Favourite Plants for Edible Forest Gardens in Ontario
Shantree Kacera, R.H., D..N., Ph.D.
What are your Favourite Plants for creating an Edible Forest Gardens in Ontario
This is a frequently asked question on our garden tours and classes. Based on my observations, I have come up with the top plants for perennial polycultures in our region in Ontario. These are the plants that I recommend for moderate site conditions, from sun to part sun and from sandy clay to sand clay loam:". This information will be available for future reference.
Why Perennial Edible Vegetable Foods
Perennial vegetables are great because they keep returning and can be left all winter! They also withstand pests better than annuals and build and improve soil quality.
Perennial plants are some of the world's most important crops. They are valuable in farming systems because they come back year after year, provide structure to the landscape, prevent soil erosion, and capture excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and trap it. If our agricultural system were more focused on perennial plants — and if we had more perennial staple crops to work with — we could actually turn farming from being a driver of climate change to being a weapon against it.
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) – herbaceous; 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 an 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
Honourable mentions for moderate site conditions
apple (Malus domestica) – tree; edible fruit, suitable 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)
goji berry (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!)
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
Honourable 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
Here is a list of plants we have available for folks to purchase from The Living Centre.
Plant Sale
We have a limited supply of herbal plants, berries and trees available as bare-root.
Plants must be pre-ordered and paid for one week before the Sale Day. Please indicate which plants you are ordering and the amount; thanks!
Payment can be made via e-transfer or PayPal.
Berries $12
Black Currant (The Living Centre)
Elderberry
Fig – Hardy Variety
Gooseberry
Raspberry – Red
Red Currant
White Currant
Culinary Herbs $6
Apple Mint
Banana Mint
Chives
Costmary
Cunningham Mint
Garden Sage
Garlic Chives
Ginger Mint
Golden Oregano
Horseradish
Lovage
Mountain Mint
Orange Mint
Oregano
Peppermint
Spearmint
Sweet Cicely
Wild Leeks
Wild Thyme
Groundcovers $6
Allheal
Chives
Crown Vetch
Cunningham Mint
Garlic Chives
Oregano
Wild Leeks
Wild Thyme
Native to Ontario
Plants $6
Shrubs $12
Trees $24
Allheal
Blue Cohosh
Echinacea
Elderberry
Hawthorn
Jerusalem Artichoke
Mallow
Mayapple
Meadowsweet
Mountain Mint
Pawpaw
Pokeweed
Silverweed
Solomon’s Seal
St. John’s Wort
Staghorn Sumac
Sweet Violet
Wild Leeks
Wood Betony
Yellow Bedstraw
Perennial Vegetables $6 – $12
Daylily
Egyptian Onion
Fuki
Good King Henry
Jerusalem Artichoke
Lovage
Mallow
Pokeweed
Rhubarb
Rose of Sharon $12
Silverweed
Skirret
Solomon’s Seal
Stinging Nettle
Sweet Cicely
Sweet Violet
Banana Mint
Herbal Teas
Plants $6
Shrubs $12
Trees $24
Candy Mint
Catnip
Elderberry $12
Faasen’s Catnip
Lemon Balm
Mugwort
Meadowsweet
Mountain Mint
Pennyroyal
Spearmint
Staghorn Sumac $12
Medicinal Herbs $6 – $12
Allheal
Apple Mint
Blue Cohosh
Catnip
Coltsfoot
Comfrey – Bocking 14 Variety
Common Comfrey
Costmary
Daylily
Echinacea
Elderberry $12
Elecampane
English Lavender
Feverfew
Faasen’s Catnip
Field Horsetail
Garden Sage
Foti
Garlic
Golden Oregano
Hawthorn $24
Horseradish
Hollyhock
Lemon Balm
Mayapple
Meadowsweet
Mountain Mint
Motherwort
Mugwort
Musk Mallow
Oregano
Pennyroyal
Pokeweed
Yarrow
Trees $24
Hawthorn
Hazelnuts
Pawpaw
Linden
Cherry – Erdi Sweet-Tart $24
These are often listed as tart cherries but are actually a cross between a tart and sweet cherries and exhibit characteristics of both. The Erdi cultivars originated from a breeding program in Hungary. These particular cherries were brought over from Yugoslavia by Shantree’s parents about 40 years ago. The ripening period is intermediate between sweet (P. avium) and tart (P. cerasus) cherries, as is the brix level (sweetness). These firm cherries pick with a dry stem scar and can be stored and eaten out of hand like a sweet cherry. But they have enough tartness for processing into pies, wine, jam, cordials, etc. Tart cherry juice has been found to reduce inflammation and related pain in a study of long-distance runners (Kuehl et al., 2010).