Wednesday 9 June 2010

Mmmm- Leeks

I absolutely LOVE leeks. We use them all the time at home; one of our absolute favourite vegetables. I was delighted to find that they are also a good crop for the allotment. They are hardy, don't mind a little bit of neglect (always a good thing for me....), and, perhaps most importantly, they do not take up too much space.

I did start a few off from seed last year (Musselburg), but it was not a roaring success. I would have to confess that this was probably my own fault. I started them all off in trays and they did come up, but never really got very big - at least not as big as my books told me they should be for transplanting (i.e. pencil thickness). In the end we got to October, there were a few left sitting in the tray and guilt and a devil-may-care attitude made me stick them in. I put empty toilet rolls around them and walked away. Well, despite all that terrible weather and frost and snow, I still have a few that survived. They are coming up quite fast now and I should have half a dozen or so that will qualify as worth pulling to eat: But half a dozen is not going to go very far!

Having left it rather late to sow from seed I decided to investigate vegetable plants on-line. Suttons and Marshalls both advertised several varieties, but they were expensive and all apart from one, out of stock!

Panic led me to Ebay. There I found a seller advertising at a buy it now price of £3.95 for 40 plants of a variety Dawn Giant. This seemed to me an absolute bargain and so with a certain amount of trepidation I ordered them. They arrived less than 48 hours later in a long box, neatly wrapped in bunches of 8 with plenty of roots and a good deal of moist tissue around them.

That was definite motivation to go up and get them in. I found a small space and made deep holes with the handle of my hoe, popped them in with just a few inches around each one and filled the holes with water. You do not need to backfill leeks with soil when planting. The puddle of water helps the soil find its own level and gently settle around the plants leaving lots of room for those tasty shoots to sweel and grow.

In the end I gave some to my neighbouring plots and a colleague as I had too many for my meagre space.

Next project - I must clear some more ground. I have salad that's sprouting and will want somewhere to be planted out to!

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