In North-Central Ohio, this is one of the best early native crops to be found.

Ramps: Ohio’s Wild Cousin of a Garlic

🧄🥬 I would describe the flavor profile of wild ramps as leafy with a garlic punch. More earthy and darker than a conventional green onion. Ramps are also a little “greener” and brighter than your typical garlic. It’s a pungent ingredient for any and all recipes! A great way to add flavor depth and interest without adding heat.

Wild Ramp Recipes

My favorite way to cook with ramps is to chop the tops (green leafy parts) into small rectangles and toss with warm pasta and olive oil. Or use as a garnish (fresh) for topping a favorite meat

Check these amazing ramp recipes from bon appetite ! The Wild Edible also has great info about how to identify ramps and harvest them sustainably. If those don’t get you ready to wander the woods in search of some fresh finds, then maybe try tuning into to my friend Nick’s *Foraged Feasts* video series, in partnership with Richland Source.

When adding ramps into a recipe, my favorite part is just the greenery, rather than the white bulb. they’re so fresh and deep, there is no need to really dig the bulbs in my opinion. It’s also faster to just clip the tops off with scissors and throw them in a bag to bring back to your kitchen! This *cutting rather than digging* is the best way to make sure ramps do not go extinct in your local area, too!

So, go take a hike, already!

This post by Groovy Plants Ranch gives an outline over the decades of what types and styles of gardens and plants have been popular in our history since the 1940’s.

https://www.groovyplantsranch.com/blogs/penny-flora-thoughts/mothers-day-blog-generational-plants

Have you seen one of these at your local library? It makes me so happy that these are being converted to a seed-sharing library! (Not to mention this is a wonderful way to re-purpose an outdated but amazing piece of furniture.)

New Uses for Old Technology

A card-catalogue drawer chest was once used to house that old school Dewey-Decimal-Style note card system to show where each book was located on the library shelves. But! In our modern digitized era, not only are you able to read about this on our blog, here at OrganicJOYgarden.com you are also able to take advantage of a NEW-useful-old chest-of-drawers. It also does a great service to a library’s surrounding yards ad gardens by encouraging local community gardening and seed-sharing.

A Seed-Saved is a Seed-Earned

Remember the old days when farmers and backyard gardeners alike used to harvest and re-use their very own hard-grown crops every year and would calculate what to keep back for next year’s garden starters? …Neither do I.

But now! We can refer back to those old practices and make those rituals and routines from history our own! Who would have guessed the local library was the perfect place to go to find the latest inspiration for gardens.

For centuries the only seeds available would have been those saved and/or traded. Not even mail-ordered and certainly not drop-shipped! Through many different ‘turns’ in our good and not-so-good history (not to mention when those ‘big-box’ version stores became popular) many of our regional-local and indigenous heirloom seeds were lost forever. (Read more about the importance of seed-saving)

i love rainy days.

Rain ☔ makes my garden happy