growing leeks the easy way

[Two_Sheds]

how to grow onions: plant a fully grown onion from the grocery store. In the spring you'll get lots of green material, when that dies back you can harvest your onions. That's it.

That's what I've been doing wrong all these years


How to plant spring (green) onions: plant a green onion in the ground from the grocery store. Bunch them together because that way they multiply more...

[Two_Sheds]

How To Kill Weeds

cover them with dead leaves in the fall. They will die over the winter and in the spring you have nice clean soil

(until the weed seeds germinate that is ~ they normally die over winter, lol)

[Two_Sheds]

She likes to clear up all her fall leaves every week or so, but hardly ever in the winter and spring

She's now an executive sales assistant for http://ouramericanroots.com/

somebody stop me, I have chores to do

[rustylady]

The woman is a right plonker. Let's just feel sorry for the poor souls who actually follow her advice. TwoSheds, do your chores - she's not worth the research you're putting in.

[veggiechicken]

Has anyone actually tried doing what she advises.... cutting off your leeks (anyone know a good plumber?) but leaving the roots in the ground to regrow next year? I do this with lettuce and cabbage and it works and you can also grow runner beans this way though I've never tried it. I think I'll give it a go with the leeks too.

[Two_Sheds]

Has anyone actually tried .... cutting off your leeks ...but leaving the roots in the ground to regrow next year?

Yes I do it, it works well. They regrow immediately, not "next year", as do spring onions

However, if you just plant a fully grown leek from the store, it's going to die or bolt isn't it?
Shall I have a go?

[Aberdeenplotter]

leeks are biennials and will bolt in the second year. That is guaranteed

[veggiechicken]

Thanks Two Sheds - will definitely give it a try. All I need now are some leeks worth cutting.
Last week in Morrisons I bought a load of shallots (round brown things) that were being sold off at 19p. Shall I try planting those or are they likely to be treated with something to stop them shooting?

[zazen999]

Has anyone actually tried doing what she advises.... cutting off your leeks (anyone know a good plumber?) but leaving the roots in the ground to regrow next year? I do this with lettuce and cabbage and it works and you can also grow runner beans this way though I've never tried it. I think I'll give it a go with the leeks too.

I have a perennial leek patch which i leave to go to seed each year as I collect the seeds from them each autumn. If you leave it to grow and harvest before it forms a seed head [very early on in the season] then it's entirely possible.

[Two_Sheds]

You could try, but they probably won't grow (mine from the supermarket didn't)

[Aberdeenplotter]

A leek which throws a seed head has a very hard centre core which would need to be extracted before using the leek. This is the only part of the leek which will survive through to the next season as can be seen from the pic taken by me two mins ago.

[zazen999]

But if you take the seed head core out, it throws up another leek, which doesn't have a hard core for a while, and then after that it throws up a seed head.

[reetnproper]

I think I'll stick to seeds and anyway, (just a thought but ) surely just 'cutting off and letting regrow' would potentially cause the sort of problems that crop rotation is meant to prevent (Which is something she seems wholly oblivious to)?

Reet
x

[Florence Fennel]

Buy it from the grocery store(that's American for supermarket), sneak out and plant it in the dark when no-one's looking, couple of days later harvest it in broad daylight in front of the neighbours.

[Snadger]

But if you take the seed head core out, it throws up another leek, which doesn't have a hard core for a while, and then after that it throws up a seed head.

I think that what happens Zaz is that the leek usually grows a couple of 'king pods' similar to giant onion sets at the base of the flowering stem which grow to form new leeks.. This is probably a genetic 'belt and braces' reaction and means if the seed hasn't set or the flower stem is broken off, at least it will re populate itself to a lesser degree.
What you are then harvesting is the leek from the king pods, but you have to be quick because they to will run to seed quite quickly to give the leek a second chance at seeding.

Clever things these leeks!