# Growing Leeks



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I have never had leeks in my garden and I am wondering if anyone on here has any experience with growing them?

Do you start them from seed, or from starts, like onions? Do you plant them in the early spring, or in the fall? Are leeks something that you can plant and let grow in a forever plot, harvesting them as you want and need?

I think they like sandy soil, and probably not the clay that I am always working against.

Thanks, in advance.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

We tried this year for the first time. Soil was heavy in clay (we're working on that), and they didn't grow at all. I may not have any advice, but at least you know someone else failed trying it, too


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

I planted some leeks with seeds in my raised bed, thing is I've been so busy on other projects I really haven't taken care of them as I should have. They seem to be hardy because they are still alive even without regular watering, they just didn't get big enough to use but I will plant some more, maybe done in my garden area where they will get more sun.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

We've planted them for the past several years and had some luck, they dont seem to like the Texas weather.

I sow the seeds outside(early) in a well prepared bed, keep them covered if frost threatens then when they are about 6 - 8 inches high and the last frost has passed, I dig them up and transplant in in well composted soil.

I use a shovel and dig up a scoop, put it into water and let the soil dissolve then gently separate the individual leeks for transplanting.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Wow, it sure doesn't sound good for success in growing leeks. I will give it a try and make sure they are planted in a bed that has lots of compost. I also notice they tend to have sand on them when I buy them, so maybe some sandy soil would be good for them as well.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

My leeks like cool weather best ... They are one of the first crops out.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

A few years ago while looking for leek seeds I did a search for "Giant Leeks" and almost had to get a new keyboard. I thought the pics I came up with were fake but after doing some reading found they did actually grow to be giants.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gia...niv&sa=X&ei=p8YoVJ-CG8OqyASFj4Bo&ved=0CCQQsAQ

Most of the seed sources were in the UK so I didn't try to order any.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Davarm said:


> A few years ago while looking for leek seeds I did a search for "Giant Leeks" and almost had to get a new keyboard. I thought the pics I came up with were fake but after doing some reading found they did actually grow to be giants.
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=gia...niv&sa=X&ei=p8YoVJ-CG8OqyASFj4Bo&ved=0CCQQsAQ
> 
> Most of the seed sources were in the UK so I didn't try to order any.


WOW!

I read some where that it took two years for seeds/ bulbletts to grow big enough to be harvested.
You can grow leeks & walking onions in a perennial bed & pull them as you need them after the 2nd year.
I have onions, but have not tried the leeks yet.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I think of times when food is scarce. I imagine the possibilities of soup, until many of you are sick to death of it. But not me! 

I think of having little, but needing to serve it in a way that it can get shared out evenly to the family. That is one of the reasons I am wondering about leeks, something that could grow in the garden and be harvested as needed, such as potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> I think of times when food is scarce. I imagine the possibilities of soup, until many of you are sick to death of it. But not me!
> 
> I think of having little, but needing to serve it in a way that it can get shared out evenly to the family. That is one of the reasons I am wondering about leeks, something that could grow in the garden and be harvested as needed, such as potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables.


Sunchoke, garlic,onions, collards & other greens, you are making me hungry!
A hand full of roots, a few hands fully fine chopped greens, a leek or two & you could eat for a day or two on it.:factor10:


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

crabapple said:


> Sunchoke, garlic,onions, collards & other greens, you are making me hungry!
> A hand full of roots, a few hands fully fine chopped greens, a leek or two & you could eat for a day or two on it.:factor10:


Sunchoke-- there are none in my grocery store, no recipes that I have ever seen, seems like something mysterious. I have researched them, but they are a mystery, it seems.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> Sunchoke-- there are none in my grocery store, no recipes that I have ever seen, seems like something mysterious. I have researched them, but they are a mystery, it seems.


http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/jerusalem-artichokes-sunchokes-26309/#post370598

I found about 5 kinds on the net, but the wild kind is as good as any.
I eat them any way I eat white potatoes.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

I got leeks this week & they are sized from seedlings up to size of a man thumb.
I will up date as they grow.
They are self seeding, so I will have a bed for a long time.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I planted a few leeks last summer, just to experiment and see. At the end of the summer, I had 2 left. I may not have had much more than that to start with. 

They were puny last fall, so I did not harvest them. This spring, one is looking like a leek I would buy in the store. The other is not as puny as it was last fall, but it is not looking like the ones I buy in the store. 

I think the idea of leeks needing to grow two growing seasons must be about right. I saw some leeks in a pot after I came out of my hardware store on Monday. It was around a 6 inch pot that looks like several seeds were sown. I have to go back again in a day or two, so I will get a pot of them and plant them this summer. They are really small, kind of like the thinner chives. I think they will grow this summer, winter over, and grow again next summer.

All of this discussion about leeks and I have only used them a couple times in my life. I think they are good in a creamy soup with some potatoes. What I do think is that leeks would be a good thing to have planted in a BOL, or in a place where they could grow kind of wild to be harvested at a time when food is scarce. I have said before that onions do not have to be harvested at the end of the summer. They can be kept in the ground and harvested as needed.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

I planted a bunch of slips I had ordered with my onions. So far they look good are are outgrowing my onions after about 1 month. We'll see how they do. After reading thru here, if they aren't the size I want, I'll let them overwinter and harvest next year.


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