Allotments 4 All

been using you for ages thought i could join in
2 questions
are marshalls a good seed firm?
is it time to show leeks indoors in my quite warm flat and what type? not too good at typing so short sorry :-[

welcome to the site!!
a, yes, marshalls are good, and yes, it's a good time to sow leeks, go for either a 'bedford type, or 'musselburgh' (others will offer their advice on varieties, I'm sure!!)

thanks so thrilled about my first reply will do - inthe pat i have always put tons of seeds in one pot end then disentallgment them (losing loads) some friends tell me they do them individually in single pots - what is the best way do you think? :) :) :)

Hello and a warm welcome from me too.  I second Musselburgh, have grown them for years and always completely reliable, grow well, taste good and freeze well.  Marshalls are good for seeds, plants and onion sets, have had lots of stuff from them.

I usually start my leeks in the ground in a well raked row next to where they will grow and then transplant them approx when they are pencil thick, but sometimes they have not got quite that far!

Happy growing!  :)

Hello and welcome  ;D
Thumbs up for Marshalls from me too and don't forget Wilkos and £land if there is one near you.

I think you will find there is not much to choose between seed suppliers, in fact you may find that many of them will source their supply from the same supplier and sell them in their own livery!

So go for economy!

Regarding seed sowing these links might help!

Seed sowing;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Seed%20sowing/Seed%20Sowing.htm

Pricking out;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Pricking%20out/Pricking%20Out.htm

Leeks;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Leeks/Leeks.htm

Welcome to A4A Getting there..  :)

Hiya, gettingthere, nice to meet you  ;D

Welcome  :)

When i was seed sectary i used Marshall's, if you order over a said price we got 25% off.  If any of you are interested just email Marshall's. That was on seeds and most of there products. 

Welcome to the asylum gettingthere
I sowed some Lyon in a ice cream tub on the 31st of Jan and have a few just showing their heads.
;D ;D ;D

Quote from: gettingthere on February 05, 2010, 23:22:19
thanks so thrilled about my first reply will do - inthe pat i have always put tons of seeds in one pot end then disentallgment them (losing loads) some friends tell me they do them individually in single pots - what is the best way do you think? :) :) :)

i have always favoured the 'loads in one pot' approach as it saves a lot of faffing and space. I think they do fine this way and yes, they take a bit of untangling at planting out time but if you take a handful and shake the roots under some water I find they come apart without too much difficulty. 

When I sow leeks, I put quite a lot in a tray, then when they are big enough, I tip them all out, untangle them, and then plant outside close together in rows.
Once they have grown on a bit, I then plant out at their final spacing, I think after some early spuds came out.

I do the same, but I'm beginning to wonder whether they'd be better started in something deeper.

I like to have some early & some later variety.

I like leeks at all times of the year. Nice in salads.

I read somewhere that a cat litter tray is good for sowing leek seeds as it is deep. I think they sowed 96. Obviously needs drainage holes in.

I have sown a tray of leeks in modules and am waiting for them to rear their heads

I wouldn't worry about the tangling roots as they get trimmed off anyway.      ;D ;D ;D

Welcone from me to!
I've got musselborough i bought from netto (19p) in a yoghurt pot on the windowledge.
I m going to sow a pot full each month for a while so theres a sucession and not so much pricking out. Dont worry to much about them in terms of out competing each other , leeks are pretty tough and can be left to get on with it until you are ready to plant.
But they are very hardy and reliable so one of the first things you can plant out (after garlic and onions).

Also consider that they are not very greedy about space and can be sqeezed into places . I oftern grow them between my chrysanths and helichrysums and broccolli. So if youve sowed to many you can probably fit them in after all.Good luck
x sunloving

thank you all I have compromised and have just now sown musselborough in modules but quite a few in each one i'm  sure they'll all grow in the end - i now know next doubt i will have lots of advive. let you know cheers