Leek 101 Required

[chilliking]

Hi All,

I just bought some leeks (about 2-3" tall in seed cells at the minute). Should I separate them out now or wait until they are bigger? They are all very tightly packed in at the minute.

any advice greatly appreciated.

[chris]

I think the general consensus is that they'll push themselves apart if they're too close together - and when they're around pencil thickness you can seperate them and plant them out in their final locations.

[chilliking]

so should i just plant them in the ground as they are now, then thin out as you say when pencil thickness? the cell tray they came in is very small?!?

[binley100]

I potted my on into bigger pots in small clumps, till I have somewhere free to plant them.

[chris]

so should i just plant them in the ground as they are now, then thin out as you say when pencil thickness? the cell tray they came in is very small?!?

I posted a similar query a while ago, and I think it was zazz that said she planted them out in a clump in a corner of her garden/allotment (seed bed probably?) and then planted on when pencil thickness.

I have to say though, I did grow mine individually in modules, then pricked out into 3" pots. They grew fine until say 3-4mm thick, then flopped over. I tried reducing water, putting outside, etc - nothing helped they started to die off. So i just banged them in my sq ft bed, pretty close together - and in 2 weeks they're pretty much pencil thickness now. Don't know if they used up all the nutrients in the potting compost I used, or what... I didn't expect them to grow anymore - just thought i'd have grass like leeks forever When I checked this morning, even the smallest ones had doubled in size, so quite pleased.

[Shadylane]

Yes it was Zazen. I started mine off in those plastic containers you get grapes in. A few weeks ago I planted them all out in a clump and they are thickening up nicely.

[zazen999]

What'd I do?

Oh leeks - yup! Chuck them in a corner somewhere and ignore until late summer.

[COMPOST CORNER]

I have moved mine from cell trays to flower buckets and they are thickening up nicely, and, as previously mentioned, pushing apart.

[teakdesk]

It does seem to me that (a) leeks like rough treatment and (b) they like to be moved from time to time.

If the seed modules are big enough, ie not the little 1 inch modules, then I'd leave them until they are a big bigger before doing anything with them.

I don't have a place in my garden to plant them before they go into their final positions so I put them into my boxes I made for germinating runner beans (about 16 x 12 inches by 4 inches deep) and follow Zazen's advice and just chuck them around the garden wherever I'm not falling over them.

I originally sow in clumps in modules but if they have grown big enough they are easy to separate and I transplant separately. If they are small then I would be happy to just pop the whole module in. Don't worry about damaging the roots when you transplant, they seem to love it and flourish afterwards.

When they are pencil thickness I use the "dig a 6 inch deep hole, put the leek in, water and leave" method - do not fill the hole with soil like we would do normally. I do trim the roots with scissors if they are very long but otherwise they just go in as they are.

[VJay]

my uncle grows great leeks, he waits until they're pencil thickness or even thicker before planting them out in clay which has been previously dug with manure the year before. I'm trying the same thing this year, so here's hoping.

[VJay]

I've been told today that leeks like watered down cow manure as a feed. Any truth in this?

[jacob]

Oh leeks - yup! Chuck them in a corner somewhere and ignore until late summer.

I'm fascinated by this. Currently my leeks are in a tray planted in a one inch grid, all getting torched in the greenhouse.

So the suggestion is, slide them out of the tray, as is, and bung 'em in the ground until I've dug out my first early spuds?

[zazen999]

I'm fascinated by this. Currently my leeks are in a tray planted in a one inch grid, all getting torched in the greenhouse.

So the suggestion is, slide them out of the tray, as is, and bung 'em in the ground until I've dug out my first early spuds?

Yup.

You got it.

[nuttyrockeress]

Mine are (all bar a few in toilet rolls) in a tray in the GH.

Can I pot them into something a bit deeper and then add them in the garden at a later date when I have more space?

[zazen999]

Mine are (all bar a few in toilet rolls) in a tray in the GH.

Can I pot them into something a bit deeper and then add them in the garden at a later date when I have more space?

You should be able to get about 100 leeks in a space the size of a medium dinner plate; they can be grown really close together until they go into their final positions when the summer crops have all been harvested.

There is no need for them to be in a greenhouse at this time of year! You could pop them in a bucket or big pot for now if you haven't got space.