When and how to replant my leeks?

[IainM]

Hi all,
So, last week I removed an old chicken coop from the garden, and dug in some soil enricher and chicken pellets, and was planning on planning something... until I walked past the home and garden shop down the road and impulse bought some onion sets and plants: chard, carrots, spinach and leeks. I seperated them all out, googled 'plant spacing', and put them in the ground with about the right distance between them, watered them in, and they appear very happy. Only later did I decide to find out how to actually grow them and realise that I hadn't buried the leeks deep enough or made a proper hole with broom handle / makeshift dibber.

So, they've been an inch in the ground and growing happily since the tail end out our "mini summer". Should I take them out and replant them as soon as possible? Or could I let them grow a bit taller and then re-plant them deeper than I would be able to now, and end up with longer leeks? I should add that this is my first season growing anything, so any advice will be gratefully recieved.

Thanks in advance.

[bikermike]

would it not be less disruptive to earth up between them?
(how shallow are they? I doubt it will be a significant problem unless they are right on the surface. I'd think you'd get more green and less white stem on the leek if too shallow)

[Jungle Jane]

You can wait till they’re a bit bigger,some people do what you’ve done & first put them out into a nursery bed & then plant out after that or you could move them now get the job done & forgotten about,depends what you want to do.

[Snoop Puss]

I've seen them in France treated the way you've done it: plant out seedlings relatively shallow then lift and plant out deeper in their final positions at a later stage, often after potatoes. So, you can leave them where they are temporarily or lift them now and plant them out deeper if you have the space. Some old boys believe that this repeated lifting and replanting makes them grow thicker. I can't vouch for that, but they'll be perfectly all right being disturbed now or later.

Edited to add: Snap, Jungle Jane.

[IainM]

Wow. Thanks guys. I will plant them deeper, but at least I can do it when I get time to enjoy doing it, as opposed to having to rush out after the kids are in bed for a bit of midnight dibbing.