Free guide · The Grocery List Garden
Grow the groceries you already buy.
Grocery Grow is friendly, plain-English help for busy households: what to grow first, how much to plant, and how to keep the harvest so less of it goes to waste.
Start small. One bed or a few pots is plenty.
Free guide
The Grocery List Garden
10 store-bought foods worth growing first, a one-bed plan, and how to keep the harvest
How it works
Three steps. No acreage, no fancy gear, no guilt if a plant dies (they do, to everyone).
1
Start with your grocery list
Look at what you buy every week. Herbs, salad greens and cherry tomatoes are usually the easiest places to start.
2
Plant one bed
A single 4×8 bed (or a few big containers) on a sunny spot. We show you what goes where.
3
Keep the harvest
Freeze or store the extras the safe, tested way, so a big week in July turns into dinners in January.
What to grow
Four ways to grow your groceries
Pick the one that fits your space and your week. You can always add another later.
Veggies and herbs
The everyday stuff: greens, herbs, tomatoes, beans and squash. Small space, quick wins.
Mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms grow on a kitchen counter from a kit. No yard needed.
Backyard hens
Eggs from a few hens, once you’ve checked your local rules and done the honest math first.
Keep the harvest
Freezing, drying and storing what you grow, using tested methods. When we cover canning, we follow tested recipes only.
The first 10 we recommend
- Salad greens
- Basil and herbs
- Cherry tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Bush beans
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Kale and chard
- Garlic
- Oyster mushrooms
The honest money answer
Will a garden save you money?
Sometimes, and it depends. An Oregon State University analysis of published home-garden data (Langellotto, 2014, Journal of Extension) found gardens produced on average about $677 worth of food beyond the cost of materials, but only when the gardener’s time isn’t counted as a cost. Results also vary a lot with your conditions, methods and crop choices.
So we won’t promise you a dollar figure. We’ll show you which crops tend to be worth the space, and which are cheaper to just buy.
Good first bets
- Herbs you buy in little plastic packs
- Salad greens you cut again and again
- Cherry tomatoes in summer
Often easier to just buy
- Bulk staples like potatoes and onions
- Crops that need a lot of space for one harvest
Questions people ask
Is the guide really free?
Yes. Pop in your name and email and we’ll send the PDF. After that you’ll get about one helpful email a week, and you can unsubscribe with one click.
Do I need a big yard?
No. The plan fits one 4×8 bed, and five of the ten crops grow happily in containers on a patio or balcony (mushrooms grow on a kitchen counter).
I’ve never grown anything. Is this for me?
Yes. The guide starts with the easiest crops and plain instructions. Every gardener kills plants; the trick is starting with forgiving ones.
Will this save me money?
It can, but we won’t promise a number. Research on home gardens shows a wide range of results, and it depends on whether you count your time. The guide’s money page explains what affects it.
Do you teach canning?
We point you to tested, up-to-date recipes from sources like the National Center for Home Food Preservation. We start with the easiest ways to keep food: freezing, drying and fridge storage.
Free guide
Plan it this winter. Pick it this summer.
Get The Grocery List Garden: 10 store-bought foods worth growing first, a one-bed plan, and how to keep the harvest.
- The 10 groceries worth growing first, picked for easy wins and the stuff you’d otherwise buy every week
- A one-bed plan: what goes where in a single 4×8 bed (or a few big pots)
- A simple planting calendar you fill in from your own frost dates
- How to keep each harvest, with freezing steps based on tested guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation
- The honest money page: what research says a home garden is worth, and what it isn’t
Send me the free guide
Free PDF. One bed, ten crops, honest numbers.