Leeks are a member of the onion family that over winter very well and can be harvested from early autumn to spring the following year.
Sow seeds indoors in seed trays covering the seeds with 1cm of compost or outdoors in drills 1cm deep. When the young leeks are 15 -20cm tall or the thickness of a pencil, dig up a handful of plants and place them in a bucket half filled with water then tease the plants apart. Prepare a bed and mark off rows 30cm apart, use a dibber to make a hole 15cm deep and 15cm between plants. Do not fill the holes with soil, but water in each plant.
Start harvesting the leeks when the body of the plant is about 25cm thick. Use a fork to gently loosen the roots and pull the leek out of the soil. Cut off the top of the foliage and trim the roots off, strip the external leaves from the stem to sound leaves.
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Harvest |
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Harvest |