"Flowering" leeks

*manda*

We planted leeks in about September time, they have grown fairly well but still not really even baby leek size. Over the past week or so we've noticed flower spikes growing from a few. We've pinched them off as soon as we saw them. Any advice on what we should do? Can we let them grow or have they had it?!

Thanks

Farway

You have your seasons muddled up. by planted do you really mean sown?

Leeks are normally sown in spring, in open ground, and "dibbed in" anytime now.

They are harvested Autumn and Winter

By planting too early you have induced flowering, leeks are a winter vegetable in UK, not a spring or summer one

The winter cold has signaled to your leeks it is a new year, time to flower & set seed

Ignore what you see for sale in supermarkets, go by the traditional seasons

leeks can be used as a sort of Spring Onion, but you have to sow in spring, not late in year

PS, they have had it, maybe you could use them in stews etc for a bit of onion flavour?

*manda*

I can't remember if they were from seed or ready to plant out, they went in later because of the bad weather. Was worth a punt! Not lost anything. I have read you can harvest seeds from the flowers- is it worth letting them flower now or just pull the, up?

Why did they flower when it warmed up rather than in the winter when it was actually cold?

Is it too late to plant out for this winter?

Thanks for any advice, first attempt at leeks. We seem to struggle with anything wintery!

twiglet98

Mine are sprouting flower heads too - but they're huge. Bought at reduced price from Homeba$e last summer, dibbed in and they all grew, but my reckoning of 2-3 leeks a week was way off, we've only had about 6 and now most of them are really thick and above waist high. It's such a shame to chuck them on the compost heap, when most of my attempts to grow veg is a dismal failure. Maybe I'll have a go at saving some seeds but I've always found it really difficult to sow leeks thinly enough, and end up with a tangled mass of roots that's impossible to 'dib' into individual holes! Just bought a tray of seedlings to put in for next winter, with a firm plan to eat them all.

Money_maker

The flowers are lovely, though. Sone of mine flowered a couple of years back and produced some little 'pips' which I transplanted to a pot and they grew on as baby leeks. Might be worth leaving them to see if this happens for you. Wasn't every plant, just a couple.

Farway

*manda* wrote: »

I
Why did they flower when it warmed up rather than in the winter when it was actually cold?

Is it too late to plant out for this winter?

Thanks for any advice, first attempt at leeks. We seem to struggle with anything wintery!

They flowered when it warmed up because that is when the bees & other pollinators arrive

It is just about an ideal time to dib some in for next winter / spring, you will probabaly need to buy young plants

Depending where you live, check out Leek Moth more of a southern UK problem

Farway

*manda* wrote: »

Thanks for any advice, first attempt at leeks. We seem to struggle with anything wintery!

Try purple sprouting broccoli, watch out for pigeons, you may need to net them

Tops can be eaten as "greens" in winter / spring and the purple flower buds are lovely, and very expensive in shops, especially as it is such an easy veg to grow

PS you can sow seed now, and it does need space, not one for a small garden

*manda*

Thanks. Think we will pull up the leeks and buy some small plants and just pop those in now.

We are hoping to do sprouting broccoli again- we did some 2 years ago and just when we were ready to pull them up thinking they weren't doing anything they went mental! Last year however, everything just rotted due to the weather.

We have sown some cauliflower seeds today, last years looked great then came the rain and they just turned to mush.

We have an allotment so space isn't a massive issue, and trial and error is part of the fun!

noimad

Don't compost them. I regularly make beautiful leek and potato soup out of leeks which have bolted (somehow I always have a few unharvested by late spring) - cut legthways, pull out the hard flower stalk and then chop up all the rest of the plant (except brown bits and the roots!), fry up with some onions and pre-boiled pots for a few mins then blend - freezes well and delicious with crusty bread for a quick meal.

As a rough guide to harvesting before bolting, watch you garden alliums or chives - when these start to produce flower stalks, so will your leeks.

cyclonebri1

I haven't had this issue with leeks but if they were onions, which they almost are, then that condition is known as bolting, they rush into flower without developing the fruit.

Sometimes if you spot this happening early you can cut out the centre stem and hold it back a while, but they won't be great