Spring has officially sprung and that means that Greene is getting greener! And part of that growing greenery is the broad-leafed ramp.
About the Ramp
Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are a scarce delicacy available only for a short time each spring, around late March and early April. These one or two leafed plants are one of the earliest wild edibles to emerge each spring. Also known as a wild leek, ramps aren’t a leek at all. Often confused with scallions, as well, ramps are known for their unique flavor, stronger than the mild onion flavor of a leek and more garlicky than a scallion.
Ramps are native to the hardwood forests in the higher elevations of eastern North America, as far north as Canada and spreading down south as far as Georgia. They have 1 or two broad, flat leaves measuring 1 to 2 ½ inches wide by 4 to 12 inches long.
Throughout the Appalachians, ramps have always been revered as a favorite. It was a certain sign of spring when ramps came into season, and eventually ramp harvesting grew into gatherings with cooking and music, eventually evolving into the festivals we know today. Appalachians love of the pungent ramp helps support many local community organizations, through fundraising festivals and dinners.
Ramps were also used a folk remedy, a spring tonic, throughout the Appalachian region, thought to have restorative qualities and cleanse the blood. Ramps are high in vitamin C, so their use after long, cold winters by early settlers helped with scurvy and other nutritional troubles.
History of Ramps
Ramps are so popular in Appalachia that we even have our very own Ramp King. Bato Crites, born in 1888, became known as the “King of Ramps” in Richwood, WV, and the surrounding area. He was the 16th of 19 children in a WV family. Bato supposedly could locate ramps faster than any other person and was instrumental in their harvesting. He died in 1960. Richwood is still known as the “Ramp Capital of the World” and continues to hold an annual festival celebrating its heritage.
Ramps began to reach national interest in the mid-1980s and exploded in popularity in the mid-90s when New York Magazine published a story extolling the virtues of the wild leek. Ramps continued to grow in popularity, reaching a frenzy outside of the Appalachians where they are much harder to come by. In 2011, James Chamberlain, a research scientist with the United States Forest Service announced that ramps are being overharvested due to foragers not acting sustainably.
But there is a light: the Cherokee offer a traditional method that allows for sustainable ramp foraging. Using a sharp knife, cut the leaves from the main bulb, leaving the bulb in the ground to continue to grow. Other sustainable foraging practices include only harvesting one leaf per plant, not harvesting all plants in a patch, and cultivating them by growing your own, from seed or bulb transplant. Sustainable ramp foraging allows foragers to take ramps without decimating their wild populations.
Planting Ramps from Seeds
Greene County would normally be gearing up to celebrate that delectable spring plant and Appalachian favorite, the ramp with two delicious events. The pandemic has, sadly, led to the repeated cancellation of our local ramp festivities. If you’re like me, you’re very much missing those ramp celebrations.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! You don’t have to rely on our local festivals to get your hands on some ramps. Ramps can be harvested through sustainable foraging – or you can grow your own!
Starting ramps is not an easy task, but with the right conditions and proper effort, you can engineer the right environment. And once they begin growing, the plants are easy to look after. Planting ramps is a long-time investment – it will take at least five years before ramps planted from seeds will reach harvestable size and may take as long as seven years. Bulb plants will take slightly less time, about three to five years.
Before planting, you’ll need to find your ramps the proper home. Ramps prefer to grow in moist, organically rich, loamy soil in shady areas. Ramps do well with most trees and can thrive where other plants fail; if you have a grove of trees or a forest setting in your property, this is often the best place to plant. You’ll need to find an area like this to begin growing your ramps.
If you don’t have a natural forest, you’ll need to create shade for your ramps with a man-made structure. You can also build a raised plant bed for your ramp garden to provide the best growing environment. You’ll need to make sure that you have enriched, moist soil with a pH between 5.0 and 6.5, proper drainage, and partial shade/partial sunlight. You may also need to irrigate the soil to get the proper moisture. Ramps need approximately 35 inches of rainfall a year. And keep those weeds away!
Fall-Planting Your Ramp Seeds
For the seeds to develop and the shoot to emerge, ramps require a period of warmth followed by a period of cold. Seeds can be planted in the fall or spring, but fall planting is best. Fall-planted seeds often do better, with higher germination and plant survival rates.
After you’ve found a place for your ramps, clear the space of leaf matter, and then loosen the top three to four inches of dirt. Place the seeds into the loosed soil four to six inches apart. After you have planted the seeds, cover the area with two inches of moistened hardwood leaf mulch. Avoid pine bark and commercial mulches. The seeds can take 6 to 18 months to germinate.
Planting from Transplants & Root Scraps
Ramp bulbs can be planted in February or March if they have been recently harvested. You can also harvest them yourself from an already established ramp garden. To harvest the whole plant, dig up a cubic foot of soil around the plant and replant. You can also dig up small clumps of ramps and carefully break apart half the bulbs and replant four to six inches apart.
Root scraps can be used to regrow new ramps, also. Cut off a half-inch of bulb (with roots attached), soak them in water overnight, and then plant outside, root side down.
It will take several years for your ramps to become established. To build a robust, established crop, wait five years to begin harvesting and only harvest mature plants. Be careful not to harvest too many ramps; keep your harvest to about 10 to 15 percent. You can harvest the plant bulb and all or just cut off the leaves and leave the bulb in the ground. If you take the entire plant, consider saving part of your bulb and its roots to use for replanting.
You can allow your plants to propagate naturally, or you can harvest the seeds from mature plants. Harvest the seeds when the seed head. When the seed head has turned brown and dry, collect the seeds by cutting off the seed head and drying it. Once dry, you can take the seeds from their seed cases.
Harvested amps can be used fresh, frozen, dried, pickled, made into ramp butter, and so much more!