Ramps, now what?

I transplanted ramps my cousin dug in WV to both NE Ohio (scrambled eggs w/ ramps for breakfast) and SE Ohio.Both are doing fine. Just I need much more than a milk crate for a decent patch.

I ordered a dozen plants about 5 years ago. of the original dozen, I ate a few, and planted the rest.

I had about half of those I planted have come back. Its taken a few years, but last year I had a couple flower, though I missed the seeds, if they formed. I will be on the lookout this year, hoping to spread them around. The original couple have formed small clumps.

My experience growing ramps .
The leafs of ramps emerge here in late march and disappear by June - July.
In July or so they bloom , seeds are ripe late - September. October
For propagation purposes, itā€™s best to not disturb the plants when they have leafā€™s on them ,better to move bulbs after the leafs have done their thing. Dormant. Can find them by the presence of seed stalk.
Better yet . Harvest seed in late fall.
I have found digging bulbs to be a lot of work compared to harvesting seed.
Each seed head can have 20+ seeds in them.
Pulling the seed heads off is easy. Does no harm to the plant .
In a good stand of ramps there is no room for those seeds to grow.
( too thick ) so best spread elsewhere.
I have spread ( thrown) seeds far and wide in my woodland.
For 2+ years I thought they did not grow, could not see any plants.
But 5+ years later I am seeing a lot of ramps.
For my time ,pulling and spreading seeds is much easier , and much more productive,than.
Digging AND planting bulbs.
.
Ramps are not common near where I live.
I had to go to the mountains to get my seed.

7 Likes

At certain times of the year you can by bare root plants from Prairie Moon Nursery. Iā€™ve never had any luck getting them to establish though. My ground is too dry. Iā€™ve had good luck with other natives from them though.

1 Like

Thanks. Am I right that the seeds should be pulled as late as possible so that they can mature properly? I harvested and spread my first home-grown seeds very late last year, probably around Thanksgiving.

Yah , late is good .
I have found them sticking above the snow during the winter.

2 Likes

After several years of trying on and off, I finally have a grand total of three ramps seedlings. Now, I just have to wait 7-15 years and I might be able to try a leaf or two!

Iā€™ve looked around quite a bit in my area and havenā€™t found any yet. I think theyā€™re just not plentiful in the lower Merrimack Valley. I remember seeing tons of them where I grew up in NJ, just didnā€™t know what they were back then.

2 Likes

I found 5 of the plants i planted last year. I pulled a leaf off one thatā€™s in the woods. Pretty tasty. Iā€™m leaving all the rest. Hoping for more, or perhaps larger, plants next year.

1 Like

@somerset ā€“ Iā€™ve been informed on another thread (re AI) that I should not have tried to alert you to the possibility that transplanting wild leeks from the wild might be subject to state regulation. In particular, I should not have used AI to learn about state regulations. I hope you havenā€™t been harmed by my attempt to help! :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Now thatā€™s dedication!

Iā€™m thinking $100 worth of bulbs to cut years off a harvest might be worth it.

2 Likes

Just to clear things up here regarding the warning issued to @somerset. It looks like he/she is in New York state and in New York it IS legal to harvest ramps from state land for personal consumption (certainly no one is going to require you to eat them instead of replanting them in additional spots). However, if anyone were to intend to harvest ramps for commercial purposes they are required to obtain permits for harvest.

3 Likes

Are you sure those are ramps? I was on the CT/RI border in the on the Yale Forestry lands. Saw similar looking plants everywhere. Still have to look them up. Smaller than rampsā€¦

Yes, thatā€™s what they look like when they first germinate. Takes a looong time to size up to theore familiar size.

1 Like

I wonā€™t buy bulbs, mostly because I have mixed feelings about the ethics of harvesting wild ramps for sale. Some things are worth the wait.

2 Likes

I think placed in a plastic bag with some moistured soil would do it. The importance would be getting the bulbs/roots into the ground. I happened onto a ramps dinner at the local firestation in Robbinsville, NC about five years ago and bought a bag. But, I brought them back to RI and ate them! :yum: Met Roy Grooms from the Moonshiners tv show and it was him who told me about ramps and the dinner.

There is a second ramp species called Allium burdickii which has narrower leaves than A. tricoccum. Not sure if thatā€™s what you meant by ā€œsmallerā€ or not.

Hereā€™s a link to observations of the species on iNaturalist for visual comparison:

1 Like

Thanks for the lead, I will check the company out.

As mentioned above, Iā€™ve been growing Wild Bear Garlic, Allium ursinum, which is very similar to Ramps. Iā€™ve found that they are very easy to grow from seed, if you plant them as soon as they are ripe and dropping from the plants. The seeds planted at that time will sprout the following spring, producing only a single, small leaf; a larger plant will come up the following year. This is a rather slow process, but it can result in a large number of progeny in a few years. My plants spread like weeds; so, I harvest all of the tasty flower buds and eat them. Iā€™m not sure that Ramps seeds will behave the same way, but I think that it is likely.

1 Like

I did not know about allium burdicki, now I will be on the lookout for them! I finally detected I was looking at Canada Mayflower just beginning to leaf out.

2 Likes

I still have a lot to learn! Discovered I came across Canada Mayflower just starting to leaf out which looked quite similar. You have quite a bit of patience!

1 Like