Most important to Grow in the garden for food

[Manda_Rae]

If you had limited funds what are your top most important things to grow in A garden for 4 people.
Zone 5b
I have these seeds I've collected and grown over the years.
Tomatoes (roma, paste, beef steak, cherry)
Peppers (Sweet and Cayenne)
corn (4 varieties)
potatoes (white & red)
cucumbers (pickling, muncher burpless)
zucchini 2 varieties
carrots (3 varieties)
Radish
beets
Green beans (jade, purple
& sugar snap peas.
Cabbage -seedlings
Broccoli -seedlings
What other types of beans and peas are recommended. There are so many varieties its marking my head spin.
I have Black turtle beans i just got and sowed.
What kind of squash should I get?
What else am I missing?

I also have tons of herbs we grow

Bonus points if I can feed the chickens too!

 

[Britesea]

Well, I made a pie first, using a recipe for pumpkin pie, but I had to reduce the sugar by a third because the squash was so sweet. I've also made hash using squash cubes and onion with leftover ham- that was a good one. I've used it in a chowder with sausage. Basically, I use it in any recipe that calls for squash or pumpkin. It's got a nice taste and texture. I've freeze dried some and canned some also,

 

[wyoDreamer]

This is an interesting topic, and now that the growing season is done, I will give my 2 cents.

The most important thing to grow in your garden is what you and your family will eat.

For instance: We grew peppers this year. Green and Red bell peppers; jalapenos, salsa and Anaheim chiles. Why did I bother? I am intolerant of bell peppers, and anything that I would cook with them-DH doesn't want for supper. I have 5 bells on the counter getting wrinkly and there are still over a dozen rotting out in the garden. Since I can eat a little bit of chile peppers without getting sick, I have a small bag of each of the other types diced and in the freezer for quick additions whenever I feel adventurous, lol.
Next year - only 2 pepper plants.

 

[baymule]

I grow Painted Mountain corn for cornmeal. I let it mature and mostly dry on the stalk. Be careful to not let it get rained on or the corn will mold and start to sprout. I pick, pull the shucks back, tie in bunches and hang to finish drying. I break off the shucks and spread on a table inside, then rub the kernels off the cobs at night, watching TV. I have a Family Grain Mill.

 

[Chic Rustler]

I have found that bush beans have a shorter season than vining beans. If you want to can a lot at one time, plant bush beans. If you want to eat fresh beans until frost, plant vining beans.

plamt enough pole beans and you will be canning until the frost!.

we still have 30 qts from last year. a man can only eat green beans so much.

 

[Mini Horses]

Plants take time and care. I want my garden to give what I eat most, is healthy and saves me money. Otherwise why do it? So, I like asparagus -- once in a while is all I eat it. Not devoting the time and energy for a bed of it. I can buy once a yr take a look at what you eat before planting. We get excited over reports about veggies but, trade off with another to try first. A too big garden can work you out of the purpose of growing anything.

Often I put out a couple extra plants of things my animals can/will eat.

 

[Hinotori]

What's the "never again" thing you've grown? For me it was salsify. The then wife wanted it after having it in a casserole once. The plants were finicky and a pain to deal with

I know salsify is a domesticated variety but I still have a hard time with the fact that what was a weed growing up is a food plant. It's like with dandelion which has different cultivars as well for leaf or root.

I can't handle cilantro in the garden. Just can't deal with the leaf smell that lingers if you brush it, but i do like the coriander smell. Odd how the seed is fine but not the leaf for me.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Dry black beans from the grocery store. What do you think @flowerbug ?

@tortoise we better get him the smelling salts

 

[baymule]

I have found that bush beans have a shorter season than vining beans. If you want to can a lot at one time, plant bush beans. If you want to eat fresh beans until frost, plant vining beans.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers are a good bang for your buck to grow at home.

With the price of cabbage at H-mart, I'm not big on growing it. They always have good looking produce as well.

Squash grow very well here. It's one of the most cost efficient things to grow for me. Summer squash is a good chicken food supplement. The large fowl like smaller ones, but the silkies like the older ones and love the seeds.

my chickens LOVE cucumbers. i grow nation pickling and always let a few get big and yellow for the birds.