My Gran grew all kinds of stuff in the sand and clay soil of NC. She kept pigs and would just spread till the manure into her garden patch, then plant her seeds. She used to grow massive beefsteak tomatoes in such quantities… just endless quantities of tomatoes. Her strawberries were sometimes bigger than I could wrap my hand around. And, oh my goodness… the quantity of beans and limas she grew! My favorite were the brown speckled lima beans – which I cannot find anywhere now. And sweet potatoes! Lots of sweet potatoes!

So.

Much.

Canning.

I don't know if it had anything to do with the fecundity of her garden patch: After every harvest, she covered her patch in a bed of hay until planting season.