novice leek question

[sallyann]

Hi,

I am growing leeks for the first time this year and am not sure what to do with them. I bought them as plugplants and potted them on a while ago into 4" pots. They are doing well, some are nearly pencil thinkness.

In a book I have it says to make a 6" hole, drop the leek in and then fill the hole with water. Does this mean that the majority of the stem will be in the hole?? Should the soil fill in around the leeks or not??

Also, the leeks were supplied in groups of 3 and the label said to plant them out in bunches, should I do this or would it be better to separate them??

Many thanks,

Sallyann

[sallyann]

[deboydoyd]

Hi, The instruction sound good, as long as there are a fair amount of leaves above ground they will be ok. The leek below ground will be the white bit when you harvest them so the more below ground the more of it you will be able to eat. Just drop them in and water the soil will eventually just fill in during watering and given time. I would split them.Some people trim the leaves and roots to stimulate growth but I admit I do not do that.Good luck

[Tee Gee]

In a book I have it says to make a 6" hole, drop the leek in and then fill the hole with water.

This is good advice!

Having said that type can play a part in the planting instructions e.g.

Exhibition growers will not do this they will plant them to the same depth as they were in the pot and blanch them in other ways e.g. collars/sleeves

Does this mean that the majority of the stem will be in the hole??

Yes! and it is this that blanches the leek i.e. the deeper the hole the longer the blanching (whitening)

Should the soil fill in around the leeks or not??

Depending upon the tilth of your soil this may happen automatically if not it is optional whether you fill the hole or not i.e. the hole will act as a blanching sleeve.

Also, the leeks were supplied in groups of 3 and the label said to plant them out in bunches, should I do this or would it be better to separate them??

Set them out singly!

Edit;

Just realised that you will have to fill your holes in because your rootball (in 4" pots)will be quite large meaning the side of the holes will not support the leek/s

What is meant by the 'pencil thickness' procedure is there is no root ball to speak of, so all that is required is to 'dibble' a hole about 1½" diameter with a dibber then place your leek in.

When water is added this generally silts up/fills the hole.

Sorry about that!!

[Rohaise]

 Iam following all this advice closely too .  I planted mine out and the next day ,one has disapeared . What might have taken it ? I didn,t think leeks had pests of any kind .  Sould I cover them somehow ?  Rohaise

[tim]

Birds love anything, like Shallot greens, that show above the soil!

[shirlton]

Mine were no where near pencil thick, more like pen refill thick. I was surprised how quickly they grew after I put them in. At the time I didn't hold out much hope for them.

[sallyann]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I will put them in this evening if it stops raining!

[MrsKP]

I am nearly ready to plant mine out.  I sowed them a la Carol Kleine in a black bucket and have dozens of the things to separate ....... into a bed that can perhaps take 50 at a push lol.

A lovely man two plots away showed me his bed at a recent visit (ooower) which looked like newly screeded plaster, it was so flat and even.  I have dug, raked, watered, flattened, gonna get the OH to flatten it a bit more (helps keeps the sides of the holes from falling in) and then try and separate my bucket babies over the weekend.

The only big dibber I have is the handle to one of my gardening contraption hoe thingies so we'll see if I can get a wide enough hole.

Who trims the tops and roots and who doesn't ??

;D

[carolinej]

I did last year. I didnt this year, and would say that already I can see the difference. The plants seem much stronger for not being trimmed.

cj :)

[quizzical1]

I haven't trimmed mine and the ninety odd (2 varieties) are looking good.

Only other time I grew leeks, many years ago, we did trim them and still got a good crop. Not had a plot in the interim.

The dibber I use for mine is an old spade/fork handle, with a sort of rounded point. Push it in to about 8 inches, and drop the leeklet into the hole, and fill the hole with water.

[asbean]

Iam following all this advice closely too .  I planted mine out and the next day ,one has disapeared . What might have taken it ? I didn,t think leeks had pests of any kind .  Sould I cover them somehow ?  Rohaise

Yes, definitely birds.  If they are a problem, it's a good idea to cover them.  Mrs Blackbird follows me around and nicks them when my back is turned.  >:( >:( >:(

[Jenfur]

Just wondering, I got seed tape (lazy I know) put in for winter leeks. Do I just leave them in (they are like little blades of grass) or do I later have to dig them up and re bury them for the blanching? Sounds ridiculous to me even typing it but I just wondered.

[Tee Gee]

You could just leave them to come if they are about 4-6" apart and earth them up like potatoes to blanch them.

If they are much closer together you would be better transplanting them!

[Busby]

I do it this way and I it has never failed.

I make a shallow trench (or trenches) so loosening up the earth then I nip off the tips of the leeks, shorten the roots, then using a dibber I plant them fairly deeply into the dibbed holes, push some earth back onto them so that they all stand upright, then I give them water and leave them for a day or two.  After they have settled in I push the rest of the earth back so that they are in small walls of earth - and that's it.

Easy and reliable.

[growmore]

Dib a hole ,drop your leek plant in ,fill hole with water ,,It don't matter if your plant is pencil thicknes or biro refill thickness as long as just a leaf tip or 2 are popping above hole they wil grow..I dont see point of trimming em as in topping and tailing them .I think why grow good roots on them to chop em off ..
If your dibbed hole is  wide enough the roots will drop to bottom ok  without trimming .
But some do chop off part of leaves and roots .