West Virginia National Park won’t be allowed to have ramp harvests after Jan. 1
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I never heard of a ramp much less a ramp harvest.
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I have, but have never had one or seen one. I have read about them, and know people who have eaten them. I wish we could grow them in Colorado, but I think the soil isn't right and we do not have enough moisture.
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/grow-ramps/
I don't feel so bad now.
I read the title and all I could think was:
"Why on earth would people be going into national parks and taking out those things that they put in for handicapped people in wheel-chairs?"
I've needed firewood really bad it the past, but that is going too far, even in my book.
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The Princess learned about ramps from a book about farming the forest. I did try growing them but some critter ate all that I planted. Best guess it was a river rat. I would like to try them again.
They are supposed to tase like garlic and one of the earliest food that can be harvested in early spring before the leaf canopy fills in.
Ben
They are supposed to tase like garlic and one of the earliest food that can be harvested in early spring before the leaf canopy fills in.
Ben
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Also known as bear garlic.I don't feel so bad now.
I read the title and all I could think was:
"Why on earth would people be going into national parks and taking out those things that they put in for handicapped people in wheel-chairs?"
Ben
We have ramps at 'the farm.' I've never eaten them, but our foodie neighbors (also relatively new to the area) will figure out something.
The way I see it, food from the woods = prep/sustainability.
The way I see it, food from the woods = prep/sustainability.
Ramps grow around here. They have a festival in the spring. Ramps are tasty and STRONG. Like a super strong onion or garlic. Afterward for a few days your sweat will smell like ramps. Some folks swear by them, Some won't touch them with a 10' pole.
I was thinking they were in the leek family - which is close-ish to the onions and garlics..
I'm pretty sure they are in the Alluim family. Much, much stronger than a leek
Ah - I bet! I've never had any so wouldn't know. I was going on memory which at best with something unknown is sketchy.
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That is my understanding.
Like cheap cigars, they should be good for crowd control.
Ben
Ben
theres 2 kinds..this is one found mostly.according to forestry special prof the second one is very rare.the bear garlic is actually a european strain and they seen the native plant here and thought it was same but its not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum
Allium tricoccum (commonly known as ramp, ramps, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, or wild garlic)[2][3] is a North American species of wild onion widespread across eastern Canada and the eastern United States.[1] Many of the common English names for this plant are also used for other Allium species, particularly the similar Allium ursinum, which is native to Europe and Asia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_ursinum
Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, wild cowleek, cowlic, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland.[2] It is a wild relative of onion and garlic, all belonging to the same genus, Allium. There are two recognized subspecies: A. ursinum subsp. ursinum and A. ursinum subsp. ucranicum
WARNING ! WARNING ! DANGER ! DANGER !
please be aware of a poisonous look alike. this is a non native look alike that people planted here. i went years and years not ever seeing this and finally one day i seen a patch of green in early spring in bloom and i thought i know thats not ramps its gotta be lilly plant. i stopped to see and sure enough it was. it was in town being used as ornamental planting and i am solid on what it looks like now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_of_the_valley
please be aware of a poisonous look alike. this is a non native look alike that people planted here. i went years and years not ever seeing this and finally one day i seen a patch of green in early spring in bloom and i thought i know thats not ramps its gotta be lilly plant. i stopped to see and sure enough it was. it was in town being used as ornamental planting and i am solid on what it looks like now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_of_the_valley
i have established ramp beds in my forest.i have done it through transplants and seed.it takes years and years. from seed a minimum of 7 years but more like 10 for the good stuff.my experience in transplanting...wait till later in spring after bulb has put on size.they only grow for about a month to store a years worth of energy up. the last batch i done was small and early on and i can tell they suffered from transplant shock and trying to grow bulb to live.they did live and some even sent out flower and produced a few seed heads.
i have transplanted individual plants and in clumps.best bed i have was individual but i believe clumps do better. the individual bed just seems better since its got many years of growth ahead of other sites and its got seed production going on for years filling in and spreading.
not many ramps here because of over harvesting. last transplanting i done was in 2019.i buy one ounce of seed every year to put in forest.i dont have to as i am now producing seed that covers my goal of one ounce per year. but i like putting out more genetics just in case.i have found a garden fork is best to harvest with as you can pry up large clumps easy and fast.
i have transplanted individual plants and in clumps.best bed i have was individual but i believe clumps do better. the individual bed just seems better since its got many years of growth ahead of other sites and its got seed production going on for years filling in and spreading.
not many ramps here because of over harvesting. last transplanting i done was in 2019.i buy one ounce of seed every year to put in forest.i dont have to as i am now producing seed that covers my goal of one ounce per year. but i like putting out more genetics just in case.i have found a garden fork is best to harvest with as you can pry up large clumps easy and fast.
this is a good hour long webinar.
Edible forest products are becoming more popular in the culinary world. Foraging for wild foods is the latest craze among foodies. But this may be putting excessive pressures on natural plant populations, and the long-term conservation of the plants requires sustainable production. Forest landowners may have opportunities to produce edible forest products under the shade of their woodlots. Though this presentation focuses on forest farming wild onions (aka, ramps or leeks) it includes discussions of other edible forest products, as well. So, watch the webinar and ramp up to forest farm culinary delights
Edible forest products are becoming more popular in the culinary world. Foraging for wild foods is the latest craze among foodies. But this may be putting excessive pressures on natural plant populations, and the long-term conservation of the plants requires sustainable production. Forest landowners may have opportunities to produce edible forest products under the shade of their woodlots. Though this presentation focuses on forest farming wild onions (aka, ramps or leeks) it includes discussions of other edible forest products, as well. So, watch the webinar and ramp up to forest farm culinary delights
https://www.appalachianforestfarmers.org/
The Appalachian mountains are home to some of the most sought-after forest botanicals, among them - ginseng, goldenseal, bloodroot, blue cohosh, black cohosh, and ramps. The demand for these plants has caused over-harvesting within the region, leading to decreased populations where these plants once thrived in the landscape. In an effort to increase education and promote stewardship of these coveted plants, the West Virgina Forest Farming Initiative was born. The WV Forest Farming Initiative offers multiple avenues to help support beginning forest farmers. Program mentors provide site visits to assess canopy coverage, slope, and indicator species prior to planting. Mini grants and planting stock are available, as well as in-person trainings at events. Networking, marketing opportunities, and continued education are additional benefits to joining the program.
The Appalachian mountains are home to some of the most sought-after forest botanicals, among them - ginseng, goldenseal, bloodroot, blue cohosh, black cohosh, and ramps. The demand for these plants has caused over-harvesting within the region, leading to decreased populations where these plants once thrived in the landscape. In an effort to increase education and promote stewardship of these coveted plants, the West Virgina Forest Farming Initiative was born. The WV Forest Farming Initiative offers multiple avenues to help support beginning forest farmers. Program mentors provide site visits to assess canopy coverage, slope, and indicator species prior to planting. Mini grants and planting stock are available, as well as in-person trainings at events. Networking, marketing opportunities, and continued education are additional benefits to joining the program.
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4-16-21...patch putting on leaves by pond.
heres is what you are looking for to get best results in my opinion.large bulb transplants. i see folks harvesting to eat and they get tiny bulbs.its because they harvest to early. this was towards end of april 28,2012.heres what bed looked like then and you can see it now in above picture. now yall see how and why its easy to over harvest patches of ramps.
planted patch april 2012
planted patch april 2012
Wow, thanks for all the info, @elkhound! We've owned our rural property for a few years now, but we don't live there yet (for simplicity we refer to it as a farm, even though it hasn't been farmed for 50 years). It's mostly woods, some parts very established woods, and has all the botanicals you named except for ginseng, which was probably harvested out years ago. We work on getting rid of non-native invasives, but that's a full-time job and we're not there often enough. Once our house is finished and we can be there full-time, I'll be doing what you've done - transplanting and seed-spreading to develop stands. But I have to do it in conjunction with getting rid of (or at least controlling) the invasives.
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There is a high end little grocery store in my area that supposedly sells ramps when they are in season. I have never figured when that is, and only went to the store when yeast was difficult to get last year, my only purchase there. This place sells wine, with a few groceries on the side.
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They grow in North Carolina, my BIL planted them on a side of a small holler on his Christmas tree farm.
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I bet that Lilly will not smell like an onion.....
Death lilies don't make a bulb, nor do they make your eyes water if you sniff a crushed leaf. NOTHING smells like a ramp, also, ramps like the shade. My dad was something of a ramp aficionado, we'd go hunting them in the fall or early spring. his favorite thing was to fry them in eggs. good thing we were pretty rural, the stink would run you out of the house, and gods help you if you had to go to the bathroom!
Oh, and he liked to wilt them in cabbage and lettuce with hot bacon grease as well. to me the flavor isn't worth the smell! they do flavor up a pot of chili nicely though!
Oh, and he liked to wilt them in cabbage and lettuce with hot bacon grease as well. to me the flavor isn't worth the smell! they do flavor up a pot of chili nicely though!
