Topic: Saving leek seeds?

[gwynleg]

Hi - my adjoining allotment has lots and lots of leeks that have gone to seed (lovely purple allium globes at the moment). Although I am fed up of having two neighbours plots that havent been cultivated in many many months, i thought I could maybe benefit by keeping the leek seed for next year. Does anyone have experience of doing this? Are there any problems with leek seeds?
Thanks for your help.

[markfield rover]

When I found same, the flower head started to sprout baby leeks ,so I  bent head to soil and got lots of teeny leekettes
 then potted up and over wintered in gh ,planted out in spring , right or wrong I do not know, one of those nothing to lose situations.

[artichoke]

I have saved leek seed for several years and it is just amazing how many you get compared to expensive packets, from only a couple of heads.

The first year I sowed rather thickly in case they weren't viable (they look so shrivelled) but they all came up thick as moss. I started by trying to get the seeds out of the seed capsule but it was too fiddly, so now I just sow the lot in lumps and thin them a bit.

I have been quite disappointed by the length of row you can sow from a packet, so I much prefer my saved seed so far.

[Tee Gee]

the flower head started to sprout baby leeks

This is how the specialist growers keep their stock going.

As you will all know you normally have to take vegetative cuttings to ensure identical stock and this is how it is done, i.e. the seedlings are pricked out and grown on.

There is a name for this technique but I am having an aged moment at the moment and for the life of me I can't remember what it is :-[

Edit; Just had a cup of coffee then I remembered........the seedlings are known as 'pips' and the technique is 'taking pips'

 :-* I feel better for that now  ;D

[markfield rover]

Gosh !didn't realise I was doing something proper! there will be no living with me now.