Ramp ( Wild Leek ) Seeds

Ramps ( Wild Leek ) Seeds

Useful gardening information

Ramps, Allium tricoccum, also known as wild leeks, are native to the eastern North American mountains. They can be found growing in patches in rich, moist, deciduous forests and bottoms from as far north as Canada, west to Missouri and Minnesota, and south to North Carolina and Tennessee. In early spring, ramps send up smooth, broad, lily-of-the-valley-like leaves that disappear by summer before the white flowers appear. The bulbs have the pleasant taste of sweet spring onions with a strong garlic-like aroma.

As one of the first plants to emerge in the spring, ramps were traditionally consumed as the season's first "greens". They were considered a tonic because they provided necessary vitamins and minerals following long winter months without any fresh vegetables. Traditions evolved around the annual gathering and preparation of this pungent plant. Throughout the mountains of the eastern U.S., including many western North Carolina counties, annual spring ramps festivals are held.

Ramps grow naturally under a forest canopy of beech, birch, sugar maple, and/or poplar. Other forest trees under which ramps will grow include buckeye, linden (basswood), hickory, and oak. A forested area with any of these trees present provides an ideal location for planting a ramp crop. Areas that host trillium, toothwort, nettle, black cohosh, ginseng, bloodroot, trout lily, bellwort, and mayapple should be suitable for growing ramps. If there is not a wooded area available to grow ramps, a shade structure can be erected over the planting site.
Hardy for zones 3-8.

Here is an excellent webapge about How to Forage and Eat Wild Leeks that has a lot of useful information.

Sowing Instructions

Although ramp seeds can be sown anytime the soil is not frozen, late summer to early fall is usually considered the best time for seeding ramps. Fresh ramp seeds have a dormant, under-developed embryo. The seed requires a warm, moist period to break root dormancy and a subsequent cold period to break shoot dormancy. Some years there is enough warm weather after sowing in late summer or early fall to break root dormancy. The following winter cold breaks shoot dormancy and the plants emerge in spring. If there is not an adequate warm period after sowing, the seed will not germinate until the second spring. Thus, ramp seeds can take 6 to 18 months to germinate. Being able to provide adequate soil moisture and protection from wildlife are other key factors in determining where and when to sow seeds. Production from sowing seeds to root harvest can take 5 to 7 years.

Ramp ( Wild Leek ) Seeds

Image: Prairie Moon Nursery

NB69 Ramps, Wild Leeks ( Allium tricoccum )

Very hard seeds to come by!

( Allium tricoccum )Considered by many to be the best tasting member of the onion family. The leaves are are very tender early in the Spring and the bulb is edible year round, though they can toughen up in the summer.
Broad, smooth, light green leaves, often with deep purple or burgundy tints on the lower stems begin arriving in small troops as soon as the snow disappears.

For more Ramp/Leek varieties, all in stock and ready to ship, visit our Ramps/Leeks seed page.