Topic: How to prepare leeks for planting?

[antipodes]

Hi all,
I have managed to make my own leek seedlings this year! They are currently outside in big tubs just waiting to go out onto the allotment.
My question is - how do I prepare them? They are quite small but seem sturdy, about the size of a crochet hook (no "pencil thickness I am afraid")
I mean plug plants are always tied in bunches but are mine big enough to survive out of the soil? I was thinking of removing them the night before, trimming off any roots that seem too long and just snipping off the tops a bit once I get to the lot and am ready to pop them in the ground. Does that sound right?

I am so excited about the number of things I have grown from seed this year! Next year I am going to do my own onions from seed!!!
Thanks for your help

[calendula]

I would just use a dibber to make the hole and drop them in one at a time then water in - I wouldn't do anything else - keep it simple  ;D

they certainly don't have to be pencil thick to be planted - i often eat my late planted ones at that thickness early next year

[tim]

Yes, & the only reason to clip the roots - to my mind - is when they are too straggly to drop cleanly into the hole.

And then just glug some water in - nothing else.

[manicscousers]

these are some of ours, they definitely weren't pencil thickness when they went in, left as they were, dibbed a deep hole and dropped in, bit of water, bob's your uncle  ;D

[keef]

Rather than trim the roots, I just dip them in a watering can first - gets them all together if you know what i mean...

[Magnolia]

Hi, I have a couple of questions.  How deep should the hole be and do slugs tend to like leeks? Cheers,
 J.

[antipodes]

Ok I knew about the dibber +water method, did that last year.
But is it OK to take them out of their tubs the night before? Just to speed things up really. Or will that damage them?
Nice tip for the roots, I will remember that ;)

[calendula]

if you give them a good soaking it won't take you very long to extract them as and when planting - that's what I do anyway, they just gently pull out - they might dry out a bit overnight

[vegmandan]

Hi, I have a couple of questions.  How deep should the hole be and do slugs tend to like leeks? Cheers,
 J.

Generally a 6 inch deep hole is about right, the deeper the hole the longer the white bit of your leek,but 6 inch is the norm..

Slugs don't tend to be a problem.

Make sure that you just fill the hole with water so just enough soil washes off to cover the roots,don't refill it with soil or you'll get gritty leeks.

[Magnolia]

Thanks for the response and explanation.  I had wondered why the hole had to be filled with water.  Right mine are going in the ground this weekend.

[hopalong]

Yes, & the only reason to clip the roots - to my mind - is when they are too straggly to drop cleanly into the hole.

And then just glug some water in - nothing else.

I am new to leek growing so I can't say I know from experience what difference it makes, but I thought the idea of trimming the roots to within an inch or so of the base is that it is not practicable, when you are growing lots of leeks, to spread the roots of every single plant so that they do not bunch and to avoid injury to the growing tips. It is better to scrap the existing root system and shock the plant into producing new roots, which it does very quickly.

[Barnowl]

Interesting that the Beeb say: sow and leave in situ (having thinned out) and that the soil should have been prepared over the winter with well rotted manure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingleeks1.shtml

Haven't seen this anywhere else and have also seen, more than once, the recommendation not to used rich soil because it makes them tough, better to use soil that was heavily manured but has since had a crop on it.

[tim]

I dib 10".

[allaboutliverpool]

Compact the soil a little to allow non collapsing holes.

Leeks grow very quickly and I find that leaving them just that little bit longer means bigger seedlings, one week makes a lot of difference.

Tease the roots apart and trim to about one inch, this allows the leek to be dropped to the botton of a 9 inch hole. If you have firmed the soil, then when you water in, the sides do not collapse and those few weedy looking plants that are left will succeed, because even if they do not have any green above the top of the hole, they will still get the light and grow.

It is amazing how resilient they are. I have found that the rougher I am with them, the better they grow!

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html

[tim]

Good point about the soil - or, at least, brush off the loose stuff.

[Kea]

I saw a suggestion somewhere...may have been here... to lay down sheets of newspaper water it to make it wet. Then plant through it,  for those of us who have trouble keeping leeks weed free (particularly grass which is hard to distinguish from a young leek).

[Sparkly]

This is how ours were planted on the 9th June. These were about pencil thickeness. We trimmed the top and roots and then dropped them into a hole about 8 inches long and watered them in. They are looking very healthy now and the leaves are probably about 1 foot high. We added a large amount of chicken manure to the bed.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_qHKPzDEdq6c/SEz-uGDIuwI/AAAAAAAAAPs/fnZdUk7WGXo/s1600-h/plot4_09062008_003.jpg

[Arumlily]

I have a raised bed just for planting carrots. Sadly my carrots didn't do well at all, so I clear the lot and planted leeks instead. It was left in the bed over winter and my leeks never did fatten up. So I have no idea what went wrong.