The most productive things I grow (temperate/cool climate in coastal BC) and then actually eat/enjoy:

- Zucchini always grows more than we can use, but they're really good. I pick them very small (~6") so the plant continues producing and growing more

- Chard grows year-round and is very resilient and low-maintenance. It's great in casseroles, soups, sautees, and other cooked formats

- Kale is similar. It'll just keep on giving

- Bush beans are amazing in summer, and if you've got vertical space, pole beans can be incredible producers too. My 8 foot raised bed has a single row of pole beans, and I've been harvesting from them for about 6 weeks with plenty more to come. This single row is very densely planted, but I feed it heavily and ensure it's fully exposed to the sun. With enough nutrients and water, you'll get pounds of beans. Again I pick them relatively small and often

- Nasturtiums make a beautiful flower but the leaves and flowers are incredible in salads, and their seed pods can be used to make a really delicious pickle/ferment as well. Throw them in hanging baskets and use them to make fun salads

- Scallions are a fun one that can be densely planted and only need 6" or so of depth. Bulb onions can be a bit more sensitive and demanding, but scallions are pretty easy going. I stagger the plantings throughout spring so I can harvest bunches of them every few weeks. They never seem to do poorly

I grow lots of other stuff but I don't always eat or enjoy them as much as these things. One exception is lettuces and other greens/herbs, but I grow those hydroponically indoors because it allows for a system that makes timing and harvesting much easier so I'm more likely to ensure it doesn't go to waste

Exciting times!

I have to say I grew cucumbers for the first time last year, and they were surprisingly good. Otherwise the only other thing that comes to mind immediately is Strawberries, which are also tasty and not so hard to keep up with.

I second the garlic recommendation here. It is more tolerant to nutrient and water variability than most crops. Slugs and many other pests won’t bother it.

If you do give it regular fertilizer and water then you can plant it extremely densely, seeding just a few inches apart. Great for apartment dwellers with raised bed or container gardens.

We plant around Halloween and harvest in early July. That leaves time and space for a late summer crop if you wish.

Also, garlic stores very well. We harvest about 100 bulbs each year from a small plot, maybe 2-3 sq m., and that gives us garlic for a year, fresh, cured, minced (into butter or pesto), and for gifts.

And don’t even get me started on how amazing and versatile garlic scapes are. The scape harvest is its own prized crop!

Added: I’m in Vancouver. Garlic seems to love the overwintering process here, usually with some light snow.

To get long slender carrots like you see at the supermarket I think you need deep very loose soil. My dad gardened for years and never had good luck with carrots. Our soil was just too heavy (a lot of clay) and even with the addition of a lot of sand they always grew fat and stumpy. He grew them every year regardless.

Garlic takes a long time, but it's easy and doesn't take up much space. It also repels some critters that might otherwise help themselves to your crops.

Try dwarf French beans.