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This isn't one of my specialities but I'm housebound at the mo and starting off my leeks is something I am able to do so I'll share as I go along.
The process actually started around the beginning of September in 2014. The leeks I selected to put down to seed were the best I had had on the showbench.
The initial process is quite simple. With a large knife, cut off the bottom 6" or so of the leek (the top part is ideal for soup). Peel back the stem so that it is roughly in line with the root plate, cut off the old roots and stick in a bucket of water for a few days till new roots start to appear. If that takes a while, change the water every three or four days.
After roots are visible, pot up in 5 ltre pots of JI3 compost. New leaf growth will become visible within a few days. Grow these on through the winter, taking inside out of the frost when necessary, and the following june/july seed heads will be produced. When the flowers are fully formed, cut off all the individual flowers quite close to the bottom. That can be done with a scissors or sharp knife. Within a few weeks, the seed heads will be covered with green grass like growth. Sometimes known as grass or pips, each individual stem is actually a miniature leek and importantly for exhibition growing, being developed from Vegetative Propagation, will be an exact reproduction of the parent plant. It's important to try to keep that grass growing freshly till around this time of year which is the ideal time to start next years crop.
That takes us nicely to where we are now. Cut each head of grass off leaving around 9" of stem(to use as a handle). Immerse the whole stem including the head in a bucket containing a gallon of water and around 25mls of bleach(I use the one which kills 99% of household germs) and leave for a couple of days. This will kill off any lurking pathogens and should prevent any problems with mould or botrytis.
After the couple of days, the leek pips/grass should happily separate from the head but it may help to cut across the head with a sharp knife and then harvest pips along the cut edge.
I then wrap my pips in strips of kitchen paper and then wet the bundle and leave for several days on the windowsill in a polybag where the pips should then throw lovely clean roots.
That's it for now. Next episode to follow
The process actually started around the beginning of September in 2014. The leeks I selected to put down to seed were the best I had had on the showbench.
The initial process is quite simple. With a large knife, cut off the bottom 6" or so of the leek (the top part is ideal for soup). Peel back the stem so that it is roughly in line with the root plate, cut off the old roots and stick in a bucket of water for a few days till new roots start to appear. If that takes a while, change the water every three or four days.
After roots are visible, pot up in 5 ltre pots of JI3 compost. New leaf growth will become visible within a few days. Grow these on through the winter, taking inside out of the frost when necessary, and the following june/july seed heads will be produced. When the flowers are fully formed, cut off all the individual flowers quite close to the bottom. That can be done with a scissors or sharp knife. Within a few weeks, the seed heads will be covered with green grass like growth. Sometimes known as grass or pips, each individual stem is actually a miniature leek and importantly for exhibition growing, being developed from Vegetative Propagation, will be an exact reproduction of the parent plant. It's important to try to keep that grass growing freshly till around this time of year which is the ideal time to start next years crop.
That takes us nicely to where we are now. Cut each head of grass off leaving around 9" of stem(to use as a handle). Immerse the whole stem including the head in a bucket containing a gallon of water and around 25mls of bleach(I use the one which kills 99% of household germs) and leave for a couple of days. This will kill off any lurking pathogens and should prevent any problems with mould or botrytis.
After the couple of days, the leek pips/grass should happily separate from the head but it may help to cut across the head with a sharp knife and then harvest pips along the cut edge.
I then wrap my pips in strips of kitchen paper and then wet the bundle and leave for several days on the windowsill in a polybag where the pips should then throw lovely clean roots.
That's it for now. Next episode to follow
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