Claire
Master Chef
As CWS shows, one person's answer isn't the same as another's! I just grow for two of us, and it is well worth is to buy seedlings and two varieties, 4 plants total, make enough tomatoes for us plus some to give away; and I do freeze enough to last me for months into the winter. One cucumber vine inundates us and we can't give them away. One year I over-planted basil (from seed) and wound up providing a local Italian restaurant. I wind up planting in the spring and realizing that my freezer is still full of pesto and I still have a jar of dried cayenne.
One thing I don't see here, maybe I'm just missing it, but look up your local extension. Here it is run out of the county, but in other places I've lived they operate out of a college. They'll usually have a master gardener course if you want to take it, but always have answers to gardening questions that are locally oriented, and they'll often test your soil for you and let you know what to add to yours for what you are growing.
One thing I don't see here, maybe I'm just missing it, but look up your local extension. Here it is run out of the county, but in other places I've lived they operate out of a college. They'll usually have a master gardener course if you want to take it, but always have answers to gardening questions that are locally oriented, and they'll often test your soil for you and let you know what to add to yours for what you are growing.