Leeks

Leeks planted in a trench ©Janet Allen
Leeks planted in a trench

After starting leeks indoors in a pot, we separate them, and then plant the young plants in a trench.

As they grow, we fill in the trench. This is done to produce more white area of the leek.

A method that our son told us about and that we have used for the past couple of years is to let the leek seedlings get larger in the pots. Then when transplanting we use a dowel to make a hole in the prepared soil, trim the roots of each seedling, and drop it in the hole 3 to 4 inches deep, pushing soil around its base so that the rest of the hole fills in. This doesn't require digging a trench or filling in the trench as the leeks grow.

Young leek plants ©Janet Allen
Young leek plants

Leeks are really easy to grow. Here are the young leek plants.

Leeks growing ©Janet Allen
Leeks growing

They're getting bigger.

Leeks ©Janet Allen
They still need to grow a bit.

We don't do much but wait as they get bigger.

 ©Janet Allen
Mature leeks

Here they're ready for harvest. We cut off the root and top and remove some outer leaves so they're easier to clean

After overwintering ©Janet Allen
Leeks in spring after overwintering

The first year we neglected to harvest all the leeks in the fall, we saw pretty bedraggled looking plants in the spring.

Fortunately, we didn't just throw them on the compost because they were delicious sautéed as a vegetable. We have recently learned that the leeks will overwinter much better it they are covered with a foot of leaves or other mulch in the late fall.

Problems

Onion maggot ©Janet Allen
Infested by worms

We're rarely had problems with leeks, but after many problem-free years, this was a surprise. Many of the leeks had been infested with small worms — onion maggots. (The article in the sidebar suggests row covers in the spring to prevent the fly from laying eggs.)

Harvest record

YR LB Notes
15
14 8
13 8 Each year part of harvest is from current year, part from previous year
12 8
11 8
10 1
09 8