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Re: Leeks

Christina wrote:-

>I just planted some leeks in my garden, and for some reason I feel there
>is something special I should do for them, like mounding up soil around
>them as they grow.  They were nursery starts, with about 60 all crammed
>into 6sq in, and I managed to separate them into little clumps of 2 or 3
>for planting.  Any smaller than that and they got too unwieldy.  Any
>advice about leeks?

Usually leeks are planted in the bed after the early new potatoes are
pulled up in July.
You need to plant them when they are about pencil thickness although
thinner is OK if you can handle them.
The traditional method is as follows.

Take a dibber, rake handle, crowbar or anything that you can push into the
soil to make a cylindrical hole about 6 to 9 inches deep,  in rows or
blocks at about 9 to 12 inch apart.
Drop ONE leek plant into each hole and then pour water into the hole; a
process called "puddling in" on this side of the pond.
Do not push the earth back around the transplant and do not worry if it
appears to be down a deep dark hole, it will be perfectly happy.
Some "authorities" suggest that you should trim the roots to one inch and
cut back the leaves to six inches before putting them in their holes. I
have done this in the past and don't find it is any better than not doing
it.

Keep them watered in dry weather to start with, but once established you
don't really need to water them much unless it is really dry and the soil
is dry down to about six inches.

The leek will develop a white stalk underground about as long as the depth
of the hole you made. There is no need to earth up, in fact this can cause
earth to lodge between the leaves and make them difficult to clean and
gritty to eat.
That is also the reason for not backfilling the dibber hole and for the
puddling in process.

Pests and Diseases. Very few. Leeks are essentially trouble free. Leeks can
get most of the diseases of onions, in theory, but rarely seem to do so.
You may get Leek Rust in a warm dry autumn, as we have had here for the
last year or three. But the problem is mainly cosmetic and can be dealt
with by removing infected leaves and prevented to some extent by wider
spacing between plants.
Leek Rust is recognised by small, light-brown, raised patches or pustules
on the leaves. The leaf eventually dies back if not removed. There are
fungicides you can use but not many. They may not be available in the USA.
We can still use Mancozeb (should you want to!) here but I believe it is
banned in the States.

Hope you enjoy your Leeks. They are one of my favourite winter vegetables.
They almost make winter worthwhile.

Regards
Stephen

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Stephen Griffiths, 
34 Fernwood Crescent, London, N20 0RN. UK.
e-mail:- stephen.griffiths@dial.pipex.com
URL:- http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/close/xpz05
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