How to Plant Ramps

Ramps, also known as wild leeks or Allium tricoccum, are native to eastern North America. In parts of Appalachia, harvesting the first ramps of spring is a beloved tradition and a cause for celebration. If you don't have access to any wild ramps, you can grow your own---if you can provide the proper setting. A mature, deciduous forest with rich soil is ideal. Avoid areas with large amounts of conifers. The soil should be moist but well-drained.

Things You'll Need

• Ramp seeds or transplants
• Shovel, trowel or rake

Instructions

Planting Seeds

1. Plant seeds in the late summer or early fall. Ramp seeds need a period of warm weather followed by a period of cold weather in order to germinate.

2. Remove leaves from the forest floor and loosen soil with a rake.

3. Spread the ramp seeds over the soil and gently press them into the earth.

4. Cover the area with leaves and water well.

Transplanting Ramp Bulbs

1. Transplant ramp bulbs in the very early spring, when the ground is just thawed.

2. Prepare the bed as you would for seeds, and dig a small hole for each bulb, approximately 3 inches deep. Space ramp transplants 4 to 6 inches apart.

3. Bury the bulb and cover loosely with soil. If the bulb has sprouted and leaves are visible, take care to plant the bulb no deeper than it was originally growing.

4. After transplanting the ramp bulbs, cover the area with leaves and water well.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to choose a site with a taller canopy and little brush, so that the ramps will get plenty of sunlight in the early spring but will later be protected from the hot summer sun after the trees leaf out. Ramps prefer to grow under beech, birch, maple or poplar trees, but will also do well under buckeye, basswood, hickory or oak trees.

• Ramps need a cold winter, a moist spring and a mild summer. They will not survive in climates where it gets too warm in the summer or does not freeze in the winter.

• Allow some of your ramps to go to seed every year. This will ensure that your plot of ramps will grow and thrive.

• Seeds are cheaper, more readily available and less fussy, but it might be several years after planting seeds before you have harvestable ramps. Transplanting ramp bulbs provides quicker results, but they may be difficult to locate and will be more expensive than seeds. Seeds may be mail-ordered from many garden supply catalogs, particularly those specializing in native plants. For bulbs, you will have to locate a farm that grows ramps commercially and buy directly from them.

• Ramps grown from seeds will be ready to harvest in five to seven years, and ramps grown from transplanted bulbs will be ready to harvest in two to four years.

• Do not dig ramps from private land unless you have permission of the land owner. Some public lands may allow the harvest of wild food such as ramps, but always double-check before digging.

References

• Cultivation of Ramps
• Cultivating Ramps: Wild Leeks of Appalachia