Leeks - When do I plant them in the ground?

[iGrowVeg]

Hi another question this time about leeks, I am also growing these for the first time. Varieties Pandora and Bandit. They have been in my root-trainers for a few months now and I am hoping to put them in the ground after I pull up my overwintering onions.

Is June the correct month to do this or am I too late / early?

Any tips on planting in the ground would be great too.

Thanks
Regards
Tracey

[phil the shed]

welcome igrowveg.
i dont know about the others but i tend to plant mine when my early potatoes come out so now or rather soon..
i'm still eating my earlies from the growbags in the garden.
if your rotating then you may be extending the allium bed well into next season
phil

[chrissie the chippy]

Just being nosey wondering how thick your leeks are?

It says to plant them out when they are pencil thin....... but mine are more like pencil lead thin! Would they be ok to go out at that size or should I wait..... they don't seem to be growing very fast

[Mchanen]

Mine are really skinny too, i did plant a few out to see what would happen and they are happily growing- think i'm gonna plant some more out at the weekend too.

[snake the squadie]

i am the same as phil and plant mine where my first earlis came out of. my first ones went in at yhe weekend and they were only pencil lead thick but have done this for a few years now and never had any probs but i do plant them quite deep "2inch"

[iGrowVeg]

Chrissie, mine are not as thick as a pencil but I'm wondering how much more thickness they can actually grow in a root trainer cell, it was the only deep pot thing I had so have grown them in there.
I was hoping to pull up my onions and plant my leeks in their place.

Here's a picture of my leeks:

[zazen999]

What I do is to pop them in a space somewhere, for the next few months. Then - as you get space, you can pull a few out of the space and plant them into final positions.

Leeks take SO long to grow, mine are less than pencil thin but were sown in small pots or modules in bunches.

I wouldn't waste a roottrainer on them! Find a corner somewhere, dig to the depth of the root trainer and bung them all in. Then transplant deeper into their final positions when you have the space.

I used jiffy 7s this year for springs; in bunches, and along with the module method, is definitely the way for me.

[Gwyndy]

Your leeks look fine to me. Planted mine out last weekend. Do you know about trimming roots and tops? The 'traditional' way of planting out leeks is to trim the roots back and trim off some of the top growth. Make a hole about 6" deep and about 1" or so diameter, drop trimmed leek in, and water in to hole. Don't fill hole in with soil - let this just happen. (Watering and rain will wash the soil in to the hole.)

[iGrowVeg]

Gwyndy, thanks for your advice I knew about not filling the holes with soil but not about trimming the roots or how deep to plant.

At the moment I don't have a spare spot for planting them zazen999 so they will have to stay in the root trainers until my onions come out.

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I feel better in knowing my leeks are ok and what to do next with them! Thanks.