In their native deciduous woodland home, pungently delicious ramps appear in extensive, green colonies in early to mid-spring. If that habitat is intact. But demand for these wild onions, spring ephemerals native to eastern North America, has outpaced their life-cycle. Their over-collection for market results in brown forest floors where only occasional islands of un-dug ramps persist in the rich leaf litter. Wild ramp populations are under threat because we are consuming them carelessly. Which is why ramps should be cultivated.
The good news is, growing ramps is not hard. They are a natural addition to a woodland garden, and a boon to forest farmers.
Photos by Marie Viljoen
For a ramp conservation refresher, please visit our previous story about a woodland where the wild ramps grow.
But to sum up the ramp life cycle: Seeds shed by the flowers of mature ramps take six to 18 months to germinate. Ramp seedlings take about four years to produce a leaf large enough for harvest; and it takes the plant about five to seven years to form a mature bulb that can produce its own flower.
Ramps grow slowly. Humans consume quickly.
Fortunately, more and more resources are available for would-be ramp growers. Many university extensions are publishing their relatively new research.
On a tiny (but inspiring) scale I have been growing city ramps since 2016. It began with with a gift of ramps from a friend who collects them on his land. After soaking their roots overnight in cool water they were planted in our then-backyard (whose soil pH was 5.4 – quite acidic) in a spot with spring sunshine and summer shade (which mimics their natural deciduous woodland habitat). Plenty of leaf litter covered them in fall and winter. The following spring healthy ramp leaves emerged.
When we moved to a terraced apartment, I tried again, this time with greenmarket ramps sold with roots, and soaked overnight. I planted them in a 14-inch terracotta pot, in potting soil. After one winter, one plant bloomed and set seed (no sign yet of the seedling – fingers crossed). I felt like throwing a party. This March there are five ramps emerging from the cold soil that they share with foamflower and holly fern, their native woodlands neighbors. The pot spends the spring in some morning sun, then I move it beneath the shading branches of a rhododendron for the hot, humid summer.
