Leeks – Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum- are a delicacy crop that is simple to cultivate. They have this little onion taste to them. You can eat these raw, sautéed, or in stews and soups or quiche, and salads. Both the leaves and also the whitish stem are edible.
Leeks have the appearance of enlarged greenish onions, with a tall, cylindrical white stem. The blades are big, flat, and curled. Plants can be grown to be two to three ft high and two inches wide.
Planting Leeks
Leeks are often grown in containers or trays with the potting mix before being moved into their permanent location once they are large enough.
Sowing is a simple process. Begin by separating potting mix into containers or trays. Lightly push down the potting mix, then spread the seeds quite thinly, approximately 1 inch (2-3cm) away.
In a plug plate, you may also plant two seeds in each cell. Top them with a thin coating of additional potting soil and hydrate them. As the seedlings sprout and the plants develop, keep your potting soil wet.
Initial appearances must be kept on a bright interior window or in a nursery, where the heat will promote faster growth. If you want, you may divide the seedlings and plant them into single containers as they develop.
Best Soil for Growing Leeks
To flourish, leeks require well-draining ground; damp soil can hinder development and destroy seedlings. Another important issue with inadequately draining soils would be an added danger of diseases and pests like onion flies, white rot, or leek moths damaging leeks.
Dig a one-foot-deep hole to test the water flow. Load it halfway with water and then let it drain fully before refilling. Determine how much water drains from the pit in 1 hour.
The soil has low permeability if lower than 2 inches of the liquid has drained at the end of the hour. Creating a sloping area to promote water flow is one way of increasing soil drainage, as is applying 2 to 3 inches of manure.
Soil pH values indicate the soil’s alkalinity or acidity. Growing leeks in soils with the proper pH level promotes plant development, and also the pH level must be calculated 2 to 3 months ahead of sowing to enable adequate time to just get pH levels corrected.
Leeks, like many veggies, demand somewhat acidic soil to flourish in. To evaluate the pH of the topsoil, use a pH test kit (available on the internet or at most gardening centers).
Leeks plants thrive in soil with a pH of 6.0 and 6.8. Gardeners can increase soil pH by using wood ashes or even lime. The precise amount required depends on the material and the initial pH value of the ground.
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Leeks Transplantation
When transplanting your baby leeks, ensure they’ve been conditioned to outdoor circumstances by placing them outside for greater lengths of time over the duration ranging from 1 to 2 weeks. Once they reach a height of 6 to 8 inches (15-20cm), plants are set to be transplanted.
Start by ‘dubbing’ (poking) gaps into the well-dug ground that are the same size as the stalks of the leek plants. You could use a dibber designed specifically for this job.
Make a separate hole for every plant. The holes will be about 6 inches (15cm) off from each other, with an ft (30cm) within rows, or 7 inches (20cm) away from each direction if growing in a block area.
Carefully take the leeks off their containers and pry the roots separate if they’ve not previously been potted on. Fill the holes with seedlings.
The roots must extend down to the base of the opening, so assist them forward if required – you might have to cut them to put them in if they’re lengthy.
Cover these holes to the top with water and set the leeks aside to drain. Over time, the soil will simply fall in, enabling the shanks (stalks) to expand freely.
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How to Start Growing Leeks From Seed
Leeks may be propagated from seed or transplanting. Seeds could be sown inside in cooler areas eight to twelve weeks well before final spring frost.
Once temperatures rise above 40 ℉, bring them outside and gradually tough them up (for approximately seven days) before transplanting plants to the soil.
In hotter areas, where spring and autumn are good growth times, start your seeds inside three to four weeks well before the final spring frost and transfer outside for an early summertime crop.
You may also direct sow in later summer and collect in winter or early spring.
Sow leeks at a distance of at least six inches away. Leeks should be blanched to promote a glossy white stalk (the edible portion of the plant more commonly used in recipes).
This is yet another means of expressing that they must be kept out of the light so that no area of the crop produces chlorophyll and turns green.
Sow the seeds 6-8 inches down in the ground and proceed to pile the earth up all around the leek as this grows out of the earth, beginning around the moment the stalks are just an inch thick.
Development Needs for Leek
Pick a good site that gets enough sun to yield the greatest leeks. Leeks may thrive in moderate shade but flourish best in direct sun. Leeks may be grown in the soil, raised beds, or even giant grow bags.
Leeks are intensive feeders that require a lot of nitrogen. When sowing, amend the earth with a few inches of well-aged manure. We also apply a sprinkling of slow-release fertilizer to the surface of the soil, which is softly scraped into the land.
A mid-season dose of composting tea, diluted seaweed extract, fish fertilizer, or a supplementary dressing of moderate slow-release powdered fertilizer may help long-season leeks. Heavy fertilizers should be avoided throughout the growing season since they may cause leeks to split.
Leeks flourish under conditions of steady moisture.
As a result, irrigate leeks on a routine basis enough to keep the soil wet (but not waterlogged) on all occasions.
Mulch all around the bottom of leeks (when they’re no more delicate seedlings) to retain existing water and protect against temperature variations. For leek plants that were originally planted 4 to 6″ deep, between one – 2 inches thick mulch is sufficient.
For thinly planted seedlings or even when cold temperatures are forecast, apply a thicker covering of mulch.
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Harvest
Whenever the stem diameter of most leeks exceeds one inch, they are completely developed. A few of the smaller kinds bloom at half to three-quarters of an inch thick.
A good leek must have a solid, white stem that is at least three inches in length. Bulbing, or enlargement at the root, is unwanted.
Leek tips, unlike onions and shallot tops, will not fall off as the plant grows. The flag, or top spike, ought to be dark blue-green.
Leeks can be harvested by carefully twisting and removing them from the ground, or by excavating and raising them. If necessary, cut the foliage to a more acceptable length before harvesting.
Before preparing, properly clean the leeks. Because there is typically a little bit of dirt held securely between the leaflets, cut the entire leek vertically, split the layers, and carefully wash to eliminate any soil.
Because leeks are generally cold hardy, you can postpone harvesting until after your first couple of cold spells. Some cultivars may be unaffected by freezing temperatures as 20°F.
Pile mulch over your leeks to preserve them, and you’ll be able to harvest veggies from your garden until late October.
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Keeping Fresh Leeks
Avoid cleaning or cutting the leeks after harvesting until you’re willing to utilize them. (If you expect to use it sometime in the next couple of days, that is.)
Remove the filthy roots but just don’t cut further into the stem directly. Refrigerate fresh leeks in a Ziploc bag (or more, if they’re particularly tall). Cooled leeks should keep for at minimum a week, if not longer.
Another alternative for storing green leeks is in a basement area, which should be kept at 32 and 40°F. After harvesting, place the leeks (unclean, roots attached) in a container of gardening sand or new potting soil. Place them straight in the sand/soil, covering a few inches of the base stem.