Planting stuff in a food forest in the Midwest for this fall.

Howdy! I'm looking to plant some stuff native to the Midwest this fall for my possible future food forest. I know paw-paws, wild grapes, chokecherries, black walnuts, sumacs fit the catagory, but are there others for small areas and limited space? I want long term self sufficency. Please reach me. Thanks!

I have some resources for this! Here's a quick list and a 76 page Native Edible slideshow from the Missouri Extension service.
But... if you're looking for food you might want to branch out from strictly natives. For example, wild pawpaw and wild grapes are very low in food production so cultivars would be a better option while still fulfilling the natural roles of their native counterparts.
I've been using natives to fill different roles in guilds. New Jersey Tea and Leadplant for nitrogen fixing, native flowers for pollinators and pest confusers, etc.

You could look into inoculating logs with mushroom spores

Also, edging is important in forests. You could plant a hazelnut/filbert thicket on the edge.

I'm also starting fresh this fall. I'm going for more of an old Carolinian mix, but there is a chunk of overlap in the native species.
The trees I'm going for first, in addition to what you already have, are: low-tanin oaks, hybrid American sweet chestnuts, red mulberry, elderberry, persimmons, hazelnuts and Saskatoons.
I've already got some sunchokes, clove/native black currants, wild ginger and hardy cactus as some of the smaller guild plants.

Wild grapes tend to be not worth my time, so I have propagated from the Concord and Concord cross ones I already had. They are super easy to get started and have good taste and production so I'll live with them not being the wild versions.

Dian Green wrote:I've already got some sunchokes, clove/native black currants, wild ginger and hardy cactus as some of the smaller guild plants.

I’ve personally stayed away from ever trying wild ginger though it grows plentiful along my creeks.  They say it is carcinogenic … but then again, so is the sun and many fun things in life are.

Mark Beard wrote:
I’ve personally stayed away from ever trying wild ginger though it grows plentiful along my creeks.  They say it is carcinogenic … but then again, so is the sun and many fun things in life are.

I haven't used any myself yet either. I do like how it looks and that it's a rare native plant. I was really happy to discover, when I was potting it up for my move, that it is the scent note I love from Aveda products.
My chemical sensitivities mean I can't use their stuff and I'm hopeful I can make some perfumes or soaps that work for me with it.

How beneficial is dittny? And how can we tell if wild grapes are suitable as an edible?

Blake Lenoir wrote: How beneficial is dittny? And how can we tell if wild grapes are suitable as an edible?

Dittnay is similar to Oregano or Bees Balm as it contains the compound Thymol. Thymol is anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antiseptic.

As far as wild grapes go, they grow all over the place on my property…. And I’ve never been able to harvest any grapes. My experience is that wild Grapes are very small and they only ripen on the vine and you have to compete with birds to get them. Cultivated varieties are much easier. And of course, in the wild  they grow along side or mixed in with poisonous vines like moonseed, poison ivy, Virginia creeper. It’s just easier for me to know what and where I planted something in an easily cultivated spot. However, wild Grape Leaves are easy enough to forage and edible. And I did once come upon a bunch of wild grapes when visiting Michigan that were plentiful and easy to harvest, so, there might be environments or varieties that are more suitable. There are a lot of different kinds or wild grapes…. I haven’t spent much effort trying to learn about the different wild varieties or identify which ones naturally occur at my property.