10 foods you can grow that money can’t buy

These are tasty foods you typically can’t get in supermarkets but are easy to grow on your block.

Having a lifestyle block and growing your own food is not just about it being fresh and free. It also means you can experiment and grow things you don’t usually see for sale and expand your menu with new and exciting options.

These are examples of fruit, vegetables and nuts that are: • not economical to grow commercially; and/or • not possible to store and transport reliably; and/or • not popular enough to warrant commercialisation; and/or • too experimental in NZ

Sometimes there are good reasons why these foods are not commonly sold. Edible does not always mean palatable. I define edible as something that won’t poison you if you are about to die of starvation and need nutrition. Palatable is worth picking and eating.

I have found when fruit is described as ‘good for jam-making’, it’s also telling you it’s not much good for anything else. You can make jam from anything – with the exception of the damson plum – so I advise choosing fruit with other qualities such as tasty when fresh or long-keeping.

These are delicious, versatile food options that grow on hardy, selfsufficient plants that resist most pests and disease.

Most need more space than the average urban garden can offer. All are packed full of flavour and nutrition, and most you just can’t buy.

Some crops are difficult to transport