Although giving the excess vegetables away is an option and I have mentioned it in my bartering thread, the perfect situation for your household, would be a time advantage, so this would my advice to make that happen.
Visit your local garden centre, as they can offer you the versatility of being able to buy 1 silver beet plant, 1 cabbage, and 1 cauliflower plant so that you can grow things in sequence as I often found when I was growing vegetables that everything was ready all together and it was too much for one family to be eat, so this would put a stop to that as you would plant things on a week by week basis.
When growing silverbeet it tends to go to seed very quickly and grow upwards in the middle, most people pull that plant out, but I have found if you cut that part out of the plant, the plant will continue to grow as normal.
Spring onions and Leeks if you cut them while they are growing in the garden above the root, apparently they will re grow again, I have been told this but have never actually tried it.
If you are growing cauliflower or broccoli you can cut half a head of the plant while growing and the other half stays fresh as and continues to grow as half a head, this is a way of keeping your vegetables fresh, rather than cutting a full head and wasting it.
Potatoes in your potato bin that are starting to shoot, once you've peeled them plant the sprouted skins in a patch of your garden, they will grow into a patch of new potatoes.
If you find vegetables are not growing well in a certain patch of your garden, I have been told that by growing sunflowers in that particular patch will purify the soil and you should be right to restart planting your vegetables again,so that was a great tip to know.
If you grow rhubarb, which you should as it is such a great plant and so versatile make sure around the base you add things like lawn clippings, egg shells, banana skins as this gives it a really good boast, and you will notice that it grows a lot better.
Tomatoes work beautifully if grown in buckets as you can move them around easily to get the benefit of the sun.
Herbs can be easily grown in pots on your window sill, easy to manage, and great for getting a better taste in your cooking as fresh herbs have much more flavour than dried herbs.
These are basic instructions, that I had been given along time ago, when I was going to endeavour to start a vegetable garden, so I hope they are helpful to you.
They are not my original ideas, but they are relevant.
The Basics To Growing A Vegetable Garden
Location
Choosing a location for your garden is the most important step in the garden planning process.Vegetables need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight for best growth.
Leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce will grow with less sunlight.
Choose a location as far away as possible from trees and shrubs.
The roots of nearby trees and shrubs will rob your vegetables of needed nutrients and water.
Good soil with good drainage is needed.
An option is to have your soil tested before you start gardening to determine if your soil is lacking any needed nutrients.
Be sure your water source is close by.
What To Grow
Don't go overboard with your seed ordering after viewing all the colourful garden catalogues with their beautiful pictures of vegetables or you may be the gardener in your neighbourhood trying to give away all your hard grafted vegetables.Grow only what your family likes to eat.
As a first time gardener, stay away from vegetables like cauliflower or head lettuce.
Grow hybrid vegetables only.
Hybrid vegetables are usually stronger and healthier than other vegetables.
They often have higher numbers.
Many have a built-in disease resistance and they are more likely to recover from bad weather.
Hybrids may cost a little bit more than other types of vegetables, but the cost is worth it.
