About Leeks

To get a great crop of leeks they will need to be sown in early spring or winter if you have a heated greenhouse.

Leeks are a winter vegetable that is ideal to eat as soup. You can also steam them, boil them or use them in stews.

Sowing Leeks

Leeks can be grown for competitions or grown to eat. If you are wanting to grow massive crops it is advised to dig in well rotted manure or compost in the winter.

Leeks are often grown in the ground but you can also grow them in containers. Gardeners put leeks in a different bed when they are starting them off in the ground and then transplant to the main final resting bed after you have used it for the main growing season. This is beacuse they will not be picked until the end of the year so would take up a bed for nearly a whole year.

How to Sow Leeks Video

Here you will be able to see how I sow my leek seeds. Remember to subscribe to to up to date with latest videos

Growing Leeks

Once you have transplanted your leeks into their main area to grow as they get bigger scrape up the soil around them up the stem. This will encourage it to have a longer white stem. Do not let the soil fall in between the leaves though as this will damage the plants.

Harvesting Leeks

It is best to harvest leeks when they are quite small. This will encourage a long harvest period. The best way to harvest is to gentyly lift them using a fork.

You do not need to harvest all the leeks at the same time they can be harvested as and when they are needed for freshness.

Pests and issues

There are only a few issues that effect leeks. These are:-

Leek Moth:-

The leek moth mainly affects leeks on the south east coast of the UK. Although it’s now starting the affect the North. The issue is caterpillers tunneling in to the leaves. This causes the leaves to develop white and brown patches. Worse case scenerio the leeks will rot.

If this happens remove the leeks that are affected and do not plant leeks or onions in the same area for three years.

The way to prevent the moths laying eggs in them is to cover with fleece when planting them out.

Leek Rust:-

This is a diesese on the leeks which causes them to get bright yellow spots on the leaves.

The way to fix this issue is to not crowd plants when planting them out as this causes humidity and can increase the likelihood of infection on the plant.

If you see this happen dispose of the affect plants and do not grow leeks, onions and garlic there for the next three years.

You can find out more information on Leek here. You can also learn about growing other vegetables here. Why not try growing your own flowers with our tips here.