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Ramps: The Topic

hotMeat

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, kayb said:

I don't guess ramps grow down this far South; I'd never heard of foraging or eating them, and as I grew up in a community where people were used to foraging, I think I would have.

 

Here's a ramp distribution map.

They're a welcome early sign of spring here, but largely considered an ubiquitous pedestrian food. 

 

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

The first ones I ever got came from eBay as well. Shortly after that transaction, I got a little yellow card telling me there was a package to be picked up at the post office. I took the card to work with me the next day and stopped in on the way home. I handed the nice lady my yellow card and after a brief moment, her overall demeanor changed, as she almost snapped at me saying "Oh, we  delivered that package!!"

When I got home, I saw that delivery had consisted of someone driving up the driveway and throwing the box onto the middle of the front lawn, a considerable distance from the drive. The box had quite a few "ventilation" holes punched in it and apparently, the folks at the post office did not approve of the effect that had on their work space.

 

I remember my British-born, nonagenarian, friend Mary complaining about a visit from neighbor kids who snarfed down several fresh leeks, in the woods, on the way to her house. xD

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, dans said:

I love ramps and would like to grow them instead of buying.  How do you do this? Can I just buy some ramps from a grocery and put them in the ground? 

 

They require special and specific conditions to thrive, including a cold period to break shoot dormancy. It's unlikely they'd do well in the lowlands of the deep south.

Around here, the southern-tier of NY state and northern-tier of PA, in certain 'sweet spots' they grow abundantly, literally blanketing the forest floor in a sea of green.

They're a welcome early sign of spring but largely considered an abundant pedestrian food. A dinner or two, or sometimes a few, satisfies until next year.

 

Cultivating Ramps: Wild Leeks of Appalachia

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Here's a ramp distribution map.

They're a welcome early sign of spring here, but largely considered an ubiquitous pedestrian food. 

 

I see Tennessee is on the map. I'd expect that more up in East TN, in the Smokies, or around the northern part of the Highland Rim. Don't think they grew in W. Tenn., which is a flatter, lowland area more like the Delta. And I see Arkansas is not on the map, though I might expect to find them in the northwestern part of the state, in the Ozarks.

 

Ain't gonna be any over here in the Delta, that's fo' sho'.

 

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Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted

Throw in the towel and find a friend who's willing to ship you some.

I'd do it if I still owned the property.

Wild leek beds generally look something like this...

7f397b6d4ea1a96693a710078965_Gallery.jpe

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I've never seen a ramp in the store or in the ground.  I believe they don't exist.

 

Really, it's not worth a trip to prove  you wrong!

They are uni"leek" but not super special.

Anyone who's willing to challenge that can book a flight up here. 

I'll escort you to Bailey Creek where they're RAMPANT.

Bring it on!!!

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Shelby

Shelby

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Here's a ramp distribution map.

They're a welcome early sign of spring here, but largely considered an ubiquitous pedestrian food. 

 

Interesting.  So (if I'm reading the map correctly) they are native to Oklahoma.....I'd think they would be found here in Kansas too.

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First eG Blog-Winter 2011

 

Second eG Blog-Summer 2015

 

Third eG Blog-Hunting season Birds and Deer 2016, 2017,2018,2019, 2021, 2022

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Arey

Arey

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/19/2018 at 2:16 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I've never seen a ramp in the store or in the ground.  I believe they don't exist.

 

They were for sale this week here for almost $10.00 a pound for a small bunch.  The prospect of paying a lot for a small bunch of greenery that was going to cook down to next to nothing didn't excite me.  Especially since I had done just that for dandelions a week or two ago and ended up deciding that the best part of the dish was the bacon bits.

Edited by Arey (log)
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"A fool", he said, "would have swallowed it". Samuel Johnson

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Spork

Spork

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, Arey said:

They were for sale this week here for almost $10.00 a pound for a small bunch.  The prospect of paying a lot for a small bunch of greenery that was going to cook down to next to nothing didn't excite me.  Especially since I had done just that for dandelions a week or two ago and ended up deciding that the best part of the dish was the bacon bits.

 

 

 

Dating my wife, my Father in Law told this story. It's rather short, and parallels many stories that my Grandfather told me. 

 

He quoted his Father when setting down at the table for the first mess of spring greens every year, he had eight brothers, "Boys, we've made it another year".

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dans

dans

Posted
Posted

I don't know how well it will work, but I just bought some ramp seeds.  If I get only a small crop it will be OK.  I may try transplanting some of the ramps I purchased to eat.  They usually come with the bulbs and roots.

 

Stay tuned...

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Nyleve Baar

Nyleve Baar

Posted
Posted

I started a few small patches on my property, using ramps I dug up from my main picking spot. They're going to take a lifetime to get to the point where it's possible to harvest from that area, but I'm happy to have them growing in my woods. My grandchildren can pick them. Or their children.

 

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Nyleve Baar

Nyleve Baar

Posted
Posted

No photo but risotto with ramps, fiddleheads, dried porcini (which I picked) and a few eager-beaver asparagus from my garden. The season has begun. Looked for morels this morning but nothing.

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HungryChris

HungryChris

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ramp season is winding down here. I have a few patches around the house from which I only harvest leaves. As I understand it, they only flower and go to seed at higher elevations so they multiply by adding new bulbs here. I decided to make one last batch of ramp butter and added a bit of chopped garlic to this one. It will go in the freezer to help me celebrate the flavor in the months to come.

HC
 

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Edited by HungryChris (log)
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TicTac

TicTac

Posted
Posted
On 5/7/2018 at 11:15 AM, dans said:

I don't know how well it will work, but I just bought some ramp seeds.  If I get only a small crop it will be OK.  I may try transplanting some of the ramps I purchased to eat.  They usually come with the bulbs and roots.

 

Stay tuned...

I would avoid picking any for 2-3 years.  Let them strengthen and spread naturally.

 

I transplanted some I dug up last year and have about 2 dozen shoots this year, will transplant some more this year for future years to come.

 

 

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dans

dans

Posted
Posted
On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 10:56 AM, TicTac said:

I would avoid picking any for 2-3 years.  Let them strengthen and spread naturally.

 

I transplanted some I dug up last year and have about 2 dozen shoots this year, will transplant some more this year for future years to come.

 

 

 

I've got some seeds and some transplants.  I'm going to see which ones do OK.  I was planning on letting them go for a few years so that, in case they do take, I'd have a healthy crop

 

Thanks for the advice

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rustwood

rustwood

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2018 at 11:05 AM, gfweb said:

My ramps are done with the arrival of hot weather.  :(

 

Mine are just starting to fade.  Unfortunately, they also don't look any bigger than they were 2-3 weeks ago.  Hopefully that is a function of how long the bulbs have been growing more so than how much they like the growing conditions.  At least the deer haven't been interested in them.  It doesn't look like they have even been sampled - even though the azaleas adjacent to them have been getting munched.

 

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

My ramps haven't even started coming up yet.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

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"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
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Nyleve Baar

Nyleve Baar

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yesterday! Delicious ramp and porcini gnocchi in a creamy Parmesan sauce. Porcini foraged last fall and frozen whole. Would have loved to make it with morels but they weren’t up yet. We checked. I’m planning to make some ramp salt and probably some ramp butter too.

5D9F0AC2-4AB0-49F7-A844-4EB30649D9BB.jpeg

Edited by Nyleve Baar (log)
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