55+ Favourite Plants for Edible Forest Gardens in Ontario (Hardiness Zones 4b/5a)

A colleague asked me about my top plants for perennial polycultures in our region (hardiness zones 4b/5a in Ontario and Québec). This is also a popular question on our garden tours and in our classes! From our observations, here's what I came up with...

Favourite plants for moderate site conditions (sun to part sun; sandy clay to sand clay loam):

• Toka plum (Prunus salicina?) – tree; edible fruit (ours fruited in 3 years)
• basswood (Tilia americana) – tree; edible young leaves for salads; flowers for tea; apparently can be coppiced
• red and white currants (Ribes rubrum) – shrub; edible fruit
• elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) – large shrub; edible flowers and fruit for cooking and medicine
• perennial onions (A. fistulosum), walking onions (A. proliferum), ramps (A. tricoccum), chives (A. schoenoprasum), garlic chives (A. tuberosum) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking, among first greens in spring; for pollinators
• bee balm (Monarda spp.) – herbaceous; flowers and leaves for tea; for pollinators and hummingbirds (prefers part sun)
• oregano (Origanum vulgare) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking; leaves for medicine
• marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) – herbaceous; flowers, leaves and roots for medicine; edible leaves; for pollinators
• echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – herbaceous; roots for medicine; beautiful flowers for pollinators (apparently leaves and flowers are edible)
• St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) – herbeceaous; leaves and flowers for medicine; for pollinators
• purple top white globe turnip (Brassica rapa), red Russian kale (Brassica napus) and arugula (Eruca sativa) – herbaceous, reseeding annuals; broadcast seeds grow well on wood chips in part sun, as additional crop in edible forest garden
• wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) – herbaceous ground cover; edible fruit
• ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) – herbaceous ground cover, spreads quickly, easy to remove; leaves for medicine; among first flowers in spring for pollinators
• lupin (Lupinus spp.) – herbaceous; fixes nitrogen, beautiful flowers for pollinators

Honorable mentions for moderate site conditions:

• apple (Malus domestica) – tree; edible fruit, good for winter storage (however, can be prone to fire blight)
• Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) – tree; edible fruit, good for winter storage (however, can be prone to fire blight)
• gojiberry (Lycium barbarum) – shrub/trailing vine; edible shoots, best in spring (however, other people have a hard time establishing it in the region – ours is in a warm sheltered microclimate and has not fruited much yet)
• asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) – herbaceous; edible shoots (however, they'll take some space, so are best for a simple polyculture)
• sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus) – herbaceous; edible roots, best harvested in fall or spring (however, they'll take some space, so are best for a simple polyculture)
• stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) – herbaceous; edible greens for cooking and tea, dries well for winter storage (however, choose a good location – it stings!)
• comfrey (Symphytum officinale) – herbaceous; chop and drop for potassium, compost activator; for medicine and pollinators (however, choose a good location – it's there to stay!)
• beetberry (Chenopodium capitatum) – herbaceous, reseeding annual; edible greens and small fruits for salads (however, reseeds like crazy)
• daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) – herbaceous; edible shoots for salad or cooking, edible flowers and tubers; among first greens in spring (however, it spreads faster than we can eat them)

Upcoming hopefuls for moderate site conditions:

• Manchurian apricot (Prunus mandschurica) – tree; edible fruit
• false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) – shrub; fixes nitrogen
• sea kale (Crambe maritima) – herbaceous; edible broccoli-like flowers
• maximillian sunflower (Helianthus maximilianii) – herbaceous; edible shoots; for pollinators; apparently good deer screen
• perennial arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) – herbaceous; edible greens for salads
• mitsuba (Cryptotaenia japonica) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking; for pollinators

Promising plants for drier site conditions (sandier soil and full sun):

• sour cherry (Prunus cerasus?) – tree; edible fruit
• pear (Pyrus communis?) – tree; edible fruit
• alder (Alnus spp.) – tree; fixes nitrogen and fast-growing for wind-shelter
• red currant (Ribes rubrum) – shrub; edible fruit
• bee balm (Monarda spp.) – herbaceous; flowers and leaves for tea; for pollinators and hummingbirds (prefers part sun)
• horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) – herbaceous; edible roots
• gobo (Arctium lapa) – herbaceous; edible roots
• oregano (Origanum vulgare) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking; leaves for medicine
• thyme (Thymus vulgaris) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking; leaves for medicine
• wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) – herbaceous ground cover; edible fruit

Honorable mentions for drier site conditions:

• sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus) – herbaceous; edible roots, best harvested in fall or spring (however, they'll take some space, so are best for a simple polyculture)
• stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) – herbaceous; edible greens for cooking and tea, dries well for winter storage (however, choose a good location – it stings!)

Promising plants for wet site conditions (flood-plain):

• high bush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) – shrub; edible fruit for cooking
• elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) – shrub; edible flowers and fruit for cooking and medicine
• haskap (Lonicera caerulea) – shrub; edible fruit
• alder (Alnus spp.) – tree; fixes nitrogen, fast-growing for wind-shelter
• river grape (Vitis riparia?) – vine; edible fruit
• mint (Mentha spp.) – herbaceous; for tea and pollinators; makes a reasonable ground-cover
• daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) – herbaceous; edible shoots for salad or cooking, edible flowers and tubers; among first greens in spring
• walking onions (Allium proliferum), chives (Allium schoenoprasum) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking; for pollinators
• lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) – herbaceous; for tea and pollinators
• cattail (Typha latifolia, T. angustifolia) – herbaceous; edible shoots, flowers, pollen and roots for cooking; best on clean sites with no concerns of water pollution

Favourites for juglone-tolerance:

• black walnut (Juglans nigra) – big tree; edible nuts (though hard to crack); nut husks and leaves for medicine; beautiful wood (this is one tree that produces juglone, so the other plants below are centred around it in the polyculture)
• mulberry (Morus alba) – tree; edible fruit
• ramps (Allium tricoccum) and perennial onions (Allium fistulosum) – herbaceous; edible leaves for salads and cooking; for pollinators
• Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum) – herbaceous; edible shoots for cooking (tolerates shade)
• bee balm (Monarda spp.) – herbaceous; flowers and leaves for tea; for pollinators and hummingbirds (prefers part sun)
• strawberry cultivated (Fragaria spp.) – herbaceous; edible fruit, covers the ground

Promising for juglone-tolerance:

• raspberries (Rubus spp.) – shrub; edible fruit
• valerian (Valeriana officinalis) – herbaceous; medicinal roots, flowers for pollinators
• groundnut (Apios americana) – herbaceous vine; edible tubers for cooking; fixes nitrogen
• cinnamon yam (Dioscorea batatas) – herbaceous vine; edible tuber for cooking
• crosnes (Stachys affinis) – herbaceous; edible tubers
   

Check out our Edible & Medicinal Plant Tour and Edible Forest Garden course to learn more!

We'd love to hear your experiences growing these and other useful perennials in hardiness zones 4, 5 and colder!  Please email us at info at eonpermaculture dot ca, or leave a comment below.