Will I grow, or attempt to grow huge leeks.
Those little ones are as good as the asparagus (which is just starting to pop up)
I put some in late, very late, actually they were the left overs from the leek bed I did not want to waste but had no room for, have just started to pull them.
Fiddly to prepare but oh so sweet.
I suppose when food was essentially grown, the bigger the better.
Small is generally better. Plant them in beds not rows, and experiment with spacing till you get the size you want.
I want to be able to grow smaller/medium sized leeks to have over winter. All my seed packets say sow March/April though which means they will be ready before and then get too big. When is the last I can sow leeks please?
Plant at the normal time, and as I suggested, plant closer together.
I tried a late (August) sowing of Blue D' Solaise the other year but it wasn't very good. Hold them in small pots and plant out after the potatoes are lifted, OK until mid july/ea August, they will grow on to a good size but not massive Gwynleg. :)
One thing to keep in mind when buying is; the varieties that are suited to 'over wintering' quite a lot of varieties wont!
Usually the catalogue blurb will advise you of this.
Thanks - very helpful advice
They were just a packet from lidl.
Sown in a tray in February then put out into a nursery bed as they got too big for keeping in the tray. I had planted up loads into toilet rolls and they were put into rows and grew to a good size.
The ones which were in the nursery bed were going to be dumped but instead we planted them into an empty bed which had had cabbages in, after it was dug over.
Nothing added like extra feed. I hate waste and hoped I would get something from them. If not nothing lost.
Usually we just sow musslebrough leeks but found that there was a nicer taste to the lidl ones a couple of years ago. They also have longer stems before you get to the bit that catches the dirt.
I have no idea of the name of the variety.
I have just remembered.
When we got to planting the later ones, we had just read something about cutting the roots with scissors to less than 2 inches long. I remember it said something about it making them grow quicker, so we thought since they were late it might help
No idea if it is important.
Must make a note to make a note of things.
There are strongly differing opinions about cutting the roots of leek seedlings before planting. Personally I think it's a waste of time. The main thing is to fill the hole with water and continue to ensure they are well watered while they get established.
Ever heard of "multiple sowing"? This involves sowing in modules (or toilet roll cardboard) - 3 seeds per module - and planting all 3 resulting plants together in the planting hole, without removing any. This results in smaller leeks but more of them and is said to be a good idea if you are growing for a family rather than for exhibition. Anyway, I'm giving it a try this year.
If the plants have grown fairly large, it can be hard to get the roots down the hole. Sluicing the soil off the roots does as well as trimming them, though, and I don't see how that can help the plant.