Pot on leeks?

[noviceveggrower]

Hi,
I never have any luck with leeks or toms so I planted loads of them in seed trays. Of course they have all popped up.
So here is my question. My leeks are doing fairly well but do I need to or should I pot them on?
They are still a bit thin but big enough to handle. Just don't want to do anything daft with them as I've managed to get them this far.
Thanks

[BertieFox]

I have frequently tried growing leeks in pots or seed trays but they remain tiny and fiddly to handle until planted out somehow. They are much better sown in a soil bed somewhere where they can grow on to the size where you can dig them out and dib them on.

Trying to pot them on would be an amazingly fiddly job and with no guarantee of success. If they are large enough to handle, I would try to carefully plant them out in a bed by dibbing small holes for them with a pencil or similar implement, assuming they are tiny seedlings. Settle them in with a small amount of sieved compost, and water well.

I planted out some tiny leeks from modules in this way a month or so ago and they rapidly grew into much larger plants in this situation. The ones still in the greenhouse restricted in trays just don't grow much more. Last year I ended up with a seed pan full of tiny leek plants and unless planted early enough they won't have time to grow to sizeable plants.

Leeks need lots of water and a good rich soil.

[Shadylane]

I sow mine in a plastic tub. Around April/May I plant the whole lot out in a block (the roots should have formed a mat making it easy to pop them out of the tub) on the allotment. I cover them with a bit of chicken wire to stop the wabbits and leave them until late May/June when I dib them in. As Bertie sez they never seem to fatten up while kept in trays or pots.

[Bill HH]

Leeks are better sown in a container that is about 6 to 8 inches deep and when germinated thinned out to about an inch between each. in a tray the long roots soon run out of space and become entangled. I agree you need to get them out of the tray as soon as possible. it may be better to place them in their final position now than to try potting them on. They sound rather small so either way is risky. You could try both ways.

[Bren In Pots]

I sow mine in a plastic tub. Around April/May I plant the whole lot out in a block (the roots should have formed a mat making it easy to pop them out of the tub) on the allotment. I cover them with a bit of chicken wire to stop the wabbits and leave them until late May/June when I dib them in. As Bertie sez they never seem to fatten up while kept in trays or pots.

I do the same thing but instead I sow mine in one of those baskets you use for pond plants.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I start my leeks and spring onions in 3" pots that makes it very easy to pot on.

If they are in a seed tray what about a fish slice to lift a section of seedlings out without to much damage and put that section on top of a deeper container to allow further growth? Before planting out individually.

[BertieFox]

Sowing them in a small pot and then planting the whole pot out for them to grow big enough to transplant is such a good idea.... makes me wonder why I didn't think of such a simple but effective solution! That sounds to be the perfect way to get them sown and going early without having the fiddle of dealing with tiny seedlings.

Thanks to Shadylane for that idea!

[Chris172]

Sowing them in a small pot and then planting the whole pot out for them to grow big enough to transplant is such a good idea.... makes me wonder why I didn't think of such a simple but effective solution! That sounds to be the perfect way to get them sown and going early without having the fiddle of dealing with tiny seedlings.

Thanks to Shadylane for that idea!

Hi i am new to the game and this is my first response on the vine here goes

over the past 2 years after i read about leeks i followed a guide i read in a book. i planted my leek seeds in 12inch pots march and by mid june all my pots were crammed full of leeks not just quite the thickness of a pencil, however after tipping out and letting the block of tangled roots soak in a bucket for half an hour i unravled them trimmed the roots and planted as in text book in hole watering in only.

two years on very successsful leeks which have been ready for harvest from February through to now where i still have about forty in the ground which are bound for the freezer this week

So my leeks are now in their pots awaiting the time of planting late June

Happy gardening


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[Shadylane]

Sowing them in a small pot and then planting the whole pot out for them to grow big enough to transplant is such a good idea.... makes me wonder why I didn't think of such a simple but effective solution! That sounds to be the perfect way to get them sown and going early without having the fiddle of dealing with tiny seedlings.

Thanks to Shadylane for that idea!

Welcome. Can't really take credit though, just one of the many ideas I got from this fab forum. The first year I sowed them individually in loo rolls What a faff that was.

[Chris172]

Hi when my leeks are ready I will post a few pictures as I have not had any problems with growing them and when planted they are a good size

Happy gardening to all by the way the weeds are growing faster than any fruit and veg I can plant now


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[Samuel1988]

**Reads whilst contemplating how to deal with the thousands of leek seedlings sown in seed trays**

[Shadylane]

Dib enough in for your needs and put the rest (if you really have that many) in trenches/clumps and harvest as baby leeks.

[Jay22]

My nice neighbour has just given me a little tray of leek seedlings...question is, as a rookie, what do I now?

[Shadylane]

Soak them first, then separate them and plant each one individually either as is or by 'dibbing' in. Make a hole with a dibber or just dig a narrow hole about 6 inch deep or so, drop the leek in, then water into the hole, allowing the water to take some soil into the hole. No need to back fill with soil. What I do, is dib the holes first, them pop all the leeks in, then walk down the bed watering them in.

[Jay22]

Thank you Shadylane! Great forum, everyone has been so helpful!