Leeks - Grow Your Own Wants Your Advice!!

[Earthbabe]

I've grown a mixture of varieties in the past two years. Disappointed by Porivite. Musselburgh always seem reliable. Will have to check the other varieties as I can't remember. Hannibal springs to mind and Zermatt.

I set aside a little bit of ground as a seed bed and sow them into rows 10cm )(4 inches) apart. This works better for me than using seed trays. I generally transplant as soon as the new potatoes are all out the ground. I trim the tops but not the roots to, in theory, make the job of settling easier. I find it also makes them more manageable for planting. Any leeklings left over go in the pot/freezer etc.

This year we have planted through membrane to keep the weeds down. This has worked well but makes digging them out a little more interesting. We also seem to have had less rust.

[NOG]

Leeks: I grow Oarsman

I plant them about 1/2 way down a toilet roll in the green house till they are big enough to plant out. Then I plant them out still in the rolls and as they grow I top up the tube. The rolls protect young plants from slugs and weeds, but also blanches the stalks.

You should also pick them young and small as the flavor is more intense

Then as the

[roitelet]

I find Leeks really easy I won't mention varieties as gardening in France I don't seem to be able to find the same as in the UK.

I sow leeks in open ground, the first sowing in early April and these are transplanted in June. The second sowing is in May transplanting in August.

When the seedling leeks have reached the size of a pencil I water well the night before transplanting. Using a Poker (fires for the use of) I make a deep holes 6 ins apart and drop the leeks in. No trimming of tops or bottoms. Fill the hole with water to wash soil onto the roots. About 2 months after planting draw the soil up to the leeks in ridges, cut the tops back by half and apply a feed. I use dilute horse manure.

The first sowing are ready for eating in September and they will keep us going right through until Spring, and we LOVE LEEKS

[wellie]

When to sow?

Probably not the right place to post this up, but there's interesting advice here and there as to the right or wrong times to sow Leek seed.
I've read that you shouldn't sow before the last week in January, and again in another place, that you shouldn't sow before late March.
Both publications advised this on the strength that if you do, your Leeks will prematurely run to seed.
What would YOU say is the best time, overall, for well-known variety like Musselburgh, which I've grown for the past three years?
I sowed them on 28th January 2006, and a lot of them ran to seed prematurely. Some in the Autumn, and a fair few currently now.
The weather no doubt has a lot to answer for.....
Wellie

[pigletwillie]

I have had none of my musselbourgh go to seed and they were sowed in April.

[nick the grief]

.... and mine were sown in Jan/Feb !!

[Earthbabe]

Mine are usually sown Feb/Mar in the "seed bed"

[Crazy Chickie]

Last year I sowed two batches of leeks, one inside in april, and one lot out side in early june (had a really bad spring and anything put in the ground earlier than that would have been washed right out again). Both lots were Porvite and didn't make it much past pencil size, don't know if it was the weather here or the variety but I wouldn't recomend Porvite. Might try Musselburgh this year as everyone's recomending it and we're big leek fans here.

[Earthbabe]

Had a thought earlier (***ducks to avoid incoming wry comments***) has anyone ever tried "resprouting" the roots once you've taken the stem. Apparently you are supposed to be able to get another crop, what of I'm not sure

[Amanda1]

For those of us who are short on growing space, I start mine off in root trainers in April and they are then ready to plant in the space provided by harvested onions in the summer, they will be later to harvest (I still have mine in the ground) but otherwise I wouldn't have room to grow them at all

[nick the grief]

Had a thought earlier (***ducks to avoid incoming wry comments***) has anyone ever tried "resprouting" the roots once you've taken the stem. Apparently you are supposed to be able to get another crop, what of I'm not sure

Ahhh, now you are in the land of Show Blanch leeks. Thats what they do, cut the barrel (stem) down to about 6" & repot and it throws a flower spike from the centre. You then cut off all the flowers on the spike before they open and it grows "grass" small plantlets instead, these are picked off & planted up and a "clone" of the parent as it works like a cutting.

[Protea]

I've never grown leeks before, but am going to give them a go this year. I've ordered Oarsman.

My Dad was trying to persuade me to sow leeks this year, but i really just want to practice on a normal eating one first! Apparently i need to get Snowdon for the shows (but seeing the leeks at my local hort show last year i'd seriously have my work cut out to produce anything vagualy presentable) and with me trying to show onions this year for the first time, i really can't be bothered! there's only so much Mr Protea can put up with

I was going to sow my seeds late Jan/early Feb, is this too early? maybe i could do a small batch then, and do a later batch in March - to extend the season?

[supersprout]

If you check the seed packet, it should say whether it's a 'long standing' leek for overwintering or an Autumn leek. I sow Winter leeks in March or April. Saw an interesting idea at Barnsdale Gardens - leeks sown in containers, in succession, from March to September for all year round baby leeks

[Two_Sheds]

I grew Natan and Musselburgh in 06. Terrible crop: got maggots. Bleugh - I'm a veggie. I let them go to seed the year before, so I got a lovely surprise crop of self-sown leeks to replace the maggoty ones. I am now cutting them for the pot. I don't pull them up, just slice them off about an inch below ground, and they regrow. Super bonus.

[smallblueplanet]

Never heard of that before, what sort of size leek do you get re-growing 2-sheds?