Ramps

Allium tricoccum - wild leek or ramp.  The leaves and bulbs are used in cooking, pickling, seasoning, salads and much, much more.  When we had our trailer home in the woods many years ago there was a patch of these growing beside our shed; a handy source of wild onion.

They're found in the rich, moist soil of deciduous woods ranging from southern Canada to Appalachia.  Commonly  fried-up with potatoes in bacon fat or scrambled eggs served with beans and cornbread they are a tasty, and renewable wild edible used in place of onions and garlic.

So I decided to plant some in my woods as an experiment - a dozen bulbs in four locations along with an ounce of seeds for good measure.  I think the location is perfect and I hope the critters don't eat the bulbs.  The seeds will will scarify over winter during the freeze-thaw cycle and with a bit of luck many will germinate.  I marked the four locations with fluorescent flag tape so I can check on progress.  Fingers- crossed.

 

The white object in the center of the photo (above) is the tip of a planted bulb.

We have some nodding-pink onion (another wild allium) growing in the wetter locations of our pollinator habitat.  If this planting takes-hold I can always add more.  It would be nice to have more wild onion foraging choices.