How much to charge for home-grown fruit and veg

Updated 5 October 2026

Price home-grown veg a little below your local shops, and sell it each or by the bunch where the law allows. A bagful of anything else should be free, a swap or pay what you think, because a fixed price on unweighed food breaks the weights rules. Selling per kg needs trade-approved scales.

Why units come before price

In the UK, food sold by weight has to be weighed on trade-approved (stamped) scales. Kitchen scales aren't legal for trade, and most home growers don't own approved ones. The good news is that a 1988 order lets many crops be sold by number or by the bunch instead. So the first question is not “how much?” but “how?”.

The five ways to price on Leaf Exchange
Unit	Set price allowed?	Use it for
Each	Yes	Crops on the countable list below
Per bunch	Yes	Crops on the bunchable list below
A bagful	No: free, swap or pay what you think	Anything. Cut flowers are the exception, because they aren't food
Big box (over 5 kg)	Yes	Anything except potatoes
Per kg	Yes	Only if you have trade-approved scales

Which crops you can sell each or by the bunch

This table follows the Weights and Measures (Miscellaneous Foods) Order 1988 and is what Leaf Exchange offers for each crop. If a crop you grow isn't here, sell it as a bagful or a big box, or check with your local Trading Standards.

Legal units for home-grown crops (no scales needed)
Crop	Each	Per bunch
Apples	Yes	No
Asparagus	No	Yes
Aubergines	Yes	No
Beetroot	Yes	Yes
Cabbages	Yes	No
Carrots	No	Yes
Cauliflowers	Yes	No
Celery	Yes	No
Chives	No	Yes
Cucumbers	Yes	No
Fennel	Yes	No
Figs	Yes	No
Garlic	Yes	Yes
Kohlrabi	Yes	No
Lettuces	Yes	No
Marrows	Yes	No
Mint	No	Yes
Onions	Yes	Yes
Parsley	No	Yes
Pears	Yes	No
Peppers	Yes	No
Plums	Yes	No
Pumpkins	Yes	No
Radishes	Yes	Yes
Spring onions	No	Yes
Sweetcorn	Yes	No
Tomatoes	Yes	No
Turnips	No	Yes
Cut flowers (any)	Yes	Yes

Bagful or big box only (unless you have trade scales): broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chard, chillies, courgettes, French beans, kale, leeks, parsnips, peas, potatoes, runner beans, salad leaves, spinach, squash, blackberries, blackcurrants, cherries, gooseberries, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, basil, rosemary and thyme. A punnet of soft fruit counts as a bagful here: it's still sold by weight in law.

Potatoes are the exception to the big-box rule. Quantities over 5 kg are exempt from the weight rules for every crop except potatoes, so a sack of potatoes needs weighing on trade scales, or goes free, as a swap or pay what you think.

Rough starting prices

These are rough starting points for 2026, not a rule. Prices vary a lot by area and season. Check what your nearest shops charge and adjust.

Suggested starting prices for home-grown produce, each or per bunch
Crop	Unit	Starting range
Lettuce	Each	50p to £1
Cabbage	Each	£1 to £1.50
Cauliflower	Each	£1 to £1.80
Cucumber	Each	50p to £1
Marrow	Each	£1 to £2
Sweetcorn	Each	50p to £1
Pumpkin	Each	£2 to £5, by size
Tomatoes	Each	10p to 25p
Apples or pears	Each	10p to 30p
Plums	Each	5p to 15p
Garlic	Each bulb	50p to £1
Carrots or beetroot	Per bunch	£1 to £2
Radishes or spring onions	Per bunch	50p to £1
Herbs (parsley, mint, chives)	Per bunch	50p to £1
Asparagus	Per bunch	£2 to £4
Cut flowers	Per bunch	£3 to £8

How to set your price

Check local shops. Look at a supermarket, a greengrocer and a farm shop if there's one near you.
Pitch a little below the shop. Your produce is fresher, but buyers are coming to you, often on foot.
Cover your costs. Seed, compost, water, netting and plot rent add up. Covering them is fair, and for allotment growers it keeps you on the surplus side of the line.
Use round numbers. 50p and £1 make an honesty box easy.
Offer multiples for countable crops. “3 for £1” is fine for lettuces or cucumbers, because they're sold by number.
Drop the price as the glut peaks. A courgette nobody collects is worth nothing.

Pay what you think

For a bagful of beans, salad or soft fruit, pay what you think is the honest choice, because a fixed price on unweighed food isn't allowed. Most people are generous, especially when they've seen the plot and met the grower. Don't add a suggested amount to a bag. That starts to look like a set price.

Pay what you think and swaps are far lower risk than an unweighed fixed price, but whether they fall completely outside the weights rules hasn't been settled. If you sell a lot this way, check with your local Trading Standards.

Swaps and giving it away

A swap-only listing trades your glut for someone else's: courgettes for apples, beans for herbs. It's a good fit for allotment growers, and the produce swap guide covers how to do it well. If you mark something free, mean it. Free shouldn't depend on buying something else.

Big boxes and per-kg pricing

A box over 5 kg can carry a set price: a box of cooking apples for juicing, say, or a crate of squash. Fill it so it's clearly well over 5 kg, and remember potatoes don't qualify. Per kg pricing is only for growers with trade-approved scales. Leaf Exchange asks you to confirm you have them before the option appears.

Honesty-box and label tips

Show every price before anyone buys. A chalkboard or laminated card works.
Label the unit with the price: “Lettuce 80p each”, “Carrots £1.50 a bunch”, “Beans: pay what you think”.
Keep the honesty box locked and fixed down, and empty it often.
Say when it was picked. “Picked this morning” is a strong reason to buy.

Words on your label: avoid “organic”

However you price, don't use the word “organic” on a sign, label or listing. It's a legally protected term in the UK, reserved for growers certified by an approved control body. That covers “organically grown” and “grown using organic methods” too. Write “home-grown” or say how you grow, for example “no sprays, my own compost”.

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Questions

Can I sell vegetables by the kilo without trade scales?

No. Selling by weight needs trade-approved scales, and kitchen scales don't count. Sell countable crops each, bunchable crops by the bunch, and everything else as a bagful that's free, a swap or pay what you think.

Can I put a fixed price on a bag of runner beans?

Not without weighing it on trade-approved scales. Make the bag pay what you think, a swap or free instead. A box clearly over 5 kg can have a set price.

How much should I charge for home-grown veg?

Start a little below your local shops, cover your costs, and use round numbers. As a rough guide, a lettuce might go for 50p to £1 and a bunch of carrots for £1 to £2.

Can I sell a sack of potatoes at a set price?

Only if it's weighed on trade-approved scales. Potatoes are the one crop not covered by the over-5 kg exemption, so otherwise offer them free, as a swap or pay what you think.

Do cut flowers follow the same pricing rules?

No. Cut flowers aren't food, so the food weight rules don't apply. You can set a price per stem, per bunch or per bucket.

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