how do you grow your leeks?

[red]

I'm new to leek-growing. I sowed a line like wot it said on the packet, but then finished the packet in some big pots in the gh. The ones in the ground look ok, the ones in the pots look much better.

Now - expert book and seed packet say to :
trim each one top and bottom and make a hole with a dibber and drop leek into hole DO NOT fill in hole, water in and leave

but John Seymour says:
don't mutilate the plants - plant them normally and earth them up a bit (if i remember correctly)

and my Dad says:
dig a trench, lay them in, cover and earth up as they grow


so - how do you grow yours?

[flower]

I wait til pencil thickness.
I don't trim.
I make a good sized hole with a broken garden fork handle (in a bed that previously contained legumes if possible cos leeks love nitrogen)
Then I bung a leek in each hole (usually only an inch or so of leaf sticking out the top of the hole.
Fill holes with water and forget about them till winter.

My leeks are certainly not competition winners, but a nice size for cooking and good and tender with no gritty dirt between the leaves.

[ohareward]

I start my leeks in a shallow tray. When they are about 10cm high, I then repot them into separate pots. Then when they are 15-20cm chop the top off, (5cm). Dig a shallow trench and using a dibber make holes 7-10cm deep spaced 15cm apart. 40cm between rows. Remove plants from pots and put in holes. Do not fill in. Water well. Watering will wash soil into the holes. When they are established mound up soil around them as they grow. Keep weeded. Leeks will keep a long time in the ground.

Robin

[red]

thanks for the replies

what is the advantage in trimming the leeks?
and why don't you fill in the dibber holes?

[Cornelian]

I haven't heard of trimming leeks either (well, only after they've done their growing and you want to heel them in to keep somewhere), but like red this is my first year of growing them.

I started mine off in tube pots and transplanted them when they were pencil thickness. They're currently 'earthed up' with thick straw which is blanching them nicely.

[flower]

filling the holes with earth gets dirt in between the forming layers. It makes them gritty when you eat them.
If you water them in, soil washes down on to the roots but is not forced between the leaves.

Leeks can grow quite substantial root systems. when putting the leek in the hole, if the roots are long they can tick upwards out of the soil. That is why some people trim them. I don't bother myself.

I never quite got the point of trimming the leaves. Most people don't use the top part, granted. But still I can't see the point of cutting them off as I've always been taught that wounds are where disease gets in

[ohareward]

Trimming the leaves of leeks before planting is the same as pruning back roses, etc, so that the growth is going into the roots and not the foliage. You don't trim the roots. Just tuck them down when planting.
Watering the plants in instead of filling the holes with soil allows the water to put soil around the roots. Otherwise there could be air pockets.

Robin

[Millymollymandy]

I semi fill in the holes with soil and then water in, otherwise my leeks would be growing at a 45 degree angle. Then later on I keep filling in the hole to blanch the lower bit of the leek.

I also trim the roots because they are too long and bushy to fit into the planting holes. I trim the shoots too, because I've trimmed the roots. I think it is because plants lose moisture out of their leaves - same principle as when you trim back irises when you transplant them. I think!

[Luke]

I start mine off in a seed tray in February and plant them out in late May. I just dib holes spaced 6 inches apart and drop the leak in. I then water them in and leave them! The way to get them to stand straight is to hold them upright with one hand and water them with the other.

Cutting the tops of them off makes perfect sense if they have bad root systems. This is simply because the green tops will lose more water than the roots can take up. So by cutting them your giving the roots a chance to grow and develop.

[Thurston Garden]

I start my leeks in a shallow tray. When they are about 10cm high, I then repot them into separate pots.

I do the same a Robin and have potted on 120 leeks this afternoon. I personally dibble a hole and pop them in and then water them to settle the roots.

I don't bother trimming, but don't think doing so affects the end result.