Only one! Really, why.. If I had potota's, I would take them but as you asked for the one with the most bang for the buck and I am going to say the one that seems to produce year after year no matter what happens to the general garden season would be the old fashioned Scarlet Runner Bean, it is a powerhouse producer, it can be eaten fresh, canned, dried and the beans themselve can be allowed to mature, and dried for winter use.

funny you should say beans....just seeded peppers, brocolli, peas and beans to see how they do and after 4 days the beans are 6 inches high...

can i plant potatoes in clay? never though of potatoes...

In clay, not so much, but if you fix your soil in that area with lots of extra's yes.. I hear you on the beans, I have pots of bush ones going in the house now, that will soon enough be going out to the greenhouse and will start eating fresh ones well before I can even get seeds in the ground in the garden.

You could do the potato's in a raised bed, or in strawbales, I didn't get the same yeild the few times I tried that but compared to clay soil, you would still get a better yeild with the raised bed or the strawbale method.

im just installing a hydroponics system in one of the outbuildings so ill have a year round harvest, however, potatoes really drain the system, as do any root veggies.

I picked up a book from the library called Winter Harvest: Year Round Vegetable Production... by Eliot Coleman, some of the techniques are labour intensive but still worth looking into.

I picked up a book from the library called Winter Harvest: Year Round Vegetable Production... by Eliot Coleman, some of the techniques are labour intensive but still worth looking into.

I'll look out for it...

There are a number of indiginous plants that are not vegetables, however they would also brighten up the garden...

I'm going to stick to tomatoes and beans in my small urban patch. Wish I had a few acres to plant grains and hops!

ONE OUR PERSONAL FAVORITES IS RED RUSSIAN KALE. WE USE IT IN EVERYTHING AND AS A LETTUCE. ONE OF MY KIDS FAVORITES IS KALE CAESAR. IT IS SO EASY TO GROW, LAST FOR 2 SEASONS OR MORE, AND IF YOU SAVE YOUR SEED YOU CAN KEEP FOR EVER. I PLANT WHAT LIKES TO GROW IN OUR AREA, PACIFIC NORTHWEST. I ONLY GROW OPEN POLLINATED HEIRLOOM SEEDS SO I CAN SAVE MY SEEDS AND SHARE WITH MY CHILDREN AND ANYONE I CAN ENCOURAGE TO GROW FOOD. CAN'T WAIT FOR SEEDY SATURDAY! I STICK TO VEGIES THAT ARE MOSTLY SELF STORING ROOT CROPS, CARROTS, TURNIPS AND OTHERS THAT WILL STAY IN THE GROUND AND WINTER OVER, OR WILL DRY LIKE PEAS, BEANS, GRAINS, ONIONS AND GARLIC, GREENS THAT WILL WINTER OVER IN THE GARDEN AND OF COURSE POTATO'S AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. ALL OF THESE ONCE YOU HAVE AS LONG AS YOU SAVE YOUR SEED YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CARRY OVER FOR EVER. I FREEZE MY TOMATO'S WHOLE. SQUASH IS ALSO A GOOD KEEPER. ANOTHER GREAT LONG PRODUCING VEGIE IS PURPLE SPOUTING BROCCOLI. A MUST HAVE IN YOUR GARDEN.

I would have said potatoes but since I started a paleo diet they're off the list. Sweet potatoes and squash are the fillers now.
Collard greens are one of my favourites, related to kale but better tasting IMHO. I bury the plants in leaves in the fall, get a harvest at Christmas. The plants stay alive over the winter and start growing again in the spring. Bugs don't bother them much either.

does kale have more nutrients than spinach, and is it easier to grow than spinach?

Kale grows like a weed! We all like the red kale. So easy to grow and if you save the seeds or allow it to self seed. I have had trouble growing spinach. I find sometimes it bolts and goes to seed without producing. As far as nutrients I believe Kale is higher.

I have a hell of a time with spinach, never does that much for me. But I keep trying different things, I'm sure it's more my not supplying the proper conditions than anything else.
Cabbage family, swiss chard, kale, collards, brussels sprouts all produce pretty well with very little care.
I'll try some red kale this year too.

I have a hell of a time with spinach, never does that much for me. But I keep trying different things, I'm sure it's more my not supplying the proper conditions than anything else.
Cabbage family, swiss chard, kale, collards, brussels sprouts all produce pretty well with very little care.
I'll try some red kale this year too.

i planted 30 Spinach seeds (bear in mind ive never planted anything in my life before) and they all germinated with 3 days, but all died a couple of days later...