# Another Thing We Dig



## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

We went digging for leeks yesterday.  These are also known as wild ramps.  These are very early because of the warm weather.  But, the garlic in my garden is up, so I figured the leeks would be too.  Wild leeks have a very strong onion/garlic flavor.  Kids used to get sent home from school for eating them.  I made some regular leek dip yesterday, (there are many fancy recipes with lots of ingredients), and can't even stand myself now!  

It was a good day to be out in the woods with the warm weather and sun.


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

A few pictures of the stream where we washed them off before heading home.


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Stream/creek


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Third pic


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Last one


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

The water was very loud.  We didn't want to stay there too long because we couldn't hear anything.


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Gold?  []


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Leo helps Mommy finish cleaning leeks at home.


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## surfaceone (Mar 19, 2012)

Hey Lauren & Joe,

 The bride says you guys are kinda early...

 Did'ya see This Vid?

 Any Fiddleheads poking up yet?


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## RED Matthews (Mar 19, 2012)

Hello Lauren,  I had to write to tell you about my appreciation for leeks.  When I was with Thatcher Glass the castings for the mold shop came from Elkins West Va..  This time of year they would bring two or three big cardboard boxes of Leeks to the Mold Shop.   We got fresh bread from a nearby bakery and made sandwiches.
 I never found any in NY and am surprised that you have them there.  Great munching, though.  Thanks for the coverage. 
 RED Matthews


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Surface, it is early, but it's been very warm here.  Usually, we don't get any until later April.  You can use the little ones and the more mature ones.  We're going to get some that are bigger, later.  I'll check out the video.  We always leave some for next year.  I am going to transplant some to our creek.  

 Red, they grow from Canada to Northern Georgia, usually near the Appalachian mountains, which explains why I never hear of them growing up.  They are good in just about anything!  Your idea sounds delicious.  Just make sure everyone around you eats them too!  LOL


 P.S. Red, if you are going to be near Corning and would like some leeks, let us know and we'll put some aside for you.


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## RedGinger (Mar 19, 2012)

Interesting video, Surf.  I've only harvested them a few times, but never that late.  I rely on Joe's knowledge, as he's been doing this his whole life.  Leeks are a big thing here!  People even post ads, wanting to buy them.

 I didn't see any fiddleheads.  I'd really like to try some morels, but I won't be picking any because it's too dangerous for a non-mushroom expert.


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## surfaceone (Mar 19, 2012)

Hey Lauren,

 I've never picked one. This is the realm of she who finds edible treats in the woods. She and her girlfriends make several voyages to the special spots every spring.

 The Fiddleheads are also highly saleable. The Chef cognoscenti will pay long green for them.

 She did mention that there was some plant that looked "just like" the wild leek, that would make one sick... That's all I know about it, alas.

 "Ramps (wild leeks). Similar to its close cousins, wild onions and wild garlic, ramps are found ranging from the Great Lakes to New England and south to the mountains of Georgia. Wild leeks thrive in partially shaded, moist, rich woodlands, often under maples. *They have long leaves with parallel veins, similar to many poisonous members of the lily family. Crush a piece of one leaf and smell for the characteristic strong onion odor. Plants that smell like onions are not poisonous.* In early spring, they look much like smaller versions of grocery store leeks before the leaves shrivel and are replaced by a slender stalk with an umbrella-like cluster of small white flowers. When a few of the small, three-lobed seed clusters survive the fall, they point to an underground winter supply of delicious bulbs. Harvest green leaves in the spring or the bulbs any time of the year. Use as flavoring in soups and stews or sautÃ© like onions." From.

 "We humans can eat all the Alliums just fine unless allergic, but the look-a-likes can be very poisonous. Remember also, ALL Alliums (our onion garlics and leeks) are toxic to some degree to our pets and our stock animals. *Our pet cats are the most susceptable * (very), but in quantity dogs horses and even cattle have been fatally poisoned by onions. Stay aware." From.


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## toddrandolph (Mar 19, 2012)

The ramps, Allium tricoccum, are just coming up here, not quite big enough to dig yet. They are quite good in stir fry or anything you would use garlic for. Raw, they are VERY strong. I sometimes eat one or two when I'm out in the woods. Warning: eating them raw will give you breath that will leave a memorable impression on anyone you see afterward. They have an interesting life history as the leaves come up in early spring, die back around early summer, then the flower comes up after the leaves around July. The easiest way to transplant them is to wait  for the shiny black seeds to mature around late summer and just scatter them around where you want them, which needs to be a shady place. I did that a few years ago and now I've got lots growing in my little woodlot. They definitely prefer the beech-sugar maple woods, but will grow in most places, except maybe very acid  oak or conifer woods.


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## epackage (Mar 19, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  RedGinger
> 
> Gold?  []


 It wouldn't surprise me if there was Laur...


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## bobble (Mar 19, 2012)

Have you seen any of these yet,Miss Ginger?The mighty morel!This is some of the first I picked last year.


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## bobble (Mar 25, 2012)

Sort of noticed you haven't replied,I suppose you haven't seen these before.These are morel mushrooms.This time of year we go a-huntin' for them,fry them(rolled in seasoned flour)and make people really happy.There are several varieties that come up during the month of April,very easy to identify.The first  come up under fruit trees and white pines.Always be careful tho.,you can't mistake them for any other mushroom,but some do.Anyway,just thought I'd tell you what that bucket of stuff was.


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## Plumbata (Mar 25, 2012)

YES!!!  []

 Excellent work Laur (and Joe). I greatly appreciated the kindly offer this time last year but thankfully i found a huge patch of ramps on my own. They are the epitome of deliciousness for one who loves garlic, scallions, onions, chives, leeks, green onions, etc. They're right up there with wild raspberries, blackberries and strawberries as far as I'm concerned. Got a big ole patch of blackberries i found in the woods and hope to make several pies when they ripen. Blackberry pie is my favorite; apple being 2nd.

 Ramps are strange and finicky as far as plants go, but those alliums are worth it. If you find some, never harvest more than 50% of the patch, because they require years to germinate, mature, and grow to a size adequate for culinary purposes. They've been wiped-out from many regions, and I've read that in some Canadian provinces they are a protected/regulated species. 

 Bobble is correct about the tastiness of morels; I hate mushrooms in general (the texture is what gets me) but the morels are actually rather toothsome to me. Had a dream last week where i found a 5-gallon bucket-full in a cemetery, near a 30's bottle dump full of milks and sodas, and then had to fight and banish several demons who were trying to kill me and steal my shrooms. I have weird dreams, and invariably in full-color and as lifelike as waking reality, lol. Intense, but I seem to survive. [] Sadly I woke without the bucket of mycological delicacies at my side. []

 Got several fruitful patches of morels back in Illinois which have been going strong for years, and a good Irish friend who eats them like candy. Hope he saves me some, lol. I've seen patches come and go, but the 1/8 acre+ patches never seem to fizzle out. Not in my short experience anyway.


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## surfaceone (Mar 25, 2012)

> They are the epitome of deliciousness for one who loves garlic, scallions, onions, chives, leeks, green onions, etc.


 
 You ain't kidding, Stephen,

 The bride picked some young leeks Friday, and made some delicious pancakes last night. These are called pajeon. And are totally toothsome. I couldn't find a picture of leek cakes, and we ate them all, in no time, so used this scallion example:


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## RED Matthews (Mar 25, 2012)

Plumbata;  Heavy dreams always tell me my sugar is too low.  Do you have trouble with your sugar?  I have to keep glucose tablets handy by the bed.  RED Matthews


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## carobran (Mar 26, 2012)

I don't guess we have those here.The only thing I've ever eaten (well,drank) from the woods is sassafras tea.Though I have often thought of picking wild onions and making miniature onion rings,doubt that would work too great though.[8|]..Anybody ever eaten wild onions?Do they taste basically the same as store bought onions?I always figured they were probably stronger.Anyway,didn't mean to get off course,ever tried making garlic bread with those leeks?Of course,then I guess it would be leek bread....


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## surfaceone (Mar 26, 2012)

Hey Ramp fans,

 The bride came home with a load of ramps picked after church, and asked me to see what the pricing was on the internet. She cooked a magnificent special treat dinner. 

 Grilled lamb chops with young ramps sauteed in olive oil, and crisply sauteed leek bulbs, with drunken portobellos, and baked potato.

 What a feast it was. A 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 pairing flavorwise! We're talking seriously delicious.

 So I see one place selling them for $11.95 lb., and see this global warming doom & gloom ramp report:

 "According to Russ Cohen, a wild foods expert in Massachusetts and author of "Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten" entire colonies of  ramps are  being dug up in the Berkshires, leaving a barren patch of ground, a practice that is clearly not sustainable and leaving no possibility for regeneration. Cohen has observed that in the Berkshires, the main region in Massachusetts where the forest type supports the growth of ramps, any disturbance to ramp colonies can leave them susceptible to invasion by non native species such as garlic mustard. This phenomena has been observed in other regions. Christopher Ludwig, chief biologist for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Natural Heritage has noticed garlic mustard and an invasive grass where ramps have been disturbed.  Digging creates a surface of  open soil suitable for exotic seed germination, and produces gaps in relatively stable and invasive resistant clumps. Botanists have noticed that when a colony of plants is left undisturbed it may flourish and remain intact for a very long time, a phenomena known as stability. Once the invasive species take root in a clump of ramps they reduce the possibilities of the native plants reestablishing themselves. Relatively little is known scientifically about what  happens over time to a clump or ramps or other woodland wildflowers, once disturbed or dug up. Few scientific studies have been performed...

 About  eight years ago the long time tradition of picking ramps in Smokey Mountain National Park was banned due to concerns about over harvesting based on the results of a  long term study that began in 1989. Ramps were routinely over harvested in many instances with as much as 90% of the populations removed.  It was determined that It would take 100 years for these clump to recover, and it was estimated that clumps with 25% of their population harvested would take ten years to recover. It was thus determined that the rate of harvest was not sustainable, and would over time seriously deplete the ramp population. While generally illegal to pick any whole plant in a national park, harvesters, were allowed to take a  peck of ramps at a time before the ban.  In the national forests of North Carolina with a free permit it is legal to pick up to five pounds per individual per year...

 While many native wild flowers are difficult to propagate, Davis and others have discovered that ramps can be cultivated in their native habitats.  Seed of ramps can take 6 or 18 months to germinate and about five or more years to reach maturity, that is the ability to reproduce by seed.  Because of this long development cycle many native plants of the rich woodland are vulnerable.  When whole plants are harvested, especially before reaching maturity, they cannot produce seeds which ripen in fall. Jim Chamberlain is currently studying ramp reproduction by seed and its viability, he stresses  that â€œ there is no empirical evidence for how well the plant reproduces by seedâ€”we just donâ€™t know.â€

 Immature plants are routinely harvested along with full size plants, preventing these individuals from reaching maturity. I have observed many samples of wild leeks for sale that include both tiny and small bulbs. While some harvesters leave the small bulbs, or replant them as they harvest, many do not.

 Ramps can also be propagated by so called root division by separating the smaller buds which form along the rhizome, once the plant has reached maturity,  and replanting them. Replanted bulbs require 3-5 years to reach maturity depending on conditions and bulb size. Glen Facemire, Jr. proprietor of the Ramp Farm in West Virginia claims to be the only all ramp farm in the United States. His farm is situated in one of the rich mountain valleys of West Virginia where leeks are native.  He sells leeks for eating and replanting in addition to seeds. Their retail price is a hefty $21.55 per pound including shipping. Facemire says he both digs wild ramps and his cultivated stock.  When asked about his success with seeding he said that he did not track it, while Jeannine Davis assured me that his ramp population have proliferated from his cultivation efforts.

 Some harvesters assert that by cutting off the root tip from the bulbous stem and replanting, a new plant will form. According to Gary Kauffman field studies prove this is not the case. He indicates that only by leaving a larger portion of the bulb is it possible for the plant to survive and then the results are marginal..." From.






"German Potato Salad with Wild Leeks

 4 potatoes (red skin)
 4 slices bacon
 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
 2 tablespoons white sugar or rice syrup
 1/3 cup water
 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
 1/2 cup diced wild leeks (bulb and leaf)
 1/4 cup diced red pepper
 salt and pepper to taste

 DIRECTIONS

 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
 Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
 Add leek whites to bacon fat and sautee until translucent or just beginning to brown.
 add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook over medium heat until dressing is thick.
 Add bacon, potatoes and green sliced leek greens to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or cold." From.


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## ironmountain (Mar 26, 2012)

nice pics and vids!!! had a huge rush of memories come flooding in... 

 Friend, his dad and I used to come up here (U.P. of Mich) from downstate to go walleye fishing. We stayed in the middle of nowhere on a river at a little lot with 3 cabins on it. Turns out friend's dad and his friends have been fishing there since their grandfathers used to take them there.  So was a 3generation cabin at the time.  We'd catch walleye and friend and I would dig some leeks and his dad had a morel spot he'd hit up.  Fresh walleye/leeks/morels in some tin foil with a bit of butter on the fire=pure heaven...

 Thx for digging those memories up!!


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