Growing Leeks – How to Grow Leeks

Growing Leeks – How to Grow Leeks

How to Grow Leeks – A Guide to Growing Leeks

Leeks

Leeks

Leeks are very stalwart member of the onion family and are grown to gigantic proportions for showing, notably in the North East of England. But smaller plants are yummier and more tender for cooking Leeks are less demanding to grow than onions but they need very careful transplanting and earthing up to produce long well paled plants.

Varieties of Leek

There are early, mid-season and late varieties. Early varieties mature from September to November, Mid-Season varieties from December to February and Late varieties from February to April. Sow seeds from each group to extend the cropping season. You can also grow them in huge containers or pots and in heightened beds .

Early Leeks

King Richard is the one I grow I find it very good very early cropping variety. The leek can be harvested by July from your early sowings. I have found that it will stand until Christmas from a late sowings however King Richard is less hardy than some other varieties. It can be grown close together in the row for delicious, succulent mini leeks. This variety has been awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM).

Pancho is another early maturing, but will only stand until mid-winter however it is suitable for close spacing. It has an excellent flavour which is ideal for salads or conventional cooking. Also awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM).

Carlton another variety that gives rapid growth and an extra early crop. It has long, tight, straight stems which you will find needs less cleaning and is of exceptional flavour. And is good for close spacing . Once again awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM).

Mid-season Leeks

Mussselborough is a renowned , solid , mid-season variety, having an exceptional flavour and tender taste when cooked. It is exceptionally stalwart and stands well in even the coldest winter weather. It is a favored choice in cold areas.

Oarsman is a superior midseason variety. It has good early vigour, bulking up rapidly, with no sign of bulbing. It has good resilience to rust and bolting and sets well over a long period.

 Awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM): Thompson & Morgan.

Porbella is an impressive variety. It has good defiance to rust and excellent winter hardiness. Harvesting from October to February.

Edison is a reasonably disease resistant variety with even size and good texture that can be harvested young as a ‘baby’ vegetable, or when mature in autumn or winter.

Late Leeks

Below-Zero’ F1 Hybrid wasbred in the UK. This leek combines the vigour of an F1 Hybrid with severe cold resistance. It produces leeks that can tolerate the hardest of winter weather.

 It is rust resistant and stands well over a long period without bolting. This leek  can be lifted from Christmas until May, so quite a long time really.

Blauwgroene Winter – Bandit is really an outstanding variety with excellent winter hardiness for harvesting from winter through to spring. It has good resilience to rust and bolting.

 Awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM): Thompson & Morgan.

Pests and Troubles with Leeks

Leeks are typically trouble free, however may suffer from rust which is a fungal disease causing orange spots on the leaves and Smut produce black blotches. Affected plants should be lifted and burnt.

 Leek Moth is sometimes  a problem in southern England and is gradually spreading north, as the weather gets milder. The caterpillars will be found feeding within the foliage and stems or bulbs of leeks, onions and related vegetables.

Sowing and Growing Leeks

Leeks are less troublesome to grow than onions. They appreciate soil which is rich in humus and nutrients but may rot in wet ground . The white stems of leeks , which are desired for cooking , are shaped by blanching (preventing the light) as they grow. Plants are, therefore, planted in holes in the soil .

Leeks can be sown from March–April outdoors in drills in a seedbed or as early as January under glass in pots, modules or root trainers.

 Sow thinly and thin to the strongest ones to grow on for transplanting.

Leeks can be planted out during June or July when they are about 4 inches (10 cm) high and about the fatness of a pencil.

 Using a dibber, or an better still an old spade or broom handle with a square or taper shaped end, make planting holes 6 inches (15 cm) deep, 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) apart in each direction . Drop a leek plant into each hole – some gardeners recommend paring the roots so that they drop into the holes easily but others say just to twist the plant gently as you drop it into the hole – the choice is yours, I do not.

Do not add soil to the hole but fill it with water to settle the plant in, the leeks will fill the hole as they grow.

You can also trim seedlings leaves a little if you prefer, before transplanting to cut down transpiration before the roots have established in the soil. Keep the bed free from weeds and remember leeks do not grow well in dry weather, so water.

If you wish to increase the blanched length of the leek, gently earth up around them but avoid soil getting between the leaves.

I use a toilet roll or kitchen roll inner cut lengthways, seems to work well for me.

Harvesting, Eating and Storing Leeks

When you want to harvest leeks pull or dig up every second one in  the row. I then leave the rest  to grow on for a later harvest . 

Leeks can be used instead of onions in many recipes. You may not know it, but leeks can be for use later in stews and soups. When I freez mine I cut them up frist. 

To keep leeks available fresh at the end of the season, dig or pull  them up. Make a trench about 10cm deep and lay the leeks with their roots in the trench at a 45 degree angle. Cover the roots with loose soil.