Leeks again!

[phleeps]

I'm sorry to keep harking on about my b****y leeks, but I'm getting SOOOO confused about what to do!

Basically I sowed them in an indoor seed tray about 3 weeks ago, with a view to eventually putting them into my raised bed outdoors. Thre are now around a dozen thin green shoots about the size and height of a blade of grass. I am really not sure what to do now - someone posted me to say transplant them into pots about 6' wide as the seed tray won't be deep enough to allow the roots to develop. I don't have enough pots, but my plan was to transplant them into some peat pots I have (which are about the size of the average drinking glass), then put them in my cold frame for a couple of weeks to harden off and then put them into my raised bed.

Bearing in mind I am a complete beginner, can anyone help?

[Victoria26]

I sow mine in a plant pot outside and when they have about 5 leaves each I take the clump out the pot - pull them apart - trim the roots and stick them as deep as i can in a hole made with a pencil.

Not failed yet...

Yours sound fine - If you put them in individual pots then they'll be fine. They're pretty hardy.

[Capsid]

I sow around 100 seeds in 5-7" pots which are reasonably deep and then when they are about 6-8" tall the leeks get planted out in holes.

Leeks develop long roots so the seed tray will hinder that. I'd just transplant them into a deeper container. Putting them into peat pots will be time consuming.

[phleeps]

Yours sound fine - If you put them in individual pots then they'll be fine. They're pretty hardy.[/QUOTE]

Should I create a larger hole and drop the seedlings in followed by a watering, as the general advice would seem to indicate? Or should I transplat the clump of soil they are in as well?

[Capsid]

If I understand you correctly. They are too young to plant out in the beds now. You need to wait until the stems are pencil thick. For now, take your clump of twelve (only twelve?) seedlings with soil and put them in a deeper and bigger pot and then let them grow on for planting out around May/June.

[phleeps]

Gotcha, cheers mate!

(Yes only 12 so far - like I said i'm taking small steps for now! Might sow a few directly into the soil come the warmer weather next month).

[DIGDEEP]

Leeks

I always use the poly containers that supermarkets sell milk in. Use a sharp knife and cut just below the handle, put 3 or 4 holes in the bottom and you have an ideal container for deep rooted plants.

[Victoria26]

Deep Dig I do this too with a lot of my seeds. Best to recycle and all that.

You can transplant your seedlings now into a deeper pot and when they're thick enough plant them outside.
But theres still time so you can sow direct into the soil and they'll be fine too.

This might help;

BBC - Gardening - Basics - Growing leeks

[roadkill]

i have just taken mine out of the seed tray today and put them in the ground in a what i call a nursery bed , they will be in there for the next six weeks then i will remove them and plant them in there final places

cheers roadkill

[Eyren]

Isomeone posted me to say transplant them into pots about 6' wide as the seed tray won't be deep enough to allow the roots to develop.

That was me - sorry if I confused you, but I wasn't clear on how deep your peat pots were

As everyone has said, you just need to transplant them somewhere they have room to grow longer roots, as a seed tray is too shallow. Width isn't important, as long as they have the extra depth - a good 3 or 4 inches rather than the inch or so you get in a seed tray. Right now I have about 30 or 40 in a pot 8" across and 8" deep, but that's because I happened to have a couple of old plastic plant pots that size.

So, you could put yours in pots or in a "nursery bed" (which is just a posh name for a spare patch of soil!), then when they are about the thickness of a pencil, move them to their final growing position.

[Matt.]

I'd stick with the the seed tray for now and make a note to use a pot next time. The seedlings will be too small to move now and you risk damaging them and getting nothing. Just leave them be until they get to cocktail-stick thickness as a minimum then move them. You can always try sowing a new packet in a deeper pot and then keep the best performers.

It takes a while so as long as they stay watered try to forget them. Its so easy to kill with love at this stage!

[zazen999]

I'm with Matt...leave for now. Allium roots will deal with the seed tray size and don't forget that alot of people actually trim the roots when they transplant so if you lose a few, don't worry. When the roots are sticking out the bottom, you could transfer the whole tray into a seed bed and let them spread down a bit.

Leeks are so ridiculously hardy, they will be fine.

[Jillyreeves]

I sow mine in a plant pot outside and when they have about 5 leaves each I take the clump out the pot - pull them apart - trim the roots and stick them as deep as i can in a hole made with a pencil.

Not failed yet...

Yours sound fine - If you put them in individual pots then they'll be fine. They're pretty hardy.

Sorry Im new to this, why do you trim the roots

[zazen999]

Sorry Im new to this, why do you trim the roots

Some do, some don't - it's to stimulate them growing when transplanted.

[Jillyreeves]

Thank you zazen999