< weaving forwards practically
Herbs and small berries are pretty easily dried, especially if you have enough space to hang a drying rack over your stove. Bigger stuff...you're right to try and eat off the vine as much as possible. Canning works, but it requires a lot of space, planning, and material to do large volumes effectively. If you have a space that could work for a root cellar, that's excellent--bins of moist sand in a cool, dark place will keep onions, tubers, and certain types of apples in fine shape through the year. I know you don't eat meat, but pemmican wrapped in cloth is a good way to preserve fat and meat in the same fashion.
I've been experimenting with solar dryers lately as they would seem suitable for my dry climate, and while it's been a bit of a struggle, I think there's potential there for dehydrating larger amounts of veg. I know some southwest indian tribes dried slices of winter squash, which they would pound into a 'squash flour'. My current goal is to get enough of that to play with in my cuisine this year.
Good luck!
i'll have to try drying herbs. so far, i've been grinding them into a powder which tends to last a while and work well for the food i cook. i'll preserve most of the herbs i grow this spring this way. i wonder if i could store food boxed in the ground?