C. West

My family keeps bees and after lots of research I want to get a hive. for many reasons (honey safety, hive safety, cost, being able to be truly off grid etc) I don't want to use pesticides or fungicides or even smoke on my bees.

Living in canada the only real threats to my hive will be foulbrood (which i will be able to deal with chemical free) and V. destructor.

My questions to anyone out there not using commercial sprays, how do they deal with pests? specifically but not limited to V. destructor?

Any input welcome

PS I plan on keeping Apis mellifera carnica, so if anyone has any input on this subspecies that would be appreciated as well

some good tasting decent yielding zone 4 perennials

mitsuba, a celery like gourmet used in japan
caucasian spinach, vine thats tasty raw or cooked
Bunias orientalis, has broccoli like florets
Blonde de Lyon Sorrel, a gourmet sorrel variety used in french cuisine to make sorrel soup, pleasant lemony flavor
Opuntia humifusa, makes decent nopales, a very cold hardy cactus
salad burnet, with succulent leaves and a cucumber flavor, good for salads
Claytonia sibirica, has very tender leaves with a beet flavor
Good king henry, a close relative to quinoa, has oxalates but is quite good
udo, a japanese delicacy, the variety 'sun king' is quite hardy
shallots, not all are hardy but some varieties are
Dioscorea batatas, potatoes that grow on vines!
Phyllostachys aureosulcata, has tender bamboo shoots, and is at least root hardy in zone 4
hops, good for beer, but the shoots are also delicious
Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) has an edamame like seed
scotch elm (Ulmus glabra) supposedly have a quite nice edible seed
American olive (Chionanthus virginicus), not a lot of info on this one, but is supposedly used to make an olive substitute and is in the same family as Mediterranean olives
Japanese angelica (Aralia elata), another eastern delicacy

theres many more but these are just some of the interesting/tasty/productive ones

if i remember correctly storing lots of nuts especially walnuts can release a lot of radon, something to consider for those permies who grow/forage nuts

i am also in zone 5, this is my list of fav perennial foods, most from experience, some from reports or nutritional analysis. some are hardy to zone 6, but placed in the right spot should do fine.

Giant filbert (Corylus maxima)
Carmine goumi
Currant white versailles
Titania black currant
Invicta gooseberry
Indigo gem haskap (blue moose as pollinator)(aurora as pollinator?)
Vdb fig
Caucasian caper (Capparis herbacea)(hardiness?)
Blackberry 'ebony king'
Raspberry ‘caroline’
Chinese yam (Dioscorea batatas)
Caucasian spinach
Seedless concord grape (V. labrusca)
Supreme muscadine (with protection the first 3 years)
Kiwiberry issai
Kiwiberry kens red
Watercress (Ontario)
Ostrich fern (Ontario)
Udo ‘sun king’
Wild leeks (Ontario)
Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Walking onion
Kernza?
Silphium integrifolium? (perennial oilseed)
Hostas (edible ground cover around trees) yuki urui
Comfrey (bocking 14 is sterile)(good pig food)
Stingless nettle (Urtica galeopsifolia)(harmful to kidneys if harvested after flowering)
Basil mint (tires)
Fennel (tires)
Oregano (tires)
Tarragon (tires)
Thyme (tires)
Horseradish
Scallions (tires)
Myoga ginger
Asparagus (staple)(variety?)
Maidens tears (Silene vulgaris)(Ontario)
Perennial arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)(staple)
Turkish broccoli (Bunias orientalis)(staple)
Kaleidoscope kale (staple)
Spadona chicory (oxalates)
Blonde de Lyon Sorrel (oxalates)
Strawberry mara de bois,
cabot)
Blueberry (bluecrop)
Opuntia humifusa (staple) (tires)
Physalis subglabrata (tires)
Peach (reliance,
calanda
harko nectarine)
Cherry (black tartarian,
sato nishiki)
Pawpaw susquehanna
Nikita's gift hybrid persimmon
Canadian white blenheim apricot
Superspur aestivalis mayhaw
Jujube coco
Apple (komitsu,
cox orange pippin,
granny smith,
roxbury,
Antonovka
pitmaston,
winesap,
arkansas black,
cinnamon spice)
Best golden russet bosc pear
Hosui nashi
Sweet lavender mulberry
Plum (Graf althans,
Mirabelle)
Trifoliate orange
Japanese heartnut (Juglans ailantifolia)
Carpathian walnut
Almond oracle (late bloom)(3)
Ultra northern pecan deerstand
Chinquapin nut (2)(nsf)
Pinus edulis (most commercial american species, 25mm, good cooked)
Yellowhorn (oil)
Chinese toon (Toona sinensis)
Sugar maple (10)(Ontario)
Emperor oak
English oak (Quercus robur)(black truffle tree)(10 trees)
Camellia japonica
Tea bush (sochi)
Jelly vine (Cocculus orbiculatus)
Salavatski pomegranate
Tonda di giffoni hazelnut
Noir de spain black mulberry
Uzbek pistachio
Musa basjoo (hardy banana)
Dolnamul (Sedum sarmentosum)
Bangpung (Peucedanum japonicum)
Monkey puzzle tree (need male/female trees)
Eia popeia passionfruit
Phyllostachys nidularia (most delicate flavored, best species to eat raw)
Montmorency sour cherry
Chestnut marrone di marradi
Grape (somerset,
Neptune seedless,
ruby roman
corinth
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)(edamame like seed)  
Calycanthus floridus (cinnamon alternative)(toxic)
Caragana arborescens (Siberian peashrub)(Ontario)
Chaenomeles japonica (japanese quince)
Hovenia dulcis (japanese raisin tree)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)(Ontario)
Maclura tricuspidata ‘norris’ (che)(can graft on osage orange)
Myrica pensylvanica (wax myrtle)(bay leaf substitute)
Zanthoxylum piperitum (japanese pepper)(the best zone 5 pepper)

just that i planted/will plant them in old tires lol, i didnt edit this list really just copied and pasted

my (very rough unedited) list of zone 5 or 6 perennial nuts, roots, grains, herbs, vegetables and greens that interest me. i have only personally tried about a quarter to a third of this list

Saltbush (Atriplex nuttalli)(best edible perennial saltbush?)
Giant filbert (Corylus maxima)
Caucasian caper (Capparis herbacea)(hardiness?)
Chinese yam (Dioscorea batatas)
Caucasian spinach
Hops (variety?)
Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
Yellow lily (Nuphar lutea)
Watercress (Ontario)
Pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata)(Ontario)
Burnet (Ontario)
Ostrich fern (Ontario)
Udo ‘sun king’
Sunchoke (variety?)(pickling removes inulin effects)
Amaranth (self seeding)(species/cultivar?)(tricolor?)
Wild leeks (Ontario)
Ramsons (Allium ursinum)
Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Walking onion
Buckwheat? (10lbs/day honey per hive, 1ton/acre hay, 1500-2000lbs/acre grain)(high nutrient, bad staple)(soba)(Memil-muk)
Kernza?
Silphium integrifolium? (perennial oilseed)
Hostas (edible ground cover around trees)(Yuki Urui, longipes, montana, white feather, gentle giant, munchkin)
Horsetail (edible, mold/fungicide)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Red clover (Trifolium pratense)(nitrogen fixer, ground cover, honey crop, edible flower)
Comfrey (bocking 14 is sterile)(good pig food)
Cirsium arvense/foliosum (used like artichoke)?(high edible oil yield, good pig feed, edible gourmet stems, highest nectar output)
Stingless nettle (Urtica galeopsifolia)(harmful to kidneys if harvested after flowering)
Peppermint (tires)
Spearmint (tires)
Basil mint (tires)
Fennel (tires)
Lovage (tires)
Marjoram (tires)
Nepitella (tires)
Oregano (tires)
Sage (tires)
Tarragon (tires)
Thyme (tires)
Garlic chives (tires)
Lemon balm (tires)
Mitsuba (tires)
Horseradish
Yellow potato onion
Scallions (tires)
Myoga ginger
Asparagus (staple)
Maidens tears (Silene vulgaris)(Ontario)
Purple plantain (plantago major) (tires)
Perennial arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)(staple)
Turkish broccoli (Bunias orientalis)(staple)
Nine star cauliflower (staple)
Volherzigen dandelion
Puntarelle
Kaleidoscope kale (staple)
Russian red kale
Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)(hardy to zone 6 but self seeds in zone 5)(omegas)(oxalates)
Spadona chicory (oxalates)
Red vein Sorrel (oxalates)
French sorrel (oxalates)
Blonde de Lyon Sorrel (oxalates)
Glaskins rhubarb (tires)
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) (tires)
Opuntia humifusa (staple) (tires)
Japanese heartnut (Juglans ailantifolia)
Carpathian walnut
Weschke black walnut
Beckwith butternut (paired with kenworthy)
Almond oracle (late bloom)(3)
Peach almond hybrid
Hazelbert
Aldara hazelnut
Ultra northern pecan deerstand
Chinese pecan (Carya cathayensis)
Chinquapin nut (2)(nsf)
Dunstan chestnut (pig feed?)
Pinus cembra
Pinus cembroides (mexican pine)(excellent flavor, 15mm, most proteine)
Pinus edulis (most commercial american species, 25mm, good cooked)
Pinus koreainus
Burton hican
Yellowhorn (oil)
Beech nut (oil)(Fagus sylvatica)(tortuosa?)
Dwarf sugarberry (celtis occidentalis)
Japanese pepper tree (Zanthoxylum piperitum)
Chinese toon (Toona sinensis)
English oak (Quercus robur)(black truffle tree)(10 trees)
Camellia japonica (oil)
Tea bush (sochi)
Tea oil (oleifera)
Jelly vine (Cocculus orbiculatus)
Barcelona filbert
Tonda di giffoni hazelnut
Uzbek pistachio
Pistacia atlantica
Musa basjoo (hardy banana)
Dolnamul (Sedum sarmentosum)
Bangpung (Peucedanum japonicum)
Monkey puzzle tree (need male/female trees)
Japanese cinnamon (Cinnamomum pedunculatum)
Miyako bamboo (Sasa nipponica)
Ennis hazelnut
Walnut franquette
Shellbark hickory 'J. Yoder No 1'
Torreya nucifera (Kaya)(oil, nut)
Phyllostachys aurea (sweetest bamboo shoots)
Phyllostachys edulis (largest shoots)(Moso)
Phyllostachys nidularia (most delicate flavored, best species to eat raw)
Echinops spinosissimus
Gundelia?
Scolymus hispanicus
Yucca baccata
Allium
Flava daylily  
Yabu-kanzō (double tawny daylily)(Hemerocallis fulva)
Hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus)(Ontario)
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)(Ontario)
Jasmine ‘fiona sunrise’
Korean fairy bells (yunpan)(Disporum flavum)(namul)
Lavender (Ontario)
Lupine (toxic unless soaked)(species/variety?)
Mallow (Malva alcea/moschata/sylvestris)
Poppies (self seeding)
Sweet violet (Viola odorata)(Ontario)
Tigerlily (Ontario)
Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)(Ontario)
Betony (Stachys officinalis)
Cham-namul (Pimpinella brachycarpa)(hardiness?)
Chamchwi (Doellingeria scabra)
Cicely (Ontario)
Costmary
Ephedra sinica
Horehound  
Hyssop
Garlic cress (Peltaria alliacea or turkmena)
Giant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)(Ontario)
Lemon thyme
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
Mint (orange, chocolate, apple, ginger)
Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium)
Rue
Saffron  
Tsi (Houittuynia)
Negi (Welsh onion)
Woodruff
Yomogi (Artemisia princeps)
Bellflower (Campanula glomerata)(Ontario)
Dames rocket (Hesperis matronalis)(Ontario)
Elecampane (Inula helenium)(used as potherb by romans)(Ontario)
Fuki (Petasites japonicus)(Ontario)
Gomchi (Ligularia fischeri)
Good king henry (oxalates)
Handsome harry (Rhexia virginica)(Ontario)
Japanese milkweed (Metaplexis japonica)
Mahonia nervosa (edible leaves, fruit)
Sandwort (Honckenya peploides)
Sea kale
Sea plantain (Plantago maritima)
Thicket bean (Phaseolus polystachios)
Water fringe (Nymphoides peltata)
Oenanthe javanica (seri)
Parasenecio delphiniifolius (sansai)
Allium macrostemon (sansai)
Anemone flaccida (sansai)
Elatostema umbellatum (sansai)Kudzu (pig feed?)
Masterwort (Aegopodium podagraria)(Ontario)
Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)(Ontario)
Greenbriar (Smilax rotundifolia)
Perennial lettuce (Lactuca perennis)
Pink purslane (Claytonia sibirica)
Samphire (Crithmum maritimum)
Sea beet
Chestnut (schlarbaum (japanese, most cold hardy), marrone di marradi (best tasting), bouche de betizac(cold and disease hardy))
Abies grandis (grand fir)(edible fresh needles, citrus flavor)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)(edamame like seed)  
Aralia elata
Arundinaria gigantea (z5 bamboo)
Calycanthus floridus (cinnamon alternative)(toxic)
Caragana arborescens (Siberian peashrub)(Ontario)
Carya glabra (Pignut hickory)(Ontario)
Catalpa ovata (chinese bean tree)
Cercis canadensis (redbud)(edible bean pods)
Eleutherococcus sieboldianus (ukogi)
Fagus americana (american beech)(Ontario)
Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo)(Ontario)
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘thornless’ ‘ashworth’ (honey locust)(nitrogen fixing)
Juniperus communis (european juniper)(Ontario)
Kalopanax septemlobus
Koelreuteria paniculata
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)(Ontario)
Myrica pensylvanica (wax myrtle)(bay leaf substitute)
Phyllostachys aureosulcata (z5 good to eat)
Phyllostachys propinqua (z5 good to eat)
Prinsepia sinensis (Prinsepia)(seeds have edible cooking oil)
Prunus mahaleb
Pseudotsuga menziesii (douglas fir)(citrus flavor)
Ptelea trifoliata (hop tree)(Ontario)
Pyronia veitchii
Quercus alba (large low tannin acorns)(Ontario)
Quercus dentata (emperor oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)(Ontario)
Staphylea pinnata (bladder nut)
Tilia cordata (Linden)(Ontario)
Ulex europaeus (gorse)
Ulmus glabra (scotch elm)(Ontario)
Yucca filamentosa
Zanthoxylum simulans (szechuan pepper)

im in usda zone 5 these are a 50/50 mix of my fave zone 5 perennials i have and have had, and zone 5/zone 6 perennials i really want

Giant filbert (Corylus maxima)
Carmine goumi
Currant white versailles
Titania black currant
Invicta gooseberry
Indigo gem haskap (blue moose as pollinator)(aurora as pollinator?)
Vdb fig
Caucasian caper (Capparis herbacea)(hardiness?)
Blackberry 'ebony king'
Raspberry ‘caroline’
Chinese yam (Dioscorea batatas)
Caucasian spinach
Seedless concord grape (V. labrusca)
Supreme muscadine (with protection the first 3 years)
Kiwiberry issai
Kiwiberry kens red
Watercress (Ontario)
Ostrich fern (Ontario)
Udo ‘sun king’
Wild leeks (Ontario)
Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Walking onion
Kernza?
Silphium integrifolium? (perennial oilseed)
Hostas (edible ground cover around trees) yuki urui
Comfrey (bocking 14 is sterile)(good pig food)
Stingless nettle (Urtica galeopsifolia)(harmful to kidneys if harvested after flowering)
Basil mint (tires)
Fennel (tires)
Oregano (tires)
Tarragon (tires)
Thyme (tires)
Horseradish
Scallions (tires)
Myoga ginger
Asparagus (staple)(variety?)
Maidens tears (Silene vulgaris)(Ontario)
Perennial arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)(staple)
Turkish broccoli (Bunias orientalis)(staple)
Kaleidoscope kale (staple)
Spadona chicory (oxalates)
Blonde de Lyon Sorrel (oxalates)
Strawberry mara de bois,
cabot)
Blueberry (bluecrop)
Opuntia humifusa (staple) (tires)
Physalis subglabrata (tires)
Peach (reliance,
calanda
harko nectarine)
Cherry (black tartarian,
sato nishiki)
Pawpaw susquehanna
Nikita's gift hybrid persimmon
Canadian white blenheim apricot
Superspur aestivalis mayhaw
Jujube coco
Apple (komitsu,
cox orange pippin,
granny smith,
roxbury,
Antonovka
pitmaston,
winesap,
arkansas black,
cinnamon spice)
Best golden russet bosc pear
Hosui nashi
Sweet lavender mulberry
Plum (Graf althans,
Mirabelle)
Trifoliate orange
Japanese heartnut (Juglans ailantifolia)
Carpathian walnut
Almond oracle (late bloom)(3)
Ultra northern pecan deerstand
Chinquapin nut (2)(nsf)
Pinus edulis (most commercial american species, 25mm, good cooked)
Yellowhorn (oil)
Chinese toon (Toona sinensis)
Sugar maple (10)(Ontario)
Emperor oak (to make korean acorn jelly)
English oak (Quercus robur)(black truffle tree)(10 trees)
Camellia japonica
Tea bush (sochi)
Jelly vine (Cocculus orbiculatus)
Salavatski pomegranate
Tonda di giffoni hazelnut
Noir de spain black mulberry
Uzbek pistachio
Musa basjoo (hardy banana)
Dolnamul (Sedum sarmentosum)
Bangpung (Peucedanum japonicum)
Monkey puzzle tree (need male/female trees)
Eia popeia passionfruit
Phyllostachys nidularia (most delicate flavored, best species to eat raw)
Montmorency sour cherry
Chestnut marrone di marradi
Grape (somerset,
Neptune seedless,
ruby roman
corinth
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)(edamame like seed)  
Calycanthus floridus (cinnamon alternative)(toxic)
Caragana arborescens (Siberian peashrub)(Ontario)
Chaenomeles japonica (japanese quince)
Hovenia dulcis (japanese raisin tree)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)(Ontario)
Maclura tricuspidata ‘norris’ (che)(can graft on osage orange)
Myrica pensylvanica (wax myrtle)(bay leaf substitute)
Zanthoxylum piperitum (japanese pepper)(the best zone 5 pepper)

im interested to know if they are perennial like scarlet or annual like commons... also if hybrid vigor/cold hardy common genetics would make them not only perennial but perennial in zones 4-6 rather than just 7+

'pakistan mulberry' among online dealers is a mess. some are cold hardy some are not. some are european species, some north american, some south asian, some hybrids. true Morus macroura is barely hardy to zone 9.

it will be interesting if you get fruit to see how long and tasty they are, just know more likely than not you have nigra, alba or rubra, not macroura (not that that is necessarily a bad thing, most mulberries are tasty)

mayhaws (C. opaca or aestivalis) are a delicacy when made into jelly. some varieties such as superspur are fairly cold hardy, but they are generally a southern US tree

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayhaw