Second year leeks

[Thurston Garden]

Last year I sowed and then potted on far too many leeks. The unused ones were left in a corner of the tunnel where a little water pools during heavy rain. The leeks have been kind of bonsai'd by being pot bound and their growth halted by sporadic watering from the rain pool. I just left them because they never seemed to die.

I planted up a bed with them today - they are still green and almost the thickness of a pencil. I likened this to onion seeds being grown and then halted to make onion sets. I am certain they will grow on, but have no idea what the end result will be.

There are a few champion leek growers locally but they won't divulge their secrets although I have gleaned that their show leeks are in their second year.

Has anyone done this before and has it been a success?

[Cheezy]

When you say last year, do you mean you started them off in spring?. If so they'll probably produce a huge flower spike with an "allium" flower head...being an allium I know some of the old boy's on the allotment always keep back a few leeks from the previous year as their seed material.

Our leek growers start the leeks off at the end of October/Nov in a heated green house, and plant what I would call "finished eaters" in the spring, these are intensively grown until the autumn shows. Ones they leave will flower the following spring.

[Thurston Garden]

Cheezy the label in the pots was February last year. They have been almost dormant since say April last year. If I only get seed heads, I will have a h3ll of a lot of seeds for 2009 - I planted an 8ft by 4ft bed of them in a 9 inch dice pattern!

[ina]

Gosh - I just chucked out the leeks I sowed last year and forgot to plant! Should have read this post a bit earlier...

[Thurston Garden]

Ina - were they the same as mine? Still aliveish? I will try and take a photo of them planted out today.

Photo at last :

[ina]

They were much smaller - still in their little seed bed...

[Thurston Garden]

Oooh! I was looking at some North Holland Blood Redspring onions in the tunnel yesterdaythat I never pulled last year - they are in their seed bed and beginning to grow. I am tempted to plant some on and see if they will bulb up!