I'm in SE Texas grew up in San Antonio. Edibles that grow like weeds here are okra (if you can handle okra), eggplant, and sweet potatoes. When we don't have freak winters, moringa grows great - I prefer the taste of African vs Indian moringa, but both rock. Indian can produce drumsticks (think green beans) 1st yr, African takes longer, but the real goal is the leaves as a superfood - like growing a vitamin plant. Although not edible, cotton also grows great - see if you can find tall cotton, not the dwarf stuff bred for big mechanical harvesters. Both tall cotton and okra are beautiful plants even if you consider both inedible like I do
. Of course, peppers, tomatoes, squash, corn and other heat-tolerant plants work well, but - if the seed pack says "full sun" and you plan on growing it in the Texas summer, translate that to "partial sun".
Also, while organic is a great goal, if you are just starting out with poor soil, go to
https://growfood.com/shop/ and order the "The Mittleider Gardening Course - New & In Full Color" and a couple of packets of "Natural Mineral Fertilizers - Micro-Nutrient Mix". I typically order 6 at a time, then pick up the additional materials (instructions included) and fill a bunch of Home Depot 5 gal buckets with the easy on/off black lids to fill up. I mix everything up and you have an awesome fertilizer, like Miracle-Gro but way cheaper. The plants really don't care if the nitrogen atoms they need came from carefully crafted organic compost or from crushed rocks, they just care that they get those nitrogen atoms. A prepper friend had a wife who was a Tx A&M Master Gardner specializing in organic fruits & vegetables, she was the go-to person for that specialty in our county and had spent almost a decade growing organic food in their converted back yard (the whole thing was a garden). My friend had a total brown thumb but after becoming a backyard beekeeper he decided to start a trial garden plot next to hers, growing the same crops but following the Mittleider Method to the letter. At the end of the season, his produce was so much larger and healthier than hers. That winter she switched everything to Mittleider.
Oh, that's another thing. We have year-round gardening in the 8b zone of Texas! grow warm-weather crops in summer, cool-weather crops (brassicas, etc.) in winter, and space plantings out so you also have spring & fall planting and harvesting. Not something you have to do, but if you want year-round food production, it is an option you should take advantage of!
Doulous Theou,
;-{>
