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Why are my Musselburgh leeks bolting? Four or five of them have gone over in the last week or so, and I fear for the rest. I know a general reason is a cold snap, but I'm not aware that temperatures have dropped that much (and neither are my courgettes which are still happily producing as if it were midsummer). Any suggestions?
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Mine have been bolting for a few weeks, prior to the recent colder weather. First time I've grown leeks so I'm no idea why, but I don't think it's good as the two I did pull up seemed to be damaged by the act of bolting (bulb was split).
EDIT - mine are Musselburgh and Lyon - both are bolting.Last edited by Kaiya; 21-09-2012, 03:25 PM.Proud member of the Nutters Club.
Life goal: become Barbara Good.
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yep all of my leeks have bolted to - and again its the weather to blame, just snap the seed heads off as they appear and they should be fine. Infact i pulled one of mine (it was bent over) and we are having it tonight in a stew
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Leeks won't bolt in the cold, but they may produce flower heads if a cold period is followed by a warm period. They think it's spring following the winter and need to reproduce.Originally posted by Barking Postlethwaite View PostComment
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Leeks will bolt if they have been stressed in anyway all the way back to when they were small plants. Classic reason canbe because they havebeen kept too dry. Tjhis year evenexhibition growers are suffering and we are putting it down to the lack of sunshine and the desire of the leeks to keep the bloodline going before they snuff it.Comment
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They're still edible though - cut the flower off...
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Yes, I now appreciate (which I hadn't understood before) that a chilling episode triggering bolting can be something that happened when they were seedlings rather than an event in the last few weeks. I don't think dryness can have been an issue for me this year - there's been more danger of them being washed away!Originally posted by Aberdeenplotter View Post
Are certain varieties more prone to bolting than others? I'm not committed to Musselburgh in any case - mine seem to have a lot of floppy green leaf up top whereas I'd prefer more white stem. Is there a different variety that might be more suitable, and is it true I can influence the amount of stem vs leaf according to how deeply I plant them? I'm sure I've heard this somewhere.Comment
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Half of our leeks have bolted. The other half don't look brilliant to be honest. Most are a bit slender compared with 'normal' years (I'm prepared to blame the weather for everything this year).
I don't roll on ShabbosComment
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The white stem will only be produced where light is excluded so yes, plant them deeper.Originally posted by Barking Postlethwaite View PostComment
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