Its ramp time. A fleeting moment in the spring when ramps are in season. They are one of the first green things of the growing season along with nettles and asparagus. They are wild and you see them on the forest floor, bursting through the remnants of the brown lacy leaves left over from last autumn.

There is a concern that ramps are being over harvested due to foodie culture demand. They are delicate things in every way, from how they look, fragile brilliant green leaves and pearly pinkish white bulbs, to how they taste, to how they reproduce. The plants take 5 to 7 years to produce seeds and then the seeds take 6 to 18 months to germinate.

I’ve decided just to eat the ones that we harvest. For the fleeting wild thing that they are. Just once per year, you get a little taste and that is all.

Ramps in a Vermont forest

A sustainable harvest for the home cook

Oona, who picked these ramps, made up a delicious recipe using ramps and plantains. See it here (and cook it).