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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2020 12:52:48 GMT -5
Last fall I let some leeks go to seed and shook the seeds into a bag. In January I planted them as Martin tells us to plant onion seed in a pot outside. By the first of March I had what looked like the beginnings of a lawn.
Three days ago I gave what appeared to be about a quarter of my seedlings to a friend, and yesterday I planted something like another quarter, perhaps more. These ranged from knitting needle to toothpick sized seedlings. I planted them in a wide bed, closer than I would have planted them in a row. Not over 8 inches apart, five to six wide in the row.
My intent was to use a dibble, drive in a hole, drop in a plant, pour in a bit of water and walk on. This proved unworkable; the ground was too wet to plow and the dirt would not fall in when the hole was watered. Change of plans:
I would drive my trowel into the ground and wobble a hole, drop in a seedling and then use the trowel to drive down beside the first hole and lever the dirt tight against the seedling, something like the method men use to plant pine trees in the woods. I cut the roots short enough that they did not J root. Some seedlings I left with long leaves, some I cut to about six inches. They look good this morning, but since the promised rain has not come I watered the whole leek bed. Anyone else growing leeks? And what do you do differently? Opinions on trimming the leaves before planting?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 27, 2020 14:13:10 GMT -5
I have some leeks planted in the raised bed, with the cover on it - they went in about 4" apart, along the outside row. I used your first method - I have a 3/8" dowel, with a mark at 6", and I make the holes, drop the plants in, then water them. The holes filled in, with my soil. If they were not covered, I wouldn't have even watered them, as it was going to rain, but I wasn't sure if the rain would hit the area directly, through the fabric.
I only looked at them the one time I uncovered the bed, and they were slow growing, but that's typical. I'll have to glance at them when I go back out, and see how they look.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2020 16:34:44 GMT -5
Pepperhead: I like using the dibble, but here we have had rain every two or three days and the ground just would not fill in around the leeks that way. Using the trowel I was able to press the dirt right back in place. It kills my back, but it had to be done. I planted the leeks in the wide row because some fellow who wrote a gardening book I have said that planted that way they would shade out the weeds----I don't count on that, but I can eat the thinnings and have plenty of room for weeding.
We shall see; Leeks seem to grow well here all thru the winter and they really put it on in the Spring before going to seed. I still have a half dozen, and will let perhaps three of those go to seed.
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Post by coppice on Apr 28, 2020 3:34:16 GMT -5
Leek for me with some mulch does pretty good in a developed field.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2020 8:17:13 GMT -5
Ilooked out this morning; Everu one of those leeks look happy. Those planted with all their leaves are standing up!!!! In a week I'll know. I made a rough count, 144 plants. I may plant more.
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Post by september on Apr 28, 2020 8:28:23 GMT -5
@oxankle2 , that's a lot of leeks! You are lucky to live in a zone where you can leave them in the ground year round. I love leeks, but don't grow them very often because they are too hard for me to store long term in the winter. They only last a few weeks out of the ground before they start to yellow and lose quality. I was going to start some seed early this year, but the packet got lost in the shuffle and it's too late now.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2020 15:23:01 GMT -5
September, that was one OLD cat. As for the leeks; yes, I had no idea what they would do when I planted the first three years ago. Since we really did not know how to use them I left one or two in the ground. I watched them and saw how they took the weather, planted a row the next year, saved three or four and got some seed last fall. Now the wife likes to cook with them, so I planted a "patch". They are tough. I dropped a small plant near a water faucet last spring, it fell on wet spot, took root. Right now it is a clump of perhaps four stalks knee high. I mowed over it a time or two, but finally I said to myself "If it is that determined to live I'll mow around it." I'll take seed from it later.
LOL, edit to add: They do get to looking pretty shaggy in the worse of Winter, but the moment the weather moderates they are growing again and looking good. I have not lost one to weather yet.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 28, 2020 16:37:52 GMT -5
Traditional way to grow them is to set them very deep and then keep hilling. Idea was to have a long white section. If I had 6" plants, I would plant them 5" deep. Then hill another 5" as they grew. One time I dug a trench 10" deep and lined it with 12" vinyl siding. Filled in as they grew. A lot of fiddling and taste the same as if nothing is done. Now I just plant them like onions and let them do what they wish.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2020 17:06:24 GMT -5
Martin; I did the deep hole thing the first year and decided that it was a lot of work for a bit more "white" on the plant. Since we use much of the green as well as the bottom stalk I am more relaxed about it now.
However, with a long trowel as done this week the plants can still go in several inches deep., What amazed me though was how quickly the plants stabilized after being planted when I used the trowel to lever soil tightly against them. When I looked this morning even those planted with long leaves were standing erect. They had wilted some in the hot sun by afternoon, but it is a sign that their roots are working.
As an aside, I planted garlic under cardboard this year, and bulbils like grass in a feed tub. I will have a short crop as I did not plant a long row, but I will have much "seed" for this fall.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 28, 2020 23:08:44 GMT -5
I looked at the leeks today, and they were only about 1/4 in diameter in almost 2 months. They are always slow, but I was expecting more. I'll have to try some more, in my new bed.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 29, 2020 10:58:26 GMT -5
There are many different varieties of leeks. In some countries, they are grown more for the leaves than the stalks. I used to have a variety from Czechoslovakia which would get almost 4'' tall and the leaves were equally long. There's at least 35 in latest SSE Yearbook. A friend grew one several years ago that was only about 18" high but 2" thick. This thread reminded me that I must grow out Inegol again, a Turkish variety with long leaves.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2020 19:03:28 GMT -5
Martin: We use as much of the tender leaves as we can. I dug six tonight, split and washed them, leaving about six inches of leaf. We cooked them until tender, then mixed a pound of chopped bacon, sour cream, a bit of pepper and a pot of pasta. Served that hot with sliced cheese on top. Delicious and there is enough for tomorrow noon. There must be fifty variations of that recipe.
Pepperhead??? Don't leeks like fertilizer as much as do onions? I put down fertilizer in early Feb for the leeks I had remaining, and they took off as soon as it warmed up. I did not fertilize the stray out by the water hydrant, and it is healthy but not so large as those in the row.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 29, 2020 21:31:20 GMT -5
Hot tip on using leek leaves: blender. Leek soup is not always just the stalks. Years ago there used to be a dry leek soup mix that was imported from Israel. It was green. Loved that and often made my own. As I previously said, there are varieties grown especially for the leaves and that's why.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2020 9:34:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip on the blender, Martin. Barb has trouble chopping things now and I get tired of doing all the chopping, so the blender is a fine idea. That will allow us to use more leaves, too.
Leek and potato soup is a big favorite here.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2020 12:34:08 GMT -5
I've intended to ask: Do your leeks come up with a huge root ball? My soil is gravelly, but not entire;u sand. When I harvest big leeks I sometimes get a root ball as big as a gallon lard pail. I have to pound the root ball against my digging fork to dislodge the dirt, and most times if the soil is wet I have to cut off the root to free the stem.
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Post by paquebot on May 1, 2020 15:01:22 GMT -5
Leeks are much like other alliums. Their root system is not the most efficient and therefore they make up for it by numbers. Thus they do come out of the ground with a lot of them. The bulk of the roots are in the first foot with very few below 2'. In fact, roots will be above the base of the plant, not common in most other plants. Search for "root development of vegetables" for some surprises.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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ponyexpress
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Zone:: 6b
Favorite Vegetable:: alliums
Joined: June 2020
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Post by ponyexpress on Jun 22, 2020 22:02:16 GMT -5
My leeks are coming along nicely. I think I have about 30 plants that I started from seeds. It's called Gevaria and they were sold for the 2017 growing season. The germination rate was pretty high considering the age.
I dug a trench for them about 9" deep. As they grow, I add more dirt. I think next year, I want to try a variety that is late season and will store well in the winter.
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