usda zone 5 Climbers

I am new to gardening in general. And would appreciate criticism of my thoughts on layering vines. I have recently into a usda zone 5a-5b semi-arid small town suburban lot.

I working on the plans for a food forest. I have a fairly small lot, in which has a pine tree and a neighboring maple tree. The rest is thistles and lawn.

I plan to plant a hazelnut tree.

And I plan to plant the following short trees: a dwarf apple, dwarf cherry, chokecherry

I would like to have the following vines.
I wold like to grow a grape up the hazelnut tree.
Wisteria ‘Caroline up the pine tree
And Tomato, hops, or Pea plants up the dwarf tree.

If the above won't work, I still would like to have a living trellis, so any other ideas are welcome. I dislike corn and it doesn't seem to do well here as I don't know anyone who grows it, so I am not a fan of three sisters Idea. Maybe sunflowers as a trellis?

you can see my list on my blog below..zone 4/5..anything I can grow you can grow. I grow lots of grapes, am retrying kiwi, I have trailing black berries and raspberries, clematis, climbing roses, bittersweet, wisteria grows here but doesn't bloom, trumpet vine, lots of annual vines like peas and beans etc..i guess dutchman's pipe and some others will grow here but I haven't got any (would love some if someone has any others like dutchman's pipe or akebia or other perennial vine starters !!)

i forgot about woodbine vine, it grows really great here..and climbing currants.

Brenda Groth wrote:you can see my list on my blog below..zone 4/5..anything I can grow you can grow. I grow lots of grapes, am retrying kiwi, I have trailing black berries and raspberries, clematis, climbing roses, bittersweet, wisteria grows here but doesn't bloom, trumpet vine, lots of annual vines like peas and beans etc..i guess dutchman's pipe and some others will grow here but I haven't got any (would love some if someone has any others like dutchman's pipe or akebia or other perennial vine starters !!)

Thanks for pointing to your blog, it looks like it will be lot of help.

I wanted wisteria as an insect attractor so no blooming rules it out. I need something that can grow up the pine, tolerate its shade, though it is limbed up about 15 feet. And ideally help repair the soil, or serve some other function. The only thing growing under the pine is thistles and one rhubarb. I will be fined if I don't eliminate them (farming town).

What function would the woodbine vine serve. I don't want to grow anything for visual sake alone. I want food, fiber, insect attractor, medicine, mulch etc. I dont have a fireplace so I don't need wood plants. I considered chopping down the pine tree and turning it into a hugelculture, but I have nostalgia for pine trees, plus it would be a lot of hard work and goes against some permaculture principles.

However I think I phrased my query poorly. I would mainly like to know more about using living trellises. I do not want to have artificial posts. I would like it to look as much and act as much like a true forest when I am done as possible. Is there special considerations or training so that the vine is not overly parasitic, or even symbiotic, and will not get destroyed by the growth of the tree?

Hops!

How, exactly, would chopping down a tree that creates a very limited ecology around it in a space that you have indicated is your Zone 1 be against any tenets of permaculture? I mean, if it's not shading anything out (good luck unless it's on the northern border of your property), or if you want very acidic soil to grow potatoes, blueberries, and the rhubarb you mentioned, go for it. I would suggest checking the sun and acidity requirements of the climbing currants. Are you really forbidden from having rhubarb? even if its tended, and harvested before it goes to seed? That boggles the mind.

I am using sunflowers in place of corn in a three-sisters-style guild that includes melons and squash of various types and pole beans, and bee balm in place of rocky mountain bee plant (I don't know if it would grow here in Toronto, but we're zone 6A/B Canadian Hardiness Zone. We're quite hardy.) I've seen corn growing north of us, and I do quite well with it, until such time as it is noticed by the hordes of neighbourhood squirrels, at which point I lose my corn and my living trellis, along with whatever tasties are climbing them.

Good luck, in any case, and welcome to grubbing around in the dirt.

Regards,

-CK