Ramps

Wild ramps are up and growing around my field. This place used to be an old homeplace for some native southern appalacian folks. I'm not sure if they may have planted them or transplanted them and they have naturalized or if they're simply native to this location. Old timers around here hunt ramps in the woods this time of the year and used to eat them as a blood purifier after the long winter of dried stores. With the supermarkets of today, very few live the old ways.
Wondering if anyone grows these in their garden and are they actually wild garlic? How do you eat them? As you would garlic or the whole plant?

A wild leek (Allium tricocum) with edible leaves and roots. Found in the woods of upper elevations, it's eaten raw or fried with eggs or just make plain old ramp sandwiches. The plants grow about a foot tall and, when eaten, a strong odor emanates from the skin of the ramps gourmand.

Still popular among mountain folk and there are numerous festivals in southwest Virginia and West Virginia. Might even be some in eastern Kentucky and Western NorthCarolina. Actually they are very good, but a person who does not eat them, will treat you like you just had a close encounter with a skunk. Law is probably still on the books in Washington county Virginia forbidding a person from entering a public building for three days after eating ramps.

For those that might be interested and in range of a South Carolina PBS station, a PBS special "King of Stink: Appalachian Ramp Festivals" will air "SCETV "Southern Lens" Series) Thursday, April, 21, 10:00 PM, South Carolina - statewide"

I bought the seeds last year & am trying to establish ramps in my growing areas. Will see if they germinate this Spring. It is one of the native foods of my ancestors in the southern Appalachians in SW VA. ...along with poke & lambsquarters which I have established as permanent beds & enjoy every year. Ramps have a V e r y distinctive & strong aroma, but are delicious in omelets, etc.... IF interested, I can give you a source for the seed. Just ask...

Roseone, perhaps you can do us all a huge favor and take some good pictures (blooms, a big patch of them, closeups of the harvested plants, etc.

We have a few here: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/55403/index.html (with many thanks to freetek for sharing them! But the more pictures, the merrier ;o)

I'm sorry to report I am wrong. The thousands of plants in the woods here that I hopefully thought were ramps are not. I should have checked the botanary before I made my post. It's a real disappointment to me, these last five years I thought I had a huge ramp bed. I'm not sure what they are. I am going to eat one tonight and give it a try. I planted half a dozen or so next to my garlic.
Local folks do hunt and eat ramps and they occassionally can be found briefly in the supermarket. 30 years ago I went to some square dances and it's easy to understand why the laws in Virginia banned people from coming in to a public building after eating them. Just a few folks with ramp breath can fill an auditorium with the aroma.

roseone33, why don't you post this picture over in the ID forum for some assistance? (I'd say you've got SOME type of wild Allium, but not sure of the species ;o)

Will do Terry. Sorry for the confusion.

They sure look like daffodils to me! Maybe they don't bloom anymore? Aren't most Allium leaves round?

roseone- are you still with us?

sfk, I'm wit' ya! Since I found out they weren't ramps, I posted some additional pics in both the ID and the photo forums trying to find out what they are. They are definitly in the allium family. I ate one last night, tasted sort of oniony. There are also a few daffodills in the mix over there, but these have a definite strong oniony/garlicy odor when you handle the leaves.

Here is an "overall" view. Note the actual daffodills, without blooms, in the lower right hand side of the picture. They are a deeper blue green. When the sun is on the the alliums, there is a rank oniony smell, that's why I thought they were ramps. (Wishful thinking!) The immature one I ate last night did not have the distinctive clove formation associated with garlic but it just may need more grow time. I will check again in late June and see what's under there.