Leeks for beginners

[Mrs Moustoir]

MMM - you sow your leeks direct. Do you move them or thin and leave them in the same spot?

I've tried both ways - direct sow and greenhouse, then thin and plant outdoors late summer. Can't say there was an awful lot of difference in result between the two methods for me, just more work with the second!

[Millymollymandy]

I do the traditional thing - sow them in a row then when they are pencil thickness I dig them up, trim the roots to about 2", trim the top growth, dib a big hole and drop them in then water in.

I think anyone growing leeks for the first time should just sow direct and see whether that method works for them, otherwise it's a lot more work having to transplant them twice!

[happyigloo]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick update and question. After the initial growth my leeks have peeked at about 3-4cm tall. They've been like this for a few weeks now. They have been getting watered every day and seem healthy. It really doesn't look like they are going to get any bigger.

Will just take a chance and plant them out after a bit of acclimatisation in a cold frame or am I being inpatient?

Googled it and someone else was advised to check put them out....

Any advice much appreciated.

[Peggy Sue]

Leeks are really slow beasts. Biggest risk seems to be when they go out is heat shock, so pick a time when it's not too hot to transplant & water lots. The ones I started ina pot in autumn went out about a month ago (not pencil thickness but really pot bound!) and they are just starting to look happy having watered like mad for weeks. The ones I started in a pot this spring are about 2" so I'll leave them a bit longer. The ones I had sewn direct in spring are barely up.

[happyigloo]

Cool, thanks for the advice. Will get them out soon enough.