Does anyone have any advice on wild garlic? It grows profusely here,
but I don't know if I can do anything worthwhile with it. Can the
young shoots be used early in the season? Anything? It smells
wonderful when you stand on it:-)
Jonny

D'you mean Ramsons - the broad leaved wild garlic with the little
sprays of white flowers?
The leaves are great in salads, or chopped and used like chives in
other dishes.

It's a wonderful smell in the wild - in this part of Hants there's
tons of 'em growing away merrily.
Only problem is, once they go over they start whiffing a bit - and
en-masse it's a bit of a stench.

Regards,

--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Pick the leaves sparingly, and add them to salads, sandwiches, etc. Chop them fine and use them like chives or garlic in cooking. I've often wrapped small chickens with them (with a bit of butter), wrapped them in foil, and roasted them. Or add them to potato soup. One of the best wild foods, very versatile.

Stephen Howard wrote:

D'you mean Ramsons - the broad leaved wild garlic with the little
sprays of white flowers?

Those sound very much like what are called "Ramps" over here. In the
spring, people dig them from semi-shady wooded spots and chop the little
bulbs for various dishes. There are even Ramp festivals down in the
Appalachian mountains of Virginia and Tennessee. A friend knows of a nice
patch of them, and gave me a bagful last spring. The very few I didn't eat
took hold nicely along a path to the pond. Those concerned with the social
graces probably ought to eschew them. This has never been my problem!

The spring-scented,


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.

I don't think they are. Not all wild flowers are protected.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

Hmmm. Been trying to lay my hands on some ransomes for yonks, Jon -
could you save me some seeds when they're ready, please?

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

On Tue, 6 May 2003 17:33:28 +0000 (UTC), "Essjay001"
wrote:

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.

As part of the Wildlife & Country Act ( blah, blah, etc. ) they'd at
least be protected from being dug up without the permission of the
landowner.

The act further specifies a number of rare plants that may not be
picked etc. Ramsons aren't on that list.
Picking the leaves won't worry the Ramsons too much - I've seen whole
stands get obliterated under a tractor's wheel, and yet they're back
the next year as pungent as ever.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In article ,
Stephen Howard wrote:
On Tue, 6 May 2003 17:33:28 +0000 (UTC), "Essjay001"
wrote:

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.

As part of the Wildlife & Country Act ( blah, blah, etc. ) they'd at
least be protected from being dug up without the permission of the
landowner.

It is illegal to do so. Whether that counts as protection is a
very different matter.

The act further specifies a number of rare plants that may not be
picked etc. Ramsons aren't on that list.
Picking the leaves won't worry the Ramsons too much - I've seen whole
stands get obliterated under a tractor's wheel, and yet they're back
the next year as pungent as ever.

Nor will removing a domestic quantity of bulbs. The law is an
extension of the enclosure acts and game laws, and has little to
do with conservation.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nor will removing a domestic quantity of bulbs. The law is an extension of the enclosure acts and game laws, and has little to do with conservation.

Certainly looks that way, regrettably.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.


I don't think they are. Not all wild flowers are protected.


They are - it is an offence to take any plant without permission of the
landowner, and I can't offhand think of any bit of the UK, apart from
perhaps below the high tide mark, that isn't owned by *someone*
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

| They are - it is an offence to take any plant without permission of the landowner, and I can't offhand think of any bit of the UK, apart from perhaps below the high tide mark, that isn't owned by *someone*


That is owned by "The Crown".


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Anthony E Anson" wrote in message
...
.. Been trying to lay my hands on some ransomes for yonks, Jon -
could you save me some seeds when they're ready, please?

I bought seeds from Nickys Nursery last year. Irritatingly enough I couldn't
get the blighters to germinate.

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

And as wild flowers surely they are protected.

I don't think they are. Not all wild flowers are protected.

They are - it is an offence to take any plant without permission of the
landowner, and I can't offhand think of any bit of the UK, apart from
perhaps below the high tide mark, that isn't owned by *someone*

Depends on where you mean. A lot of land owned by the crown has public
access, and anything you can get to from said access is considered fair
game. Otherwise kids picking blackberries would be illegal, picking
mushrooms, etc, would be illegal!

It's more important to know what you're picking and how to avoid damaging
what's there, IMHO.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

In article ,
Kay Easton writes:
|
| They are - it is an offence to take any plant without permission of the
| landowner, and I can't offhand think of any bit of the UK, apart from
| perhaps below the high tide mark, that isn't owned by *someone*

That is owned by "The Crown".

Some of it. There's a rather good book on the laws of the foreshore I
borrowed from the library back in the 'fifties - they had to get it from
some other library for me - and it was about the size of a lectern
bible. Nothing on the foreshore is as straightforward as it seems at
first sight!

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi