01/05/2026
What will Chef Chris do with our ramp leaves and tops, this year?
Ramps ($30/lb or $25/lb for orders of 20+ lbs) are a native plant to the Appalachian mountains. They are perennial Spring ephemerals of the allium family with a flavor like a cross between garlic and leek.
Once under-appreciated, they are becoming more and more popular, with good and bad consequences. Ramps are on the United Plant Savers list of threatened plants, due to over-harvesting.
Traditionally, the bulbs have been prized. Unfortunately, it takes up to 1.5 yr for a seed to germinate, then 7 years before the plant flowers. This means it can take up to 9 years before it can reproduce.
When the bulbs are harvested, the largest bulbs taken are the ones most likely to be reproducing adults. So after a period of years of taking bulbs, there is a reduction in the plants that are able to set seed. This could lead to a potential crash in the ramp population.
Burgeoning Farms only collects leaves, so the bulb stays in the ground and can grow again next year. This also leaves the soil intact, so that all of the smaller ramps around the adults in the nursery can still grow and actually get more light with the leaf canopy gone.
The leaves are pungent and flavorful and can be used in all the same applications as the bulbs and other alliums, as well as any recipe that calls for greens.
Burgeoning Farms collects seed from wild patches to seed new wild populations on clean protected land, and relocates via transplant, patches threatened by encroachment of human development. Let us know what we can do for you!
Daylily shoots ($25/lb): tender, subtle onion flavor without the strong aroma, we forage sustainably, so there will be plenty of buds and flowers, later in the year.
Leigh Mundis
(919)360-3703
[email protected]
