Leeks - help!

[phleeps]

Have sown some leek seeds in a seed tray which I have been keeping on a south facing windowsill. We've been getting some good (and unexpected) sunshine this week which has left some of the shoots with brown tips and a little pale looking. I had put a propagator lid over the tray to help the seeds germinate in the cooler days, but I left it on for a few of the sunny days and I am afraid I have fried or killed the seedlings.

Any advice?

PS ( I did water them fairly well every few days, so moisture isn't a problem)

[selfraising]

Hi Phleeps
Are they long enough for you to trim the brown tips off?

[Hazel at the Hill]

Where are you in the country Phleeps? (can you pop your location in your profile!)

Leeks are pretty tough cookies, so assuming that you are not in Nova Scotia or similar, as soon as they had germinted on the windowsill I would have put them outside - in a cold frame if you have one.

I'd ignore the brown bits, harden them off by putting them outside (bring them in at night for a few days - especially if it's a cold forecast) and I'm sure that they'll be fine to plant out in a few weeks.

[phleeps]

I'm in Northern Ireland, sorry will update profile.

The longer of the shoots are about 4 inches. Some are still doubled over and haven't stretched out yet, but they're not so brown.

[phleeps]

My plan is to transplant them to some peat pots this weekend and then start to harden them off (should I use a cloche? - I have some old squash bottles cut in half, which i am told will do the job).

[zazen999]

Phleeps - I wouldn't transplant them yet. Just harden off and get them outdoors asap. They really should be pencil size before you transplant them and they are tough enough to sit there for a good few weeks yet...and you'd just be wasting the peat pots by transplanting into them.

[phleeps]

Waht's the best way to harden them off? Should I just place the whole seed tray outdoors with a plastic cover? (Don't have a cold frame/greenhouse and things can get a little rainy here!)

[zazen999]

As soon as mine show they get shoved outdoors as is. Pop them outside in the morning and bring them back in for the evening and leave somewhere cool - in a few days just leave them outdoors.

[Beetroot Bob]

Mine are the same but look ok.

Planting-out Leeks

[Eyren]

I'm using sewer rat's method, which is to sow leeks in a big plant pot and just leave them until they are big enough to plant out. If yours are in a seed tray, I don't know if that's going to be deep enough to give them roots long enough to support good top growth. I would carefully transplant batches of them into large plant pots (at least six inches across), not individual peat pots. No plastic cover - most varieties of leek are hardy plants that can be left outside all winter, after all! - just give them a few days to recover from transplanting then pop them outside during the day and bring them in at night. Do this for about a week, then they can go outdoors full time (I'm going to pop mine, still in the pot, on an unused area of the raised bed). Good luck!

[Two_Sheds]

Have sown some leek seeds in a seed tray which I have been keeping on a south facing windowsill. .. I had put a propagator lid over the tray

Use a lid / propagator to germinate, but then you must take it off or the seedlings will get too hot and damp.

Leeks are tough ... put them in a cooler place (North windowsill?)