Leeks not growing.

lora

Leeks have been in toilet tubes in greenhouse for over a month. All I have is a single strand of green--very very very thin. What do I do with them? I have never grown leeks before.

Farway

Just leave them, it is all a bit early yet, time will fix it

misskool

Leeks take a long time to grow, just leave them to it, plant out when it's about pencil thickness. It will be ready in Feb/March next year

wssla00

Hello I have a leek question too.... my leeks are growing but they are really long! Is there anything I can do to support them? They seem to be bending over with their own weight.

Any help would be appreciated!

earthlysparky

Leeks need to be earthed up as they grow. It's known as blanching, with leeks.

Sally_A

Mine are a bit poor in germinating this year too, possibly a bit warm and not watered enough - my fault.

I'm about to put some more in, either Mussleburgh or Lions Prizetaker. Might leave the pots outside this time, as opposed to in the greenhouse.

wssla00

earthlysparky wrote: »

Leeks need to be earthed up as they grow. It's known as blanching, with leeks.

Aah ok will add some earth to support them Thanks

Sally_A

But earthing up is normally done after you have planted them outside - June/July time; using earth, kitchen roll tubes or newspaper..

They all look weedy at this time of year, and the way the seed leaves come out of the pod means they are always doubled over.

Don't forget, when you do plant them outside, use a big dibber, and fill the hole around them with water rather than soil, or you will get grit in between the layers.

littlestars

the seed pack i had said sow direct - so they've been out 3 weeks now, no sign of growth but i guess it's ok to transfer them to a bucket or something to allow earthing up easily.

Sally_A

I always sow them in a tray, or wide pot - as deep as possible (after they are on their way - keep this outside in a sheltered-ish spot). The bigger deeper pot you have, you can often delay planting out until late June/July, they can then happily slot into the space left after early broad beans have finished, or 1st early spuds have been dug. They may not grow as big in girth as some earlier planted out ones, but smaller ones seems more tasty (ie, about 1 inch diameter).

When I first started planting them out, I worried as they were not in neat leek rows of about 50 plants - it doesn't matter, plant them in smaller blocks as you clear ground from earlier harvests. They won't be walking anywhere, and are easy to spot towards the end of the year if your memory is bad .