perennial vegetables in Zone 3 (Alaska)

hi, i'm new to this site, and am looking for perennial vegetables that i can grow down to zone 3.  i live in alaska.  i have a garden, but would love to add perennial foods whenever i find ones that will grow here without them being killed by our long cold winter.  i would also be interested in hearing about any perennial vegetables/grains that could be grown as chicken feed up here.  i know they grow barley in the interior here.  thanks for your site.   

well i'm not familiar with zone 3 but am with zone 4. I grow asparagus, horseradish, rhubarb, mltiplying onions, lambsquarters, and allow a lot of the greens and coles to self seed, (not true perennials). I grow edible flowers that are perennial, like violets and daylillies, as well as a lot of herbs as most of them are perennial here. I also would suggest berries as most of them will grow in your area as will some fruits like apples, pears, etc.

someone posted the other day about zone 3 and said that they had found a link to plants that grow well in that zone..search for it on here...can't remember which forum it was on.

Not exactly perennial vegetables.... but in door gardening that could work....

have you considered a sprout cabinet for the cold winters? They do well with low light & you have fresh greens to eat & if you do not want to eat them right away you can dry them & use in baking.

You might also check out window farms. I'm not sure how they do in cold dark areas though.

If you like beer or hop tea I know that my family grows hops with no special treatment & they do fine here in Montana.

Best of luck D

Zone 3?(permi zones or usda climate zones?)pretty limited.I would look first at native models for edible vegetation.Next I would look on a database like perhaps Plants for a Future.I would also look at the larger picture.Campanula,for example,is a genus with 300 sp.and all are edible so you could narrow it down from there.Also look at all different nurseries in the area and look those plants up on the PFAF database.There is also a buried thread in here that looks at some perennial edibles.

I live across Cook Inlet about 45 minutes out of Anchorage. I've just started experimenting with perennial the last few years. So far the best are rhubarb and comfrey. I'm having some success with horseradish mostly tops and mediocre roots. I cover their beds with a lot of grass in the fall they survive our winters well. I put in some asparagus last year it came up  this spring but is pretty pathetic, but as long as it keeps coming up I won't plow it under. Chives and french sorrel are both good perennials. If you are thinking something wild you might try lambs quarter and chickweed both are good salad greens. Chickweed also makes a good burn salve, just don't do like I did and let it takeover your whole garden. You might see about some kind of fern fiddleheads are a great early green. 

If you can find a copy get Janice Schofield's book Alaskan Plants it is a great resource for edibles and medicinal's.

If you are close to Eagle River I think  there is a green house that has perennials that work up here.

Brenda....

Im curious how you let the greens self seed. I cut and come again and typically the leftover leaves at the top are enough for it to bolt and flower during hot weather. If this happens does the seed just germinate in the fall? After the fall lifecycle happens when does it flower and reseed? Finally, with that in mind how do you ensure that you have a constant supply? Thanks for your insight!

I see this thread is way old, but i would like to add Jerusalem Artichokes for anyone looking for perennial vegetables in alaska. I have some on the south side of kachemak bay, zone 6 but subarctic climate zone and they did great last year even without watering. in fact, all the vegetables mentioned by Brenda I have grown here also.

In addition to what was already listed, I'll add some wild perennial vegetables. I don't know if anyone is intentionally cultivating these, but these all grow in large enough numbers to be a significant food source, especially in the spring/early summer. (I'm not including berries in the list, but a lot of them do well up here.)

Fiddlehead fern: Actually two types of ferns, Ostrich ferns and lady ferns. Picked while they are still rolled up (look like the heads of fiddles). It's important to cook the ferns and eat them in small amounts to start with as some people have bad reactions to them. There are also some poisonous ferns, so make sure you know which kind you're picking.

Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium): The young spring shoots are delicious. The pith in the middle is still sweet when the plant is more mature, but I'm not sure of a way to harvest it that isn't extremely time consuming.

Watermelon berry (Streptopus amplexifolius): Yes, it has a tasty berry, but the whole shoot can be eaten and is quite tasty. It's also called wild celery.

Mushrooms: Lost of kinds, but obviously you need to know what you're doing. I think that some more commonly grown types (shiitakes, oysters, etc.) might also be able to survive up here. (I know mushrooms aren't vegetables, but I thought they were worth mentioning.)


Here are a couple that are supposed to be edible but I haven't tried myself:

Cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum): The young shoots are supposed to be edible after being peeled. The old plants can cause a skin rash, with some people being immune and some people not being effected at all, so be careful.

Alpine sweetvetch (Hedysarum alpinum): Used to be a major food source for native peoples in some parts of Alaska. I'm super interested since it's a nitrogen fixing plant that produces an edible tuber that's supposed to taste like carrots. There's a lot of confusion out there about this plant being poisonous or maybe being confused with Hedysarum mackenzii which might be poisonous, but I would feel pretty confident in eating the tubers.

ETA: A friend of mine told me she loves to eat the leaves of devil's club (Oplopanax horridus) when they are first emerging, but I haven't tried it myself and haven't done any research into it.

Tyler Miller wrote:
Mushrooms: Lost of kinds, but obviously you need to know what you're doing. I think that some more commonly grown types (shiitakes, oysters, etc.) might also be able to survive up here. (I know mushrooms aren't vegetables, but I thought they were worth mentioning.)

I grew up on the upper Yukon (a solid Zone 1) and I can confirm puffballs and shaggy manes were commonly found. I never heard of anybody propagating them but I can't see why it couldn't be done.

The only perennial vegetables we grew were rhubarb (which thrived) and chives (likewise). We also grew comfrey (it was happy) for medicinal use (poultices) and for the chickens. We wild-harvested all the lambsquarters we could eat -- it was a (naturalized?) roadside weed -- and fed more to the chickens.

Wild perennials of food value consisted of numerous species of berries.

Not a veg, but you can get cold hardy Zone 3 Grapes. Valient, Frontenac, Lacrosse, Kay grey, etc.

http://www.starkbros.com/products/berry-plants/grape-vines

But try this place, run by Denali Seed co.
https://bestcoolseeds.com/

I would add Spring Beauty, stinging nettles, rose hips, and labrador tea to the wild edibles in that zone (my zone in the Canadian Rockies too).

I like the devil's club buds, too. I like them sauteed in olive oil. I also like to eat a little piece of mature leaf (without spikes) or a fruit from time to time, more as medicine than food.

I just got some dioscorea batatas bulbs in the mail and started some of them indoors today.
Last year, Stachys affinis also survived all season here and grew extra tubers. I will see how well it comes up again this spring. Lamb's quarters does very well here also, very easy to propagate and tasty cooked.

In regards to fireweed, it can also be used as a tasty tea as detailed in this thread: https://permies.com/t/48812/cooking/Fireweed-Leaf-Tea

If I get to it this year I'm hoping to propagate Devil's club via air layering. With this method I'm hoping to expand the Devils club in the forest on my land as well as up the mountain from my property. I have never tried frying the shoots. I do eat a berry occasionally, though mostly to connect with the plant than for any other purpose.

Another berry worth propagating is False Solomon's seal. In my area these berries are incredibly sweet.

Roberto pokachinni wrote:If I get to it this year I'm hoping to propagate Devil's club via air layering.

I'm interested in trying that as well. I was thinking about trying to air layer some of the above ground stalks before digging up the roots for the bark in the fall. It's more for curiosity's sake than anything, as devil's club is the dominant understory plant where I live.

Lambsquarters and chickweed have been mentioned. Dandelion and plantain are also weeds that seem to do quite well. (I haven't tried eating plantain myself.)

Two more perennials that might do well are maximilian sunflower and hostas. I planted some last year, so we'll see if they survived the winter. It's been very mild, so maybe not the best test.

Two more that I haven't seen mentioned are groundnut and chicory. I don't know how well they'll actually do, but I'm going to try planting them this summer.

Sunchokes. They won't flower but the grow lots of tubers.

groundnut (apios americana) and chicory both grew for me all season last summer but didn't exactly thrive where i had them, hopefully they will come up this spring. To be fair they didn't have the most favorable locations, either- the apios i planted in my sunniest beds got eaten by magpies or squirrels or so i only had 2 survivers in shadier spots. There are definitely hostas in this area thriving, though i don't have any. I didn't know you could eat them!
I grew sunchokes last summer and just as Simone said, i got around 10 tubers per tuber planted if i remember right and big plants 1.5 meters tall, but no flowers. I ordered some maximillian sunflower seeds this spring. Also Salsify seemed to do ok last season, but i did not harvest it.
we eat the dandelion greens in spring and my wife uses plantain for various medicinal concoctions. I don't like chickweed for taste but it grows great here, too.

Corey Schmidt wrote:groundnut (apios americana)

I forgot! I have those too. They grew but too little so I didn't harvest. Hoping for this summer.

Corey Schmidt wrote:I ordered some maximillian sunflower seeds this spring.

I grow these. They are pretty but I didn't know you can eat them. What's edible?

Corey Schmidt wrote:groundnut (apios americana) and chicory both grew for me all season last summer but didn't exactly thrive where i had them, hopefully they will come up this spring. To be fair they didn't have the most favorable locations, either- the apios i planted in my sunniest beds got eaten by magpies or squirrels or so i only had 2 survivers in shadier spots.

That's a bummer about them being eaten, hopefully it was a one-time thing.

I'm a little worried that bringing in too many perennial tubers will attract more voles to the area. I'm thinking about planting most of them on the far end of the property and trying to create fox, coyote and owl habitat around them. I don't have a problem with voles, canines and owls, I just don't want them right next to my chickens and young trees.

I hadn't heard of dioscorea batatas or stachys affinis before, I'm definitely interested in seeing how well they do for you.

Simone Gar wrote:

Corey Schmidt wrote:I ordered some maximillian sunflower seeds this spring.

I grow these. They are pretty but I didn't know you can eat them. What's edible?

They grow a tuber that's supposed to be edible, although I haven't tasted it myself. I think they're also being researched as a perennial source of oil.

If I remember correctly Vic Johanson has grown them up in Fairbanks (zone 2).

Surprisingly all the jerusalem artichokes I planted didn't make it through the winter.

I think what happened is that I planted them at the exact wrong time. I watched a video where a guy said he controlled their spread in his yard by picking them at a certain size where they had used up most or all of the energy in their existing tuber but had not yet put on new tubers. At the time of the first killing frost my sunchokes were about that size. If I had planted them earlier or later they might have made it. I don't know if this is what actually happened, it's just a guess.

I know other people in the area grow them, so I'm going to try again.

Hi Tyler,

I'm interested in trying that as well. I was thinking about trying to air layer some of the above ground stalks before digging up the roots for the bark in the fall. It's more for curiosity's sake than anything, as devil's club is the dominant understory plant where I live.

There is a node on the stalk for each year of growth. I was thinking that I would cut into the bark near one of the top nodes of the stalk and then ball up some moss and soil there in plastic in which to generate some rootlets, and later to separate the upper part and pot it up to fully root. What do you use the root bark for? Are you making herbal medicine with it?

Dandelion and plantain are also weeds that seem to do quite well. (I haven't tried eating plantain myself.)

I find plantain to be a bit bitter and astringent. I do eat the small young leaves on occasion in the garden, and gather a bit of it for my fine chop salad (wilder greens and savory herbs that I finely chop and then add as a flavoring on top of less strong flavored greens in regular salad bite size).

I'm very interested in perennial root veggies despite my large vole population.

Hi Corey;

I see this thread is way old, but i would like to add Jerusalem Artichokes for anyone looking for perennial vegetables in alaska.

I just wanted to thank you for reviving this thread. If we revive it every once in a while maybe, by chance, there might be a random new permie or older one who hasn't seen this thread that might have something to add. Where did you get your dioscorea batatas bulbs, apios americana and Stachys affinis?

Also Salsify seemed to do ok last season, but i did not harvest it.

I think that it will go to flower and seed the second year. Be careful unless you want a lot of it, as it can become a rather invasive plant from what I understand.

I don't like chickweed for taste but it grows great here, too.

I suggest adding some as fine chop on top of salad, mixed with things like chopped oregano, basil, parsley, et cetera. You don't have to taste the chickweed if you have such strong flavors to mask it, and then you get it's food and medicine.

we eat the dandelion greens in spring and my wife uses plantain for various medicinal concoctions

Is your wife a herbalist?

Roberto pokachinni wrote:What do you use the root bark for? Are you making herbal medicine with it?

That's the plan. It is thought that it is an adaptogen, although from my limited research that hasn't been confirmed. It is in the same family as ginseng. I'm pretty novice when it comes to herbal medicine.

I haven't tried it yet. I'm going to (cautiously) start using it this coming spring and fall. It's supposed to be the most potent in the fall.

I've had varied experience with it, thus:

1.) tincture of stem cambium... as an early summer tonic, after eating the spring greens. Although related to Ginseng, it is not recommended to be used as a general tonic that is taken regularly like ginseng. Although I did consume this with a friend who made it on Haida Gwaii, I am somewhat of the opinion that I should save this one for when I really need it (serious lung problems), see 3.
2.) spring buds, consumed on occasion, but not as a regular part of the diet yet.
3.) strong brew of root cambium... In a Native medicine course. In my later mentorship it was recommended by my teacher that it be used only if really needed, or at least when I got older (I was 24 at the time), to maximize it's potency. I'm 46 now, so maybe now is the time?
4.) I have placed a small strip of the cambium in my mouth against my inner lip between my lower teeth and lip, and just hung out in the Club forest to get acquainted.
5.) In my studies, this plant was used in native medicine everywhere it was present, and had many different uses, including cleansing for vision quests.

It's supposed to be the most potent in the fall.

the root would be most potent in the late fall, when the full energy of the plant has returned there. The power rises in the stem in the late winter and early spring, and so you can follow it's energy in it's natural annual flow up the stem to the bullet of bud growth at the end of the stem, and then through it's cycle to it's giant leaves, to it's flower stalk, it's flowers, to the berries, and then back to the root. I'm sure that all parts were used medicinally, but I have only seen reference to the cambium (the root being the strongest, and best harvested in late fall, or late winter). The entire root does not have to be harvested- a person can remove some of it's bark while it's still on the plant. I like the idea that you presented of harvesting the root, and then trying to air layer the stalk to replant it.

Thanks for the info! It sounds like devil's club cambium isn't something someone should consume unless they have a really specific reason too.

I've got some Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) seeds that I'm going to plant this summer. It's supposed to be an adaptogen, but I haven't done much research on it. I got the seed because my brother was interested in growing it.

It sounds like devil's club cambium isn't something someone should consume unless they have a really specific reason too.

Well that's my take on it. But there are many who use it more loosely than I have described. It does make an interesting tea, but I choose to use labrador tea, rose hips, and other gentler and more common teas.

I've got some Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) seeds that I'm going to plant this summer.

You seem to have access to some interesting seed sources!

Roberto pokachinni wrote:Hi Corey;

I see this thread is way old, but i would like to add Jerusalem Artichokes for anyone looking for perennial vegetables in alaska.

I just wanted to thank you for reviving this thread. If we revive it every once in a while maybe, by chance, there might be a random new permie or older one who hasn't seen this thread that might have something to add. Where did you get your dioscorea batatas bulbs, apios americana and Stachys affinis?

Also Salsify seemed to do ok last season, but i did not harvest it.

I think that it will go to flower and seed the second year. Be careful unless you want a lot of it, as it can become a rather invasive plant from what I understand.

I don't like chickweed for taste but it grows great here, too.

I suggest adding some as fine chop on top of salad, mixed with things like chopped oregano, basil, parsley, et cetera. You don't have to taste the chickweed if you have such strong flavors to mask it, and then you get it's food and medicine.

we eat the dandelion greens in spring and my wife uses plantain for various medicinal concoctions

Is your wife a herbalist?

You're welcome Robert, and thanks to you, too!
i got dioscorea batatas bulbs on ebay. I can't find the particular auction i got it from anymore, but just searching dioscorea batatas gives several results of tubers for sale.
apios and stachys i got from http://www.nortonnaturals.com/ I also got some camas from them but i don't think they survived the cold summer and definitely didnt thrive here.

Lots of salsify sounds great to me: )

My wife has no formal training as an herbalist but is intensely interested in herbal medicine and always has a remedy for whatever arises, mostly from local wild plants. She has studied ayurveda a bit in her yoga teacher training in India,(where we met) also. She finds different remedies on the internet and also in Janice Schofield's book. Myself i also enjoy 'talking' with the plants, but maybe listening is a better word and i have had many nice moments with devil's club. for some reason i felt the strongest connection with that plant during the dormant season and placing the top bud right between my eyebrows and with my intention 'looking' into its energy field, and 'listening' for communication from it. of course a quiet mind is required for anything to 'happen' in these endeavors... maybe not strictly permaculture talk here but probably a lot of us permies are 'closet mystics.'

Tyler Miller wrote:Thanks for the info! It sounds like devil's club cambium isn't something someone should consume unless they have a really specific reason too.

I've got some Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) seeds that I'm going to plant this summer. It's supposed to be an adaptogen, but I haven't done much research on it. I got the seed because my brother was interested in growing it.

Hi Tyler, I heard about this plant some time back and forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder, i will check it out a bit. Sounds interesting! I also tried to grow rhodiola rosea last summer but i think i got bad seed. Its also supposed to be an 'adaptogen' i think. I have a couple of questions for you:
1. What is an adaptogen?
2. What is your usda hardiness zone and general location in Alaska? (it would help put your successes and failures with various plants in perspective, since Alaska has such a hugely varied climate from North to South, low to high, and coast to interior)

Roberto pokachinni wrote:

I've got some Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) seeds that I'm going to plant this summer.

You seem to have access to some interesting seed sources!

I picked up the Siberian ginseng seed from Sheffields. I'd put a link to it, but it looks like their website is down right now.

Corey Schmidt wrote:Hi Tyler, I heard about this plant some time back and forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder, i will check it out a bit. Sounds interesting! I also tried to grow rhodiola rosea last summer but i think i got bad seed. Its also supposed to be an 'adaptogen' i think. I have a couple of questions for you:
1. What is an adaptogen?
2. What is your usda hardiness zone and general location in Alaska? (it would help put your successes and failures with various plants in perspective, since Alaska has such a hugely varied climate from North to South, low to high, and coast to interior)

I hadn't heard of rhodiola rosea before, thanks.

1. Honestly I'm not very knowledgeable about herbal medicine, but my layman's understanding is that an adaptogen helps a person deal with stress.

I was talking with my brother about maybe starting a small peony operation a while back, and he mentioned that he heard on the radio that if just half an acre of Siberian ginseng were planted it would have the potential to be Alaska's largest export crop. I figured it was worth ordering a little bit of seed and planting some on a trial basis.

2. I'm in Trapper Creek, which is in the northern part of the Mat-Su Valley near Talkeetna. The region is zone 3a, but we usually have pretty heavy snow cover. I'm trying out plenty of zone 4 plants and I think even zone 5 plants might survive in the right microclimate.

Thanks, Tyler.
We drove up to denali a couple of years ago and so drove thru the area, very beautiful big wide space.
i also wasn't aware eleutheros was in demand. even more interesting

Hi Corey,
I garden at about 800 ft in the Anchorage area. Theoretical zones haven’t meant much with the chaotic weather of recent years! The Anchorage Permaculture Guild organizes both a seed and seedling exchange. I usually try to offer a few new or well tested perennials through the events. Most years there is demand for Good King Henry (Chenipodium bonus-henri), and I will grow some starts for the seedling exchange. This year I will also start some more Turkish Rocket (Bunias orientalis). It has done well, bees love it and I enjoy the taste. Sweet cicely and valerian are other perennials that do well as herbal and medicinals, respectively, that I may offer at the exchange. Horseradish does great. Fuki has done surprisingly well. We are experimenting with a wide range of perennial alliums, (Welch onions are amazing!) etc. Our real interest has been in shrubs and berry production but that could be a very long topic. Your Stachyis affinis would be a very popular trade item if it does well for you.
We are still working out the growing conditions for Siberian ginseng. The plants grow well on our site but over-wintering has been more challenging, which was not the expected problem.

Stephan Barstow’s book Around the World in 80 Plants is perfect for your climate and growing conditions. Stephan has experimented with hundreds of varieties in a garden area on the Norwegian coast north of the Arctic circle.

We are discussing a possible workshop in the Homer area for Stropharia rugose-annulata installations in high tunnels, since edible mushrooms are an area that we have been developing and have been sharing with the Anchorage Permies. We could potentially bring down some plants or seeds if this works out. I can be reached by PM if you are in going to be in the Anchorage area. I can also be found on “Spruce Tip Farm” on facebook.

Best wishes for successful northern growing.

Thanks Christine! a few more things i haven't tried. I have kept egyptian walking onions alive here for nearly 10 years and various moves and absences, but have yet to see them thrive, so I'm happy to hear about the welch onions. Lots of great info to go thru in your post. I think the shrubs and berries are even more exciting. Is there a list published somewhere of what has been tried by anchorage permaculture guild?

There is an old file on the Alaska Permaculture Ning site. Under "Groups", "Alaska Permaculture Doc". I don't think it has been updated in awhile, but is a nice compilation. You have to join, which is not a hardship but the site will end after this year, likely.

We are growing red and black currants, gooseberries, Saskatoon serviceberries, very productive cultivars of lingonberries and nangoonberries, Russian mountain ash, seaberries, Nanny berries, honey berries, Evans cherry, and various apples. Strawberries and raspberries, of course. We have a small nursery.

for some reason i felt the strongest connection with that plant during the dormant season and placing the top bud right between my eyebrows and with my intention 'looking' into its energy field, and 'listening' for communication from it.

Well, dormant or not, the energy is still there. For instance, I can feel the toes in my amputated foot. The toes are not even there anymore, but the nerves that branched to them are still present in my brain. The cambium sapwood, though dormant, is still connected to the root storage area, and like a meridian of energy that can be reached at various acupressure points, or a nerve that once went to a limb that is now amputated, it is never fully ever gone/dormant, and there will be access points. The energy is always there. It just is more abundant at the times of peak growth in those particular areas. The end of the dormant stalk is likely the only orifice on the Devil's Club plant in the winter. It can't completely close, and it may be the only place where these 'nerve endings' are directly available to the outside world. Just thoughts though. Great that you have, and are making, the connection, and doing it your way. A great plant.

Very interesting analysis. I had not thought of any of that, the interactions happened intuitively. it does make sense. thanks for sharing. also it brings up the question of what exactly is seen in these experiences and what is the mechanism of seeing. thanks : ) i haven't had any such encounters with devil's club for a while but what i remember is i always 'saw' a yellow color for some reason, 'heard' a sound like electricity sparking, and had a feeling of a kind of spiraling motion.

I'm going to start compiling a list from the beginning of this thread to the present... and then I will edit it as this progresses for a while... at least until the spring gardening and construction work kicks me off the computer.

If I miss any let me know.

I'll put a question mark by any that I think might need more info.

Wild mushrooms, Cultivated/Introduced Berries and fruits, wild plants including berries, will have the own lines, but the first line will be just cultivated plants and mushrooms. I will try to get the latin names down so that it is easier for everyone, as time goes on. Any help would be appreciated in getting the latin names. Any suggestions for making these lists better (more user friendly) would be helpful.

Cultivated plants and mushrooms: Asparagus, Horseradish, Rhubarb, Multiplying Onions, Violets, Daylillies, Hops, Comfrey, Chives, French Sorrel, Some Culinary Herbs?, Jerusalem Artichokes, Shitake, Oyster Mushrooms, dioscorea batatas, Stachys affinis, ground nut, Maximillian Sunflower, hostas, salsify, Good King Henry (Chernipodium bonus-henri), Turkish Rocket (Bunias orientalis), Fuki, Perennial alliums?, Welsh Onions, Egyptian Walking Onions, Siberian Ginseng?,

Wild plants including berries: Fiddle Head Fern varieties: ?, Alpine Sweetvetch?, Devil's Club shoots, watermelon berry, Fireweed, Cow Parsnip, Spring Beauty, Stinging Nettles, Rose Hips, Labrador Tea, False Solomon's Seal, Sweet Cicily, Valarian

Edible weed/Volunteer Plants: Chickweed, Lambsquarters, Dandelion, Chicory, Plantain,


Wild Mushrooms and Fungi: Morels, Boletes, Chantrelles, Pines, Hedgehog, Cauliflower, Chicken Of The Woods, Chaga, Angel Wings, Lobsters, Turkey Tail, Puffballs, Shaggy Manes, Stropharia Rugose-Annulata

Cultivated or introduced Berry and fruit varieties: Grapes, Hardy Kiwis?, Apples, Cherries, Pears, Plums, Red and Black Currants, Gooseberries, Saskatoon/Serviceberries, Lingonberries, Nangoonberries, Russian Mountain Ash, Seaberries, Nanny Berries, Honey Berries, Evans Cherry, Strawberries, Raspberries

Books:

Websites:

Seed and stock sites:

That's as far as I got tonight. Will continue tomorrow or the next day to try to make additions/corrections/edits.

Hi Corey:

i always 'saw' a yellow color for some reason, 'heard' a sound like electricity sparking, and had a feeling of a kind of spiraling motion.

sounds awesome. Do you want to start and run a Devil's Club thread with me? I'm not going to do it tonight, but I think that we can do some cool stuff there, if we are willing to put some momentum into it. Partly I want to have this particular thread be generating more zone 3 perennials and zone 3 edibles to the lists. What do you think?

Robert, Sounds good, is it possible to move a couple of the devil's club posts?

Hi Corey. I'll see what I can do tomorrow about moving some.

All this talk of perennial zone 3 vegetable and medicinals reminds me that most permies do not live by food alone. There is an older thread on the use perennials for that important sustenance of fermented beverage. The recipe included several abundant perennials! Myrica gale has potential as an herb in foods as well. Birch syrup involves a lot of work to acquire and demands a high price but is a delicious treat.

https://permies.com/t/51157/fermentation/weeeds-beer

Here’s to the abundance of zone 3!