Wild Leeks

The first two pictures are before we received the last big snow (22 inches) and the last two are after. I'll will get some newer pictures this weekend.

I have a few people who I promised some so I should be picking on Sunday.

 

I don't have any on my property. But that begs a question - If I go find some on someone else's property, and picked them without asking, would I be taking a leek?

 

I haven't really looked but in previous years I never found any.

 

It amazes me how they grow so wild. The best I have found around here is wild onion in a 2 ft X 2 ft plot by a lake. that's all. I am sure there are more but I haven't found them yet.

 

I wonder if they are over picked, they do that chit around here and wonder why they don't grow back.

Even though we have plenty, I never pick a large amount. The greens are the first thing the deer eat in the spring so that is always nice to watch.

 

I just don't think the soil is good enough for them to take hold. Too much cedar and fir debris.

 

I ended up picking two bags but we had a mix of rain/snow so I called it a day.

 

It will be nice when the leeks/ramps start coming up with the warm weather, it won't be long.

This is an older picture of when they were coming up.

 

I've been digging and transplanting them onto our property for the past 5 or 6 years.
First year's didn't come back, they got strangled out by other plants.

Lately, they've taken good root in the woodline, and are starting to spread.

I only dig with permission, and never take more than a small bunch in one area, spreading out the harvest so that the holes can be filled in within a few years.

It's bad that some area's are pretty much wiped out by people digging everything up and wondering why they didn't grow back.

Haven't seen any shoots yet, but looking forward to the days ahead.
Want to make some leek sausage this year.

 

I took a wild leek in the woods this morning