REBEL FARMS

07/07/2025

Meet the Clarks - our new neighbors and co-founding members of our growing agrihood. Recent transplants to New Smyrna Beach from Orlando - Cameron, Courtney, and their 3-year-old son are planting roots (literally) on their ¾-acre property, where they’re building an agroforest homestead centered on community, sustainability, solidarity, joy and play.

Cameron is a web developer with a background as a philosophy professor and English educator abroad. He’s passionate about local food systems, community resilience, and martial arts. When he’s not coding or in the garden, you can find him rolling in the grass with his son or sketching out ideas to support agrihood efforts.

Courtney brings her own rich story to the mix. She spent years teaching overseas, ran a flower truck business for three years, and now works as a grant editor at UCF. She’s a lover of finding adventures, hiking, yoga, gardening, and traveling, and finds joy in sharing seasonal meals and slow mornings in the garden.

Their son is a kind and curious little guy with a big imagination, an even bigger heart, and a serious sweet tooth. He’s happiest outside, where he can explore barefoot, play pretend, and dive deep into his current Bluey obsession. Whether he’s helping plant seeds, climbing dirt piles, or hosting imaginary restaurant dinners under the trees, he’s growing up in a space full of wonder and connection.

The Clarks were drawn to Rebel Farms for its spirit. They believe in the power of neighbors helping neighbors, in turning backyards into ecosystems, and in raising kids who feel capable, rooted, and free.

They’re excited to co-create a resilient, joyful, and interdependent future alongside the Rebel Farms community - one tree, one meal, and one good story at a time.

04/28/2025

What are people for? Windell Berry once posed this question but his essay & every philosopher before or since has fallen far short of a clear answer to this ancient inquiry. Now this question burns deeper in my conscience as the AI revolution, still in its infancy, begins its inexorable rise leading us at best to utopia & at worst to economic ruin & irrelevant, sidelined existence...maybe even extinction.

So, what are people for? It seems like a simple, even stupid question. But zoom out from you 9-5, from your position in the rat race, from your political ideology, from your mortgage, from your bills, your obligations - and ask the question again...what are people for? More likely than not the answer you conjure is not to consume, to clock in & out, to commute, to invest, to mow the yard, to compete, to scroll...it’s easier to say what people are NOT for than what they are.

So far so cliche. You’ve heard all this before & you’re probably asking with some annoyance, “So Tyson, what are people for?” Frustratingly, I still don’t know. But I think the answer, if there is one, is to be closer to what our 4 million years of evolution designed. We hunted. We gathered. We worked little, compared to today. We formed small, strong bands of mostly egalitarian communities. We wore little, if any clothing. We had no religion as we know it today. Private property & ownership were understood but not valued.

Don’t get me wrong. Our ancient ancestors struggled too. Life was short, sometimes violent & always precarious. But perhaps we can blend the best of the prehistoric ways with its egalitarian communities, reliance on nature & the simplicity of hunting/gathering with the best of the modern ways with its laws, scientific advancements & abundance. We CAN have both & on our homestead, we do. It requires work, sacrifice, & active rebellion to not be overtaken by the stresses of both the old & modern ways & keeps us forever asking “what are people for”? -Photos by

03/10/2025

Meet Savannah. “Savs” works and lives at Rebel Farms full time and has become a crucial part of both our business and growing agrihood community. She brings tremendous amounts of energy, work ethic and new ideas as well as expertise, s***k and style. She challenges us to test new strategies, build new systems and live healthier lives and we’re all better for it. 

Savannah is a passionate, strong-willed force of nature for Nature. With her sight set on a wholistic and sustainable global system, she is dedicated to contributing one seed or sapling at a time to the ever-expanding and adapting subsistence-based ecosystems that she believes are the foundation to the future of abundance and peace we all deserve.

Savannah has worked in the world of agriculture most of her adult life - primarily organic veggie farming spanning several states in the US. While working as a hike guide in Alaska she had her first experience working with a high-density food forest, which inspired her to shift her agricultural focus. She decided that stewarding land and helping others to do the same is a more sustainable and wholistic way to establish food security within communities. This decision led her to Rebel Farms, where she started out as a volunteer putting thought into action and has quickly become indispensable to the business, the farm and the community of fellow Rebel Farmers in our neighborhood, town and county beyond.

A multi-passionate person, Savannah has a number of creative projects that reflect the theatre and craftiness in her bones, the reflective and determined inner-workings of her mind, and the deeply connected and curious energy of her spirit. You can find out more by following her at  &

01/13/2025

Meet Philomena. Over the next few weeks we want to showcase the people that make up the core of the Rebel Farms team and we’re starting with owner/operator of now the official photographer for Rebel Farms. You’re going to be seeing a lot more of her work in the coming months and we wanted to shed some light on the incredible woman behind the lens.

Philomena, along with her intrepid husband, have lived an adventurous life living and working on sailboats around the world and have now planted roots in NSB buying and restoring a charming seaside house. An accomplished water(wo)man, artist, entrepreneur, chef, creator and photographer - Philly brings such a wide array of talents, passions and vision to our farm and our beloved seaside town and we’re all genuinely lucky to have her.

Philly intrinsically understands the power community and her life and work are deeply rooted in mutual aid, body positivity and being part of the changes we all wish to see in the world, especially on how we grow what we eat and how to best live in harmony with nature.

From a professional perspective, Philomena’s work is truly extraordinary. Her keen sense of lighting, timing and the ability to capture candid - almost surreal moments from out of the ordinary set her apart in her field. Check out her work and stay tuned for future couples, family and group photoshoots at the farm.

11/20/2024

We need recommendations. We are looking to hire a contractor to build a 30’ x 40’ garden fence with 2 gates. Someone that feels capable of doing farm style fences similar to the picture below. The client is looking to keep the cost around $2,000 - $2,500. Please send us a message, if you think this is something you could accomplish. Thank you!

11/19/2024

Turns out, I’m a genius. Apologies for the cliffhanger we left you with weeks ago. We wanted to be sure we had all the facts before we reported back. But its true - the stakes were high. We stared into the void for days on end as the floodwaters crept back unsure if we could rally from another total loss of our crops. We’re not going to sugarcoat it, and all jokes aside - we took a hell of a hit. We’ve lost fruit trees, 25% of our soil (equal to 13 dump truck loads) and taken $12k in damages to our buildings, guest house and farm infrastructure, not to mention lost crops.

But with nearly identical rain, flooding and wind we fared far, far better than we did just two years ago. In Hurricane Ian we lost 90% of our fruit trees. In Milton, we lost 10%. Though we’re still collecting the data, we want to share with you the top three ways we’ve innovated how we farm to survive another flood event with only two years to start from scratch. We think this data is valuable for our global society - to learn and apply both very new and very old agricultural techniques to ensure a secure food supply and biodiversity in a changing climate.

1) Most fruit trees cannot survive long periods of standing water, so we planted our trees 5-7 feet above ground in mounds made from brush, compost and top soil.

2) Fruit trees are vulnerable to wind damage so we planted an elaborate and diverse system of “windbrakes” consisting of bamboo, sea grapes and native palms to slow the wind down. We also planted our newer orchards within a native forest, the canopy of which shielded the fruit trees from the worst of the wind.

3) We selected the best possible trees after meticulous research, testing & collaboration with other growers.

Now that we have proof of concept, we’re going to comeback stronger than ever. And we have applicable data that can help other growers. There’s lots of different ways to help & get involved clink the link in bio to see how. Thank you for all the words of encouragement and solidarity. It truly means the world to us.

11/12/2024

⚠️ 5 ways to HELP in Hurricane recovery
All included in the link in our instagram profile
Please share to all your family and friends💚🌱

1. 2025 Gift Certificate Fundraiser - All proceeds go to current rebuild and will be honored in ALL Rebel Farms products and services in 2025

2. Our Hurricane fundraiser merch store - featuring new designs from local artist .coleman.illustrator .

3. Our Rebel Farms shop - featuring locally printed Rebel Farms merchandise and eclectic/vintage farm finds.

4. Sign up for our volunteer days (TBA in Nov. and Dec.)

5. Get involved in local politics - send us your email and zip and we will send you who to call & what to say!

https://rebelfarmsshop.bigcartel.com/product/hurricane-relief-gift-certificate-fundraiser

https://rebel-farms-shop.printify.me/products

As always, Support your Local Farmer, Stay Rebellious and be kind to your neighbor.

Love, Maggie, Tyson, Quincy and the Rebel Farms Family

11/12/2024

We are excited and looking forward to hosting our Forever Explorers this morning!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GzuS9fFcF/

This Tuesday our Forever Explorers program is heading down on the farm!

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at Rebel Farms, a private organization focused on sustainable agriculture and permaculture. Forever Explorers will gain knowledge on fruit bearing trees and plants that thrive in Central Florida and simple steps homeowners can take to kickstart their own food forest.

This program begins at 11am, and we'll meet at MDC and caravan to Rebel Farms! Learn more & book this outing as well as all of our other upcoming Forever Explorers programs at https://marinediscoverycenter.org/forever-explorers/

06/05/2024

“The farmer has patience and trusts the process. He just has the faith and deep understanding that through his daily efforts, the harvest will come. And then one day, almost out of nowhere, it does.“
-Robin Sharma

Spring has come and gone, but it's not forgotten. The vernal equinox crops of blueberries, peaches, loquats, mulberries and citrus mixed with our dependable perennial-everbearing crops of bananas, papayas and plantains to create our most bountiful, and well-balanced harvest yet. With each season we've learned, painfully so at times, what does and does NOT work. When to fertilize, when to trim, when to pick the fruit before the critters get to them.

We say all this not to boast or brag - but to encourage those trying to grow their own food (especially in Florida's harsh climate) to continue the never ending process of trial and error. To continue experimenting, researching and implementing.

Now we look towards an equally bountiful summer harvest for our avocados, mangoes, figs, guavas, zapotes, cherries, starfruits, gingers and passionfruit among many other experimental plants and trees.

Are you a grower in Florida? If so what are your favorite perennial crops to grow? And why?

05/20/2024

Sometimes we break from the land to play in mama ocean. 🌊☀️💚

05/14/2024

We absolutely loved doing this surprise Lemon 🍋 Tree install for We are continually inspired by our incredible community and their creative vision. We hope this brings joy for many years, and that one day we can drive our grandchildren past this tree dripping with lemons. This project ignited a huge spark in us and we hope to be facilitating many of these Installs in the future. Give us a call 📞 386-845-4196 and we can work together to get more trees in the ground 🍋🍊🥑💚

05/14/2024

Species Spotlight: Musa sapientum (AKA Bananas)

If you live in Florida, you can grow bananas. And here's why you should;

Bananas are the world’s No.4 dietary staple after rice, wheat and corn. They're, by far, the most widely eaten fruit in the United States (Americans eat 26 pounds of them per year, compared to 16 pounds of apples, the No.2 fruit). So this means you can contribute towards the diversification of one of the world's most consumed food products right from your own home.

They're absolutely gorgeous. Whether you like the fruit or not, what is not in dispute is the objective aesthetic beauty of the plant itself. The banana is not actually a tree, it is in fact the world's largest herb. From every stage of the banana's growth habit the plant is just simply mesmerizing, especially when they begin to flower with petal-like bracts growing between the overlapping scales surrounding the enormous bud.

They're super healthy. Sure everyone knows bananas are packed with potassium. However they're also rich in vitamins A, B, C and G. Although they're 75% water they also contain alkali-forming minerals, natural sugars, protein and little fat. There's tons of creative ways to use them for culinary purposes aside from eating them raw. We like frying them for a desert and making our own healthy chips out of them.

Here at Rebel Farms we're experimenting with over a dozen varieties of bananas to find what cultivar does best in our Central Florida climate. From dwarf varieties that are perfect for patios and small gardens to 30-foot tall varieties that can fill in barren areas. Thus far our favorite varieties that grow and produce best are Dwarf Orinoco, Blue Java and Dwarf Cavendish. We have all three varieties available for sale now at our homestead in New Smyrna Beach. If you're near us and interested in growing bananas stop by and we'll show you everything you need to know to start growing your own delicious, organic bananas.