Wild Leeks
New for 2025 - Allium tricoccum - aka Ramps - Iconic spring ephemeral of rich deciduous woods. Their smooth green leaves carpet the forest floor in swaths and patches. They emerge in April, soaking up early spring sunlight, before fading away when the trees and shrubs leaf out.
Wild Leeks are very rare in Nova Scotia, currently found in only a handful of locations. Multiple centuries of land clearing for farming removed most of their original habitat, and the fact they often grow in the richest soils didn't help. They're a very slow growing species, capable of being locally abundant, yet take a very long time to regenerate after being removed from a forest.
This is where us humans can give them a helpful nudge! I've found they are a plant that responds well to careful tending. We have the good fortune to be caretakers of a healthy wild patch, from where we've been transplanting them into new areas. These new plantings have taken quite well, slowly but surely spreading by bulb division and by seed. Let's restore this special plant to a prominent place in the landscape, carpeting our floodplain forests and deciduous hills. We might not be the ones who live to see it, but perhaps our grandchildren will.
We're offering these seeds on a gift basis (they're free!). We request that you only take them if you have suitable habitat to plant them (see below). For now, we only plan to share them within the Maritime region. Ideally, any type of wild plant restoration will happen using local ecotype seeds, so it's best to keep these local.
50 seeds per pack - One pack per person (to ensure they get around).
How to grow them: First of all, do you have the right location? They grow best in moist (but no standing water), rich, high organic matter and deciduous trees. Although they're often associated with old-growth, I find they're equally happy growing among young trees, or even shrubs. The shade of that deciduous trees in your yard might even be an alright spot. Look for an area with leaf litter on the soil surface, and minimal competition from grass or pre-existing perennials.
Starting them from seed: Wild Leek germination can be mysterious, they have a prolonged dormancy period. It's best to direct sow, either in fall or spring. However they won't germinate until the following spring (two springs in the soil). Rake back the leaf litter, and place seeds on the soil surface, about 2" apart. Gently ruffle them into the soil with your fingers, and cover back up with leaves. Now step back and hope for the best. Remember where they are, but don't think about them too hard.
Harvesting: We've gotten this far, and haven't even talked about eating them yet. The leaves are tender and pungent, more intense in flavour than cultivated alliums. We love making pesto from the leaves, sometimes we blend them with young stinging nettle greens to cut back the allium intensity. Lightly cooking them brings their sweetness more forward.
Personally I only harvest the leaves. You can harvest up to one leaf per plant without damaging them, one leaf out of 100 is suggested for shared wild patches. The bulbs are admittedly delicious, but it's rare I'll eat the bulbs since it kills the plant. A careful amount of bulb harvesting once the patch is established is quite alright, I just prefer to use those bulbs for planting new spots.