Grow the Expensive Parts: A Practical Home-Grown Menu for 2026
Published on 18/2/2026
Food prices are still high. Instead of trying to replace your entire weekly shop, focus on growing the ingredients that supermarkets mark up the most — fresh herbs, greens, and seasonal vegetables.
Keep buying flour, pasta, eggs, and rice.
Grow the expensive parts.
Below is a simple, practical menu built around that idea.
Starters
Tomato & Basil on Toast
Toasted bread topped with fresh tomato, basil, and garlic. Simple. High flavour. Low cost.
Radish & Scallion Salad
Thinly sliced radish and scallions with vinegar, salt, and a touch of sugar. Crisp and fresh.
Soups
Potato & Kale Soup
Potatoes and kale in a basic stock. Filling, inexpensive, and reliable.
Spinach & Parsley Broth
A light soup using fresh spinach and parsley for colour and nutrients.
Mains
Courgette & Garlic Pasta
Spaghetti tossed with sautéed courgette, garlic, and oregano.
Most of the flavour comes from what you grow.
Roast Carrot & Potato Plate
Roasted carrots and potatoes with rosemary and thyme.
Serve with eggs or fish from the shop.
The Backwards Plan: When to Plant
If you want to serve a meal like this on a specific date, count backwards.
Pick your target week (Week 0), then plant according to the timeline below.
| Plant | Weeks Before | Why Grow It |
|---|---|---|
| Rosemary | 13 | Perennial herb. Once established, it keeps giving. |
| Potato | 13 | High calorie, high return, stores well. |
| Thyme | 13 | Small plant, big flavour impact. |
| Carrot | 11 | Reliable and stores well. |
| Tomato | 10 | One of the most marked-up items in shops. |
| Parsley | 10 | Fast-growing and versatile. |
| Oregano | 10 | Can be dried and stored. |
| Basil | 9 | Ideal for sunny windowsills. |
| Kale | 9 | Hardy and productive. |
| Scallion | 9 | Regrows after cutting. |
| Courgette | 7 | High yield from one plant. |
| Spinach | 6 | Fast, compact, nutrient-dense. |
| Radish | 4 | Quick results. Good for beginners. |
Why this works
You don’t need to grow everything.
You only need to grow what’s:
- quick to spoil
- heavily marked up
- disproportionately important for flavour
Fresh herbs and greens often cost more (per gram) than your staples — and they’re the easiest things to grow.
Start small. One pot is enough.
Stay consistent. Small harvests add up.
Build momentum. Add one new crop at a time.
Rule of thumb: buy the cheap calories.
Grow the expensive parts.
If you want structure, Neuracorn helps you plan and log your grows — but the principle stands on its own.
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