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Re: how big do leeks get?

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

On 09:18 AM 7/10/99 -0700, Dore Tyler wrote:
>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>Kim
>
>They're cheap (free,) available "from stock" at home, I don't have to cut
>them..............
>
>The PVC pipe is a nuisance to deal with: go buy a 10' length, cut, de-burr,
>remove after use..........K.I.S.S. (principle applies here.)
>
>In your dry climate TP rolls should last long enough to do the job.

All of this talk is about using some sort of tubing... I just checked the
2/96 OG issues out of the library (we have a GREAT library, magazines
available on 1 week loans :-) and can now see (first hand) his
recommendations for growing scallions, potatoes, and leeks.  He says:

Dig out the square to a depth of 12 inches (keeping the walls straight, use
a flat sided shovel or trowel).  Put removed soil into a wheelbarrow, mix
in enough compost and leaf mold as necessary to make the mixture "light 'n
fluffy"  (add some sharp sand if you have very heavy clay soil).  At the
bottom of the hole, using a spading fork to loosen/aerate the remaining
soil, then place 2-3 inches of pure compost (not the stuff in the
wheelbarrow) in the hole.  

Plant on top of the compost, not in it.  For scallions, plant 36 per
square, for potatoes plant 1 per square, for leeks plant 9 per square.
Then cover with about 3 inches of the wheelbarrow fluffy soil mix.  Wait.
As the scallion and leek grow, keep covering the emerging seedling,
covering it *almost* to the very top (so that only a little bit is poking
out) each week.  With the potato you don't have to be as aggressive about
covering, you can let the plant stand a few inches above the soil at all
times because you aren't trying to keep the stem white (blanched) with the
soil.

The fluffy soil is supposed to make it easier to harvest the leeks and
scallions, just pull 'em up.

So my question to the list is, has anyone actually tried this?  If so, how
hard is it to keep your hole walls from caving in?  How hard is it to harvest?

Is there any interest in my adding his 10 tips in this article to my square
foot webpage?

jc


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