Devin Bachelder

Hi Michelle, I use shade cloth in an area of my back lawn where I scraped the sod away, ran discs through it and then formed raised beds with a potato hiller. It's my experimental garden where I have a few varieties of perennials. The ramp row is a bit distinct because it needs some shade before the other plants, and in a different quantity. There was a study done at Purdue University (link to the article below) that states that 30% shade is ideal for germination but then additional shade is needed for long term survival. In my current setup, the whole garden is covered by 60% shade cloth throughout the summer, so I have a temporary 30% shade low-tunnel style structure that I put over the ramps as soon as they begin to emerge and then I take it down when the 60% shade cloth goes up over the whole garden (after the leaves on the trees are out and the threat of snow is mostly gone). I've posted a picture on the Sustainability page of the site and attempted to link to in in this reply, but in case it doesn't work, it can also be found at at https://rampfarm.com/pages/sustainability-practices

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-449.html#:~:text=For%20the%20artificial%20shade%20structures,be%20detrimental%20for%20seedling%20survival.

Hi Rob,
Fall is most definitely the preferred time for planting. I usually go with 3-4 inches to make sure there is good moisture retention. Ramps are quite good at finding their way to daylight and a little extra mulch shouldn't hurt, it'll just delay spotting them. The leaf litter that you'll get from the oak and maple trees in the yard will work very well as long as you're okay with pulling some tree seedlings each spring. If it's a small bed then it won't be a big chore.

Hi All, I’m the new operator of rampfarm.com and thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce myself. Glen Facemire did amazing work for a lot of year and I hope to keep it going.

Rob, you’ve asked some great questions. In my experience, and as described by the Ramp Man himself, the best thing to do is seed them directly into a naturally wooded area by moving some leaves back, dropping a pinch of seeds, replacing the leaves and stepping on them to pack them down.

Growing in the yard takes a bit more care. I have some under artificial shade and I use maple leaves each fall as mulch, but I’m moving away from that after the bumper crop of saplings that I have in my ramp row this year! I’ll be using rye straw which is advice that I received from a gentleman in Wisconsin that’s been growing woodland perennials for decades under artificial shade. This comes with the drawback of not having leaves that naturally fertilize the soil so periodic soil testing should be done and it may need amendments (a little gypsum) from time to time.
If you have grass in that spot currently, a hard boarder or raised bed would be useful to prevent the grass from overcrowding and likely taking over the ramp bed.

I hope that helps!