Leeks

[ninnymary]

My daughter wanted me to plant leeks for her. She said they were $1 a piece for them at the store. Even though I like them, I never buy or use them.

A week ago, I planted seeds that she gave me. Will we have leeks this year or do I have to wait longer? Last year, I planted onion starts and those did very well and we had onions fairly quickly. This year, I bought onion bulbs and those seem to be growing fast also. But I've never planted leeks, either starts or seeds. Will they be as easy as onions? Any tips I should know?

Thanks
Mary

 

[dickiebird]

Around here it takes me 6 to 9 mos. to get leeks large enough to use, but that is the mid west.

THANX RICH

 

[digitS']

This will be the 1st year I won't have leeks in about 6 or 7 years! I don't know . . . I just messed up on ordering seed and trying so many varieties of onions, just decided to let 'em go.

I'll be sorry in December . . .

At the start of the season, they seem exactly like sweet onions. But, they kind of stall-out during the heat of summer, don't make bulbs of course, and come back strong when the weather cools off. Then you harvest them.

I think they will really like your part of the world, Mary . I bet they would grow right thru a Bay Area winter! Give them a good soil and enuf water. And, here is a tip: Keep them clean!

They are more like lilies than onions. Leeks have flat leaves. Anything that falls on them will stick in the leaves. If you shake the dirt off of weeds over their heads -- all that dirt will be trapped in the leek leaves. At harvest time, you will have to split the leak and wash every leaf separately to get the dang dirt out!!

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

I do it differently than Digits, but I am in a different climate. I was really disappointed in the leeks I sowed in the spring, but now I sow them in the fall and let them over-winter. It was down to below zero here this winter and they survived without being covered. I harvest then in the late spring. When one starts to bolt, they are all harvested. The first year I sowed them in the spring, they needed to overwinter anyway before they really grew enough to harvest. Different climates, different methods.

I start them in a shallow trench and drag dirt up around them as they grow to blanch them. Don't let them totally dry out. You do not want to drown them or keep them really wet, but the soil does need to be kept moist.

I drag the dirt up maybe twice while they are growing, not weekly or anything like that. I don't try to keep the dirt out of them and just resign myself to having to wash each piece separately.

 

[digitS']

Well, the leeks won't be growing at 0F but they are known for being able to survive very cold weather.

But Mary, you don't live where there is that kind of weather. I mean, did you even have a week of frost this winter?

Summer. How many days did the thermometer top 85? See what I mean? My guess is that it will be simply age that will prompt bolting and the end of their season. You should be able to start a few seeds now and then and have leeks 12 months out of the year.

. . . just a guess, tho'.

S'

 

[ninnymary]

Thanks you guys...I was beginning to wonder if I should have planted them in the fall. Steve..we got about 4 days of frost this year and our summers are usually 67* between 2:00 and 4:00 o'clock! I always have to wear a sweater in the mornings and evenings.

My neighbor planted some last spring but he never harvested them. I don't know why. They are hugh now and they never bolted. I wished I had paid more attention to them or what he did.

Well, I hope they grow. I'm usually leary of starting things from seeds since I usually have a hard time with that. Hopefully, I'll have leeks before summer?

Mary

 

[joz]

My neighbor saves the root ends of leeks and spring/green onions that he harvests or buys at the grocery store. He plants those ends, and has had pretty good luck growing more.

 

[ninnymary]

Wow Joz..I've never heard of this or thought about it. Does he plant them right away? I would think so, before they dry out?

Mary

 

[digitS']

My neighbor saves the root ends of leeks and spring/green onions that he harvests or buys at the grocery store. He plants those ends, and has had pretty good luck growing more.

Hey! Really?!

Leeks, too?

Heard about this for onions . . . never thought about leeks! Eat your $1 leek, plant the root, eat one for free (sorta), plant the root . . .

digitS'

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

My neighbor saves the root ends of leeks and spring/green onions that he harvests or buys at the grocery store. He plants those ends, and has had pretty good luck growing more.

I've seen this done w/ celery before ... i tried it last year and got growth, but think the TX heat ZAPPED the plant at about 3" tall. I probably should have tried it a month or two earlier than I did.