03/27/2026
The ramp ( allium Ursinum and allium Triccocum harvest is now upon us and we are going to start gathering this week
Often elusive and whose hunting grounds are highly prized and guarded by gatherers. We are now farming both types of ramps and the first is the European Ramp or Allium Ursinum and these,the American Ramp known as Allium tricoccum.
In the case of both varieties, it is a bulb-forming perennial with broad, smooth, light green leaves, often with deep purple or burgundy tints on the lower stems, and a scallion-like stalk and bulb. Both the white lower leaf stalks and the broad green leaves are edible. The flower stalk appears after the leaves have died back, unlike allium Triccocum , the similar looking Allium ursinum leaves and flowers can be seen at the same time.
Going by many names like wild garlic, wild Leek, bears Garlic or ramsons,Ramps grow in close groups strongly rooted just beneath the surface of the soil. Although sometimes referred to as wild garlic, the plant is not a garlic at all but instead is closer related to the leek family
Chicago received its name from a dense growth of ramps near Lake Michigan in Illinois Country observed in the 17th century. The Chicago River was referred to by the plant's indigenous name, according to explorer Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, and by his comrade, the naturalist and diarist Henri Joutel. The plant, called shikaakwa (chicagou) in the language of local native tribes, was once thought to be Allium cernuum, the nodding wild onion, but research in the early 1990s showed the correct plant was the ramp.
The Ramps are now protected in many areas because of overharvesting
The Ramp has strong associations with the folklore of the central Appalachian Mountains. Fascination and humor have fixated on the plant's extreme pungency. Jim Comstock, editor and co-owner of the Richwood News Leader, introduced ramp juice into the printer's ink of one issue as a practical joke,invoking the ire of the U.S. Postmaster General.
The inhabitants of Appalachia have long celebrated spring with the arrival of the ramp, believing it to be a tonic capable of warding off many winter ailments. Indeed, ramp's vitamin and mineral content did bolster the health of people who went without many green vegetables during the depression.
The Menominee, Cherokee, Iroquois, Potawatomi and Ojibwa all consume the plant in their traditional cuisines.
The Cherokee also eat the plant as a spring tonic, for colds and for croup. They also use the warm juice for earaches.The Ojibwa use a decoction as a quick-acting emetic.The Iroquois also a decoction of the root to treat worms in children, and they also use the decoction as a spring tonic to "clean you out".
 in both cases, these plants prefer growing in the  deciduous woodlands, and the plant is a marker in Britain for the sites of the old growth forests . 
We grow both types here and since A. Ursinum isn’t from this continent , we can harvest them all day long !!! in fact, it is a stronger ramp than their American cousin, being more hearty, more vigorous and replicates faster and therefore a sustainable alternative to the American cousin.
I have to give thanks to Roger Smith from the Uk who helped make this possible here in Missouri .
#wildleek
