Leek question

[cabbagepatchkid]

First time growing leeks (first time growing many things!) so a daft question: if I'm sowing leeks in a tray of compost, do I have to pot them on as they grow or do they stay in the tray until they are big enough to be transplanted to final position? Should I be sowing them in individual modules instead? And if they are being potted on as they grow, should they be firmed into their new pots (i.e. snugly surrounded by compost) or should they be placed into a hole and puddled in like when they go into final positions?

Edited to add: no space for a seed bed, so I have to start them off in pots/trays.

[nickdub]

No such thing really as a daft question, particularly when its your first time doing something.

There's no precisely right answer to your leek query, as there are a lot of ways round it and so gardeners successfully do different things.

My suggestion is just what I'd do based on what is likely to work out being the least amount of work balanced against the best chance of having no problems. I'd start with some fairly deep pots say 5" across or bigger and fill them almost to the top with compost. Then put a pinch of leek seeds say between 10 and 20 on the top - cover with a very small amount of compost and give the lot a bit of water. Then depending on how you are fixed for space put them on a board or tray and cover with a plastic bag, leave somewhere warm inside until they start to germinate ie about a week. Once up they should then go somewhere v light but not too warm eg a cold-fame, a poly-tunnel or similar. When they are sturdy enough and the weather has warmed up say in roughly 6 weeks time, knock the whole pot out and plant the lot as is in the ground out of the way somewhere ie don't try dividing them at this time.
Finally when space starts becoming available in the garden in late summer - for a lot of people this is when they start digging up their potatoes - then the leeks can go in their final places. Lift your group of leeks with a fork and bung the bundle on a bucket of water. Get or make a dibber (eg a broken spade handle) and push it down in to the ground to make a hole about 8" deep - drop in one leek per hole - when you've done a wadge, water them with a hose or can so that some earth falls in to cover the roots.

[lottie dolly]

Just to add,the hole is left to fill in naturally after the first water in the roots,i have also,made a slit with a little trowel,and sliped the pencil sized baby leek into,i have also had some self seed,they grew just as good,i like your method of a big pot Nick,and space the seed out,or a trough,

[nickdub]

Yes, no really wrong way to do this. Some old books advise making a row as you would for say carrots and sowing the seed direct, then just leaving them until harvest time.

I reckon that would be a labour saving method, but I'd hesitate to recommend it, as it relies a) on knowing when the seed will germinate OK outside and b) on having a large quantity of seed, as was the case with packets in the old days, so if some was lost, it really didn't make much difference.

[cabbagepatchkid]

Thank you, that's really helpful! So they don't need light to germinate, only warmth? Also, I don't have a spare patch of ground until the early potatoes are up, so after 6 weeks can I just put them in a larger pot?

[nickdub]

Thank you, that's really helpful! So they don't need light to germinate, only warmth? Also, I don't have a spare patch of ground until the early potatoes are up, so after 6 weeks can I just put them in a larger pot?

You're very welcome. No, only a few types of seed really respond to light when germinating and leeks aren't one of those.

Not precisely sure what you mean by "a spare patch of ground until the early potatoes are up ... " but anyway I reckon you can get away with leaving the leek seedlings in their pots for quite a while, as long as they are not too crowded. If you think it may be 8 weeks or so before you have room in the garden then just sow a few less seeds in each pot. BTW its not at all necessary that each pot full is planted next to another, so if you have a bit of space at the end of a row of spuds you can bung one or two pot-fulls there etc .

It can be a right pain having things in pots in the summer months, because they need watering all the time - best to get them in the ground as soon as reasonably safe, and let nature take care of the work.

[Snoop Puss]

^You're not MoM for nothing!

[nickdub]

^You're not MoM for nothing!

:-) got to look after my "seedlings"

[Thelma Sanders]

I sowed my leek seeds yesterday. I sow them in rows, about an inch apart, into either a deep cat litter tray, or an oblong washing up bowl (with holes made in the bottom for drainage), filled with compost. As they germinate pull out any that are too close together, I'm useless at seed spacing
Leave them growing until after the early potatoes are lifted. If they look a bit tired they get a liquid feed or two, but apart from remembering to keep them watered, that's it.

They take a bit of effort to pull/slice apart at dibbing-in time, but the roots really don't mind a bit of breakage - some people always trim leek roots at planting time just to get them into the planting holes, anyway

[cabbagepatchkid]

Thank you again! What I meant was, there is no space to get them in the ground (as every inch of the allotment is accounted for!) until the early potatoes get lifted, then the leeks will go into that spot.

[nickdub]

Thank you again! What I meant was, there is no space to get them in the ground (as every inch of the allotment is accounted for!) until the early potatoes get lifted, then the leeks will go into that spot.

OK, I'm with you - If your allotment is full to the brim, perhaps one of the neighbours with plots could help you out ? A few seedlings in return for hosting yours for 6 weeks or so, would seem like a fair bargain :-)

[Penellype]

What I do when everywhere is full is put buckets of things on paths. Its not difficult to either step over them or lift them out of the way if you need access. You could sow your leeks into a bucket or something similar, and keep it on a path temporarily until the potatoes have finished.