English (2026)
Thinking of selling your baking in South Australia? Here is what the Food Act actually asks of you, in plain English, and who to ring before you start.
When the Label Can't Be Trusted, Ask the Person Who Made It
Four Corners found food fraud is rampant in Australian supermarkets. It gets in at the handovers between farm and shelf, and buying direct has only one.
Is Your Supermarket Sourdough Actually Sourdough?
Most supermarket "sourdough" isn't the real thing. Here's how to spot the difference, and how to find a local baker's true loaf on SideStall.
What "Free Range" Actually Means on an Egg Carton
"Free range" can legally mean 10,000 hens per hectare. Here's how to read an egg carton properly, and why the number is printed on the pack.
Why Supermarket Honey All Tastes the Same
Supermarket honey isn't fake: it's blended, heated and filtered until every jar tastes alike. Here's what a local beekeeper's jar gives you instead.
The Drive That Started SideStall
A school run past a dozen roadside stalls he could never stop at. The Sunday Mail on how SideStall started, and what it's for.
Selling Eggs at the Gate in SA: What the Rules Actually Say (2026)
Got more eggs than your family can eat? Here is what South Australia asks of you before you put a sign at the gate, and who to ring to be sure.