Leeks don’t need a huge amount of attention but there are three top tips that we’d like to share with you so that you can get the best results from yours this year.
- Most of our leek plug plants will come with multiple seedlings per plug. They’ll be about the thickness of chives or spring onions. Gently tease the seedlings apart to plant each separately for best results.
- Plant leeks 20cm apart in beds or deep (40cm) rectangular containers. To plant your leeks, use a stick (a short bamboo cane usually works) to make a hole approx 15-20cm deep. Pop your leek plant in making sure the roots are properly in the hole and at the bottom. Then fill the hole with water and leave it to soak in. You don’t need to firm the soil in, just leave the hole to naturally fill up.
- Once the leeks reach the same thickness as a pencil or a sharpie pen, you can earth them up slightly. This will block the sunlight to give you a whiter, tastier stem. Simply draw up some soil into a little mound around the base of the leek.
- Make sure you keep leeks weed-free and well-watered. When you’re weeding, be careful not to disturb the leeks themselves (using an onion hoe works well)
Finally, here’s one extra tip for you….for a really great, longer harvest, order double the quantity of leek plants. Instead of planting them 20cm apart, pop them into the ground 10cm apart. Sounds too close together? Don’t worry…when they reach baby leek size in early summer you can carefully pull up every other leek in the row for some tasty baby leek dishes, leaving the remaining leeks to carry on growing in the extra space until autumn when they’ll reach full size.