Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi everyone
I've got some young leeks that are looking really good just about now, I was wondering if I need to earth them up to make them white... is this true?
Cheeers
Sal

you don't earth them up until August (if you bother at all); you plant them in a 6 inch deep hole. see here: How to Sow leek seeds.

__________________
~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I presume they've been sown on the allotment! Please correct me if I'm wrong. What you normally do with leeks is raise them in a seedbed or pot or tray, and around June time you make holes in their permanent quarters (lotment or raised bed somewhere) and transplant individual leeks, one per hole. Drop them into the bottom of the hole and water in. No need to fill in with soil. As they grow, soil will trickle into the bottom of the hole, and as they've been planted fairly deep (4, 5 or 6 inches depending on size of seedlings) this will be the lenght of blanched (white) stem you will end up with.

Ooh - sorry for butting into this thread, but is it too late to sow some leek seeds? If I planted now, how long would they take (approx) until ready to put into raised beds - I'm trying to get a bit of a rotation going to make max use of beds?

If you sow them now, you can be eating them by the end of the year.

__________________
If it ain't broke, don't fix it and if you ain't going to eat it, don't kill it