Blanching leeks

[bussinspain]

Advice needed from some of you gurus please. I have just bought a length of plastic downpipe to cut up into lengths to help blanch my leeks this year. I have 3 questions.
1. do I put the length of pipe into the planting hole and then pop my leek seedling in?
or
2. Do I wait until the leek has grown and then place the pipe on top of the soil surface over the leeks?
and
3. What would be a good length of pipe to cut?

I do not need enormous leeks as there is just the 2 of us to feed. The downpipe internal dimension is 42mm.

Thanks guys and gals.

[Scoot]

I just use toiled roll middles lol.

Plonk my leeks into a 6 inch hole, once the hole has back filled itself and the leek are growing, i just cut the toilet roll down the middle length ways. I can then shape it and fit it around my leeks. As they grow i just snip the toilet roll middle off and attach a bigger one.

That's probably no help to you whatsoever though.

[WendyC]

Do you mean guttering or downpipe? Can't see how guttering would work, unless you have two halves to fit together, but that sounds fiddly.

[bussinspain]

Do you mean guttering or downpipe? Can't see how guttering would work, unless you have two halves to fit together, but that sounds fiddly.

Downpipe. Hubby will cut it to lengths for me.

[greenishfing]

I just earth mine up a couple of times and they end up looking like my rows of potatoes.

[Bigmallly]

Cut it into 12" lengths, plant the leek then place the pipe over the leek a couple of inch into the soil...............voila.

[Bal]

I didn't blanch my leeks just put them in their little holes and left them to it. They are now a lovely size. But no particularly white bits. Is it to late to remedy this ?

[Bal]

Did I just hijack this thread. Still not sure on thread etiquette

[Lumpy]

I grow mine until they are big enough to handle in pots and then use a woodrn spoon handle to make a deep hole. Shove, sorry tenderly place the leek in then water the ell out of it to get the soil to surround it.

I seem to get 50 50's - half white and half green.

I suppose it depends how much white leek you prefer.

[Bal]

I like the green bit. Adds colour when they are cooked

[Ananke]

I've never used blanching collars but these leeks were grown to about 12 inches and put in approx 10 inch dibbed holes to get this amount of white so maybe 8/10 inches of pipe would have the same effect?