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Leeks

Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
in Fruit & veg
Does anyone put collars around their leeks? I have tried it this year for the first time. I tried using toilet roll tubes on a couple but they have fallen apart. The rest I rolled advertising brochures from Aldi into tubes, secured with sellotape and threaded the leeks through them. So far they have stood up to the punishing weather conditions. It is supposed to give a longer length of white to the leeks and keep soil from between the leaves. 
I shall see in due course.

Posts

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    You may find the collars also harbour slugs, unfortunately...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Dib a 12 inch hole, Joyce, drop in a few chicken manure pieces and insert your seedling.  That'll give you a good long 'white bit'.
  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    Thank you for your comments. 
     Will dribble some slug pellets down inside the collars. (I know not everyone on the site agrees with the use of slug pellets but I would have no garden without them and it is my choice) I have always planted my leeks deep, with the roots trimmed and watered in, not pushed in with soil, just like my Dad used.
    I know exhibition leeks are grown in land drain pipes to get the extraordinary lengths some show men achieve. I have some old farm yard manure so will give my leeks a Christmas present and mulch around them.
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    No we don't use any collars and we allow the leeks to grow in their own way.
    Yes they may not be white and exhibition size but we still get a good return with great flavour and we are able to harvest them during the winter months without them becoming hard.
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