Ramps

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I am not too optimistic people will be finding ramps soon. The snow we are having in Chicago this evening is as far south as Springfield. I just got off the phone with a friend who just came up 57.

Morels will not likely be in our region until late April or early May. While Christopher Gordon now residing in Indianapolis is far enough south to be a few weeks ahead of us.

I know I sound like a broken record. The collecting of ramps is usually lifting the plant. This drives forest managers crazy because the plant is getting destroyed. It is not in the same catagory as fruiting bodies like mushrooms, nuts and berries. If you are collecting these from public lands, then you run the risk of a fine. BTW - Mushroom hunting is not welcome in all jurisdictions, either.

I've only had ramps twice: some I bought at the Madison farmer's market and the other was a gift from a friend who collected them on private land.

Regards,

Not to derail

We'll be morel hunting in southern Illinois this year(last year was crappy for hunting supposedly and we didn't bother...year before...a bounty). Weather providing...and you never really know...it looks kinda wet and cold so far this year(and, with weather like this our mid-April hunt is likely a might early)...we intend to hunt on family and friend's property. As much as anything it'll be a bittersweet hunt in honor of the s/o's dad who passed away this year...his dad taught me all I know of morels and cleaning/cooking of...

Generally speaking and weather-wise this year I'm not expecting much, but that's half the fun...you never know...

(this is old hat for seasoned hunters, but I post it for posterity)as far as "reseeding" goes (for morels) part of the mythology is that you gather them in a burlap or similarly-perforated sack so that spores may drop back to the earth as you seek new, fertile fields

too bad that's not equivalent for those tasty ramps