How long have you kept leek starts before planting?

[TheWaterbug]

I ordered leeks from Dixondale Farms on Feb 4th, and they showed up in my mailbox on Feb 7th, but I just could not find time to plant them until Saturday the 23rd.

All the leeks were pretty dried out by then, and felt very light.

I planted the ones with the biggest bulbs, but do you think they'll still have a chance?

The planting instructions say that they can survive 3 weeks before planting, and I had them just over 2 weeks, but they looked pretty grim.

I know I should just wait a few weeks and see how they do, but I thought I'd ask for some inspiration.

I'm also out of town for the next 3 weeks, so I've got them under drippers. If I have to replant, it'll be in April sometime, which is when it starts getting warm around here.

Thanks!

[applestar]

Next time just stick them in a big pot of soil?

I grew leek starts in a 1/2 gal icecream container last year. By the time
I got around to planting them, there was a 1" deep solid mat of roots in the bottom, but they more or less teased apart after god soaking.

[TheWaterbug]

Hmm. The instructions from Dixondale specifically tell me _not_ to put into soil or water before planting. They just say to keep them cool and dry.

I do have a bunch of spindly little leftovers. I thought about putting them into some water to see if they perk up at all. I

I suppose it can't hurt.

[valley]

Greetings, waterbug is in Los Angles, the leeks will do fine. I planted a dried end last year, not a leek an onion, it took off and even had ofsprings.
We use to have a ranch in Gardena, can't be far from where you are. Leeks want to grow, given a chance they will grow, and you have by putting them in the ground, if you bet on them growing, you'll win.

Let us hear how they do. My money is on them surprising you. Best of luck.


I just today ordered some American Flag Leek seeds.

[TheWaterbug]

I hope you're right! I'm leaving town for about 2 weeks on Monday, so when I come back I should either see some significant growth or some significant disappointment.

I've got it all on a drip system with a timer, so it's on autopilot.

Everyone send my leeks some happy thoughts!

[jal_ut]

If I need to keep them over a week, I will simply wrap them in a paper towel and put them on a shelf in the refrigerator. I do not ever wrap them in plastic. They need to breath.

I would plant those leeks. You know the leek is an onion, and the onion plants/bulbs can be dried out quite a bit then still grow when planted. It is an interesting characteristic of the plants.

[TheWaterbug]

I hope you're right! I'm leaving town for about 2 weeks on Monday, so when I come back I should either see some significant growth or some significant disappointment.

I've got it all on a drip system with a timer, so it's on autopilot.

It's aliiiiive!!!!! Well, they're alive. They thank you for the encouragement. This was last weekend, after returning from my 2 weeks in China:



Most of them are upright, like the few in the center/right, and quite a few of them are somewhat hobbled, like the leftmost guy, because they were imprisoned by a "sleeve" of old, dead leaf. I pulled/peeled the dead sleeves off of all of them, so I'm hoping they straighten out.

For the 10% that didn't green up, I'm even thinking of replacing them with some of the unused leek starts that have been sitting in the shed for the last 3 weeks. They can't do any worse than dead, so I've nothing to lose.

Yeah, I was just gone for yet another week, and I didn't even get a chance to look this morning. More pics tomorrow.

[jal_ut]

Thanks for the update. I didn't plant leeks this season, but have in years past at times. All of the alliums are interesting to grow. They can all be dried considerably and still grow too. Most plants if dried like that would just die.

I am glad they grew for you. Enjoy!

[PunkRotten]

Not too sure about Leeks. But if they were chives I would say they have a chance. I removed a huge clump of chives I had and divided it. I left about half the clump in the sun for like 2 weeks to dry out. After that I used the shovel to chop/break it up and then tossed it in the compost. Now, I have several clumps of chives growing in the compost. So don't ever give up on plants you will be surprised how resilient they are.

[TheWaterbug]

Here are my leeks at 5 weeks after transplant:

[TheWaterbug]

So here's my best leek at 14 weeks:



I only have a few this large; most are maybe ~1/2 this diameter, probably because of the lame start I gave them.

So I never did mound any soil up around my leeks to blanch them. Can I do this now? Or does it have to be done before they develop chloroplasts? What I've read on the infallible internet says not to mound up beyond the V made by the leaves, which is where the soil is right now.

I have no idea how deep they grew, so I don't really know how much edible leek I've got!

[PunkRotten]

Nice. I started a few leek varieties by seed they are growing pretty well. Probably one of the easiest plants to grow.

[applestar]

I was going to start a thread but may as well ask here since some of yours may do the same thing --

We've talked about garlic scapes and onion scapes... What about leek scapes? Some of mine are sending up flower stalks.

...Do you break off and eat them like the loopy garlic scapes (these leek scapes do not loop).
...Do you break them off (chop up and eat them) as soon as they appear and/or do you pull the plant quickly before quality of harvest is affected as with onions?
...Do you let them bloom like elephant garlic?

[mattie g]

I was going to start a thread but may as well ask here since some of yours may do the same thing --

We've talked about garlic scapes and onion scapes... What about leek scapes? Some of mine are sending up flower stalks.

...Do you break off and eat them like the loopy garlic scapes (these leek scapes do not loop).
...Do you break them off (chop up and eat them) as soon as they appear and/or do you pull the plant quickly before quality of harvest is affected as with onions?
...Do you let them bloom like elephant garlic?

If they're anything like the scapes that developed on my shallots, then you can clip them off and use them like green onions.

[jal_ut]

Onions, leeks, chives, garlic are all very hardy and can be dried considerably and still grow.

All parts of these plants are edible. Eat bulbs, stems, leaves, flower stalks, flowers. whatever you want.

Enjoy!

[valley]

I've started leek for the first time this year. I planted American Flag leek..

[TheWaterbug]

So I never did mound any soil up around my leeks to blanch them. Can I do this now? Or does it have to be done before they develop chloroplasts? What I've read on the infallible internet says not to mound up beyond the V made by the leaves, which is where the soil is right now.

I have no idea how deep they grew, so I don't really know how much edible leek I've got!

All my fears were completely unfounded. We pulled a few leeks on Saturday:



Jr. doesn't like eating them, but he likes harvesting them

The online guides say to fork them up, but he just pulled them, and they came right out.

[jal_ut]

My Gosh! Those things are fantastic. Nice going!

[Dillbert]

yeah - definitely good looking stuff.

methinik's you've been promoted to Leek Expert (g)

[applestar]

NICE! What did you make with them?

[valley]

Nice looking leek, hope mine do as well.