Ramps, at last!

[Clarkfield Farms]

I didn't want to resurrect last year's 28-page thread on wild ramps, so here goes...

While pulling taps this past Monday (the 27th), I saw that my little patch of ramps was finally up. Along with the trout lilies, bloodroot, and cut-leaf toothwort. I don't harvest much from mine because I'm trying to let it expand, but on one adjacent property (I have permission to be there) there are acres of ramps growing in the woods.

I'm sure other locales have had ramps up for some time now, I'm just glad they're finally up here.

BTW, I'm not implying that any of the other plants I mentioned are edible; the toothwort (bulb) IS, and has a decidedly strong radish flavor. I don't know about trout lilies, BUT - bloodroot is very toxic. It's got certain medicinal properties, to be sure, but I've read (and was taught) that if a pregnant woman even touches root of the bloodroot plant, she runs the risk of miscarriage. And no, it wasn't based on superstition. I've used it for what it's good for. But I've never been pregnant. If that were possible I'd be a bazillionaire. :cool:

- Tim

[madmapler]

That's funny. I just came home with a bunch.

[BreezyHill]

So Tim,
My elder family is passed and I don't recall the stories from woods walks...I remember what blood root is but not purpose(S). Please educate me on these and what ramps are.

Thanks
Ben

[mellondome]

Ramps are also known as leeks

[maple flats]

OK, now I'm familiar with them, I just was not familiar with them being called "ramps". Here I thought Tim had some ramps to help load something heavy or bulky onto his trailer.

[Clarkfield Farms]

Right, ramps are similar to but are not leeks. For culinary purposes they're used the same as leeks. In my OPINION, lol, they make THE, BEST, French onion soup!!!

BreezyHill, I'll PM you about bloodroot, its uses can be fatal if used wrong i.e. internally. In some locales, particularly in the south, it CAN go by the name of (but not always), "puccooon." It's unfortunate that the "common" name varies from place to place, so I'll give it's scientific name is "sanguinaria canadensis;" "sanguine" as in blood or bloody.

Oh what the heck, here's a link to a google search: http://northwestar.ebayclassifieds.com/farm-equipment/spiro/kubota-rc72-38-72-belly-mower-for-l-series-kubota-3130-3430-3600-3830/?ad=35271605

There ought to be plenty there for anyone to make their own decisions about its uses. For me, I know firsthand that it's the bomb on warts!!! (For non-pregnant, non-lactating women)

It has been used traditionally as an anti-cancer agent, but I've not gone in that direction. A few other things, I'll get to it later, I just got home, checked "stuff" online and am very late for supper. (read: one not-so-happy wife!!!) :D

[Clarkfield Farms]

Hey, Dave, sorry - I must've been typing my response when you posted. I always called them leeks, or wild leeks, but was "edjamacated" by a true, die-hard, dyed-in-the-wool ramp fanatic. I just can't bring myself to call them "leeks" when I know she may be listening! :D But, they'll always be leeks to me, too. >OUCH!!<

[Z/MAN]

I have them in my woods too. When is the right time to pick them?

[Clarkfield Farms]

Right now, if they're up. Until early summer, the whole plant is good for use (leaves are great in soups). By early to mid summer, only the bulbs.

[GeneralStark]

Pickle them, make pesto with leaves, saute with anything, etc.etc. This is a special time of year with ramps, fiddleheads, and wildflowers bountiful in the woods. Ramps=sugarmaker's bliss as they indicate calcium enrichment. If you have them in your sugar woods you have a productive ecosystem.

[JADavis]

Haha, I thought the same thing.


OK, now I'm familiar with them, I just was not familiar with them being called "ramps". Here I thought Tim had some ramps to help load something heavy or bulky onto his trailer.

[Bricklayer]

We call them wild Garlic around my neck of the woods. Or leeks. I pickle them every year. Instead of using sugar I sub in 4 tbspns of maple syrup. they are amazing in anything. Soups,salads, anything with a green in it. I usually pick them right after a good rain. They are ripe when you can put your fingers about 1/2" into the ground and feel the top of the bulb. They just pull right out. I don't dig them up because they take a long time to come back if you upset the root ball they grow from. They grow in patches and clumps and I have found it best to take 3 or 4 from each clump and leave the rest.

[Ed R]

I found out I have a couple of acres of them on the property I bought two years ago in the UP. They are delicious on campfire cooked food. This past weekend I cut some up and mixed them in with my burgers before I cooked them on the campfire. Best burger ever.