Topic: my leek tips are drying out

[aquilegia]

Some of my tiny leeks have gone dry at the ends. I've pinched off some of them so it doesn't spread into the rest of the plant. Will that work?

What might have caused it?

[ina]

Mine are too. First time I've sown them indoors, I've always done them outside on a seedbed before and then plant them out when they are big enough.
It has to be that the air indoors is just too dry. I'm not going to do anything about it and just hope for the best.

[Mrs Ava]

I tend to agree with Ina, altho me no expert, but I am growing mine in modules in the greenhouse where the air is damp and cool...well cold actually, and mind are tall and strong.  Wonder if it is just to warm and dry for them.  If you think about it, leeks, well mine anyhow, stand out all through the winter so must be hardy critters.  Maybe you need to get them hardened off and outdoors now so they grow harder?   :-\

[ina]

We are planning to put the windows back into the greenhouse this weekend and the leeks will go in there right away. They should be fine then.

[Ceri]

mine did this when they were about 2 inches high, but the frizzly bit didn't seem to travel far down the leaf - only dried the bit that created a 'hook' at the top.  Now they are much bigger and have 4 odd 'leaves', none of the new tips seem to have this problem and they are growing beautifully.  They've gone from propogator, to warm windowsill, to unheated kitchen windowsill, to baby greenhouse, to babygreenhouse just at night and are huge - well I think they're huge - never grown them a before so am probably easily impressed!

[ina]

Thanks Ceri, that all sounds very promising.

[john_miller]

While it may be due solely to dry air, aquilegia, leeks, like all plants in this family, are subject to death of the initial main root at an early age. This root is replaced by adventitious (yep, that word again) roots growing from the base plate, as it swells. The transition phase could place strain on the plant, with it being exacerbated by dryer air or heat in a protected environment. Tip senesence may be a result.

[The gardener]

Yep! John I agree.

I'm not into those big words;) but I think of the first pair of leaves a bit like cotyledons (seed leaves) and are starter leaves if you like.

It is the subsequent leaves (flags) that are the all important ones hence the reason for the top growers erecting all manners of frames to support the leaves.

They do the same with onions.

Then there is the other more common thought, when many people  plant out, they cut the top off the leaves, so by doing this the 'yellow bits' are no longer a problem!

So as I see it aquilegia there is nothing to panic about.

[cleo]

the technical term is `don`t worry` ;D

Stephan.

[john_miller]

  It occured to me afterwards, Stephan, that I had left that off! I've been looking at brown leek leaf tips for so long that I no longer even envisage them as a cause of concern.

[Len]

I found that this happened with some of my leeks that were planted in normal shallow seed trays (50mm deep) Others that were planted in deeper trays 150mm deep (old ice cream tubs with drainage holes) did not suffer from the tip browning. I wonder if it is any thing to do with the root not being insulated enough. Leeks do seem to have a large root growth?

Len

[Debs]

I have sown mine ( approx 3 wks ago) into module seed trays and put them on roof of garden shed - but nothing has appeared yet.

Am I doing something wrong, or will they just take a bit longer as they're outdoors "oop north" in the colder climate ???

yours worryingly :-[,

Debs

[aquilegia]

phew - thanks for the reassurance!

[rdak]

My leek seedlings are about 2-3 inches tall and I guess they're going to need transplanting soon. Now, from what I've been reading, people are transplanting them into bigger pots before planting out to final place in a month or so? I have allocated a row to leeks and can fill the row with 65 leeks. The thought of transplanting 65 into individual pots, then having to plant out 65 again is a bit daunting!
So, couple of questions:
1) Do I need to transplant one per 3 inch pot, or can I get away with planting more in a larger pot? And when should I transplant them out finally?
2) Why do we grow leeks this way? Why not sow directly like spring onions and thin them out?

thanks

[john_miller]

If I were you, Ross, I wouldn't use 3" pots. Because the roots are adventitious they don't branch at all so it will take a long time to fill a pot with roots. I grow my leeks in clumps of three, planting out of '128' cells (modules?), 128 to a 25x50 cm tray. They probably grow quicker here than the UK so you might want to try something like a 72 count cell.

[gavin]

2) Why do we grow leeks this way?

Haven't a clue, Ross!

Why not sow directly like spring onions and thin them out?

Just what I'm about to do - same as every year!

;) ;) :)

Gavin (lazy b*gg*r in the corner - always last to start!)

[john_miller]

Lazy? Don't think so Gavin. You've got weeks of extra weeding that transplanters don't have to deal with!

[gavin]

Fraid so - definitely lazy!  I'm not that fussed about weeding either - just a little bit as they get started.  :-\

All best, Gavin