This spring and summer have been an experimental period for us here at the "KafkA Shack."
I've never been a gardener, but being that after our most recent move (we moved out of the city into a pretty rural area) we found ourselves with some land to work, I wanted to try my hand.
It's been an interesting experience. While I certainly did not create any sort of ideal yield, I did learn some things. My vision was to have a garden that can supply a lot of food. And to do all of this organically, without the use of pesticides, chemical weed killers, etc. Well, I did get some good yields on a small amount of plants. I now know something on a very real level, though: PLANT A TON OF STUFF.
As 
Beans.
These string beans/green beans that I grew this year just keep producing and producing. The plants can be harvested again and again, seem to do well in our soil, and are resistant to pests. Along with beans, I have found that cucumbers, turnips, carrots, and potatoes are also fairly easy. However, the easiest and most prolific producers by far have been my 3 - 4 bean plants. Just build a rudimentary trellis, keep them watered, and watch them fucking take everything over :)
And they will take over. The vines become almost rope-like in their tenacity, thickness, and strength, and climb and climb (much higher than I had originally expected), and when there's nothing else to climb, they find something else to climb. Good stuff.
So, for all you newbie gardeners out there, here is my newbie garden advice: "BEANS!"
What about you, what has been your most successful/favorite food-producing plant to grow? Let me know in the comments.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DLive and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)