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Leeks

InTheMoorlandsInTheMoorlands Posts: 161
in Fruit & veg
We planted Leeks late last year and they are just about still growing:


I just wondered when they will be ready to harvest or when i should call it a day with them.  What signs should I be looking for? I've tried before but never got as far as I have now so i suppose that's some kind of progress.

Interestingly they were all from the same bunch of plugs, planted at the same time, in the same way, kept in the same place and half of one tub have died! 






At about 750 feet on the western edge of The Pennines.  Clay soil.  

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Someone posted similar to this a while ago,  I would dump those and sow some more now. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • InTheMoorlandsInTheMoorlands Posts: 161
    Someone posted similar to this a while ago,  I would dump those and sow some more now. 


    That would be me!   I decided to leave them and they seem to have come round a bit. 

    I'm still undecided what to do as they have grown and look stronger. 

    I plant veg. summer/early autumn on the basis that it will take a couple of months to grow but it never does.  It just sort of 'stops'.

    I think that this will be the last winter that I try and grow stuff - it's too wild and windy where we are :)


     


    At about 750 feet on the western edge of The Pennines.  Clay soil.  
  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    Leave your leeks. They look absolutely fine to me. They should get away when the weather improves. I sowed some in Oct. that are still waiting to go out into the garden. They are about the same size as yours. They will be ready to crop around July. Give yours a light dusting of Fish, Blood and Bone or Growmore now, other brands available. I doubt if they will need watering. Leeks are a slow growing veg. You could start some more seed off now but they will not be ready to crop until Sept.
    Someone posted similar to this a while ago,  I would dump those and sow some more now. 


    That would be me!   I decided to leave them and they seem to have come round a bit. 

    I'm still undecided what to do as they have grown and look stronger. 

    I plant veg. summer/early autumn on the basis that it will take a couple of months to grow but it never does.  It just sort of 'stops'.

    I think that this will be the last winter that I try and grow stuff - it's too wild and windy where we are :)


     



  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    If you don’t need the pots then leave them,  the only way to learn is by trying.
    if it doesn’t work you won’t do it again,  if it does then all well and good.

    I’d get some seeds in quick now though as time’s running out for this year. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • InTheMoorlandsInTheMoorlands Posts: 161

    Thanks Lyn and Joyce for your replies.  Different views, but this is the world of gardening where things don’t always work as predicted.  I retired a couple of years ago having formerly been a Chartered Accountant and still expect things to ‘add up’ the same way twice - i've found out that is not the world of gardening😊

    I didn't realise that they grew so slowly, so I'll keep and eye on them and review the situation when I put the potatoes in some time in April.



     







    At about 750 feet on the western edge of The Pennines.  Clay soil.  
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    But they don’t grow slowly,    Seeds are up,  I will be planting them in the ground in about  4/6 weeks and eating them by October.  I only pick them as I need them, they’ll  live quite happily  through most of the winter.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • pinutpinut Posts: 194
    Leeks, like bulbing onions, can be harvested at any time during their life cycle - both are good spring onion substitutes when the green leaves are harvested young.

    In the second year of growth, they will produce a scape (a central stalk containing a flower head) which can also be harvested and eaten. This action will prolong its lifespan and redirect energy into fattening it up.

    Leeks are prized for their fat blanched white stems so, if growing in a container such as a pot, bucket or tub, start the seeds off in a small amount of compost, say, 6-8cm deep then mound up by adding more compost as they grow. This action will exclude light from the buried stem producing the blanched effect.

    Rotate the container (if possible) a quarter turn every few days to give the seedlings an even distribution of sun light and, hence, encouraging an even growth.

    If transplanting into heavy soil, dib the hole to the diameter you want them to grow to. The depth will be determined by the height of the seedling - when dropped into the hole, it should poke out about an inch (25.4mm) above the surface. Do not backfill with soil. The roots and foilage can be trimmed to ease this action.


  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I don’t bother about raising soil around them but make a deep hole on planting, just drop them in and I then have plastic tubing cut into lengths that slot over the tops. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Leeks are good to harvest all winter but they need to have got most of their growing done over the summer from a spring sowing. They pretty much stand still over the winter, as you've found. Whether they'll carry on getting bigger now that the weather's warming up a bit and the daylight is getting longer and brighter, or decide it's their second year and run up to seed instead, I don't know.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Ha!  I sowed leeks 2 years ago.  Planted them out.  Pretty sad story for the leeks.  They are growing nicely now (2 years on) .... about middle finger thin, green and healthy.  Will watch their progress!  Am in no hurry.

    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

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