Cultivation technology for leeks using transplants and biennial methods

Leek does not form a bulb. The edible part of this onion is the lower portion of the leaves, tightly rolled into a cylinder. It is blanched by hilling up the leek plants high. This makes it particularly delicious. Usually, leeks are grown as a biennial crop due to their long growing season, approximately 180 days after emergence.

In the first year, early in the spring, seeds are sown just like onion seeds. Then, in early August, the grown plants are transplanted to a specially prepared site and left to overwinter. And only the following year is a marketable leek harvested.

However, it is possible to grow leeks in a single season if you first raise transplants by sowing them indoors at the same time as celeriac, and transplanting the seedlings to a specially prepared site in May. By the end of September, you will get decent plants, though, of course, not as vigorous as with biennial cultivation. Vigorous plants can be successfully obtained in one year if you grow leeks under cover. I plant 5 plants in a greenhouse, again, to start using them early.

When growing transplants, leeks have a specific feature compared to onion transplants grown from seed. The fact is that onion foliage, when grown indoors, lodges and breaks, so it should not be sown for transplants earlier than the beginning of April. But leek foliage is tough and does not break when lodging, so it can be sown very early; moreover, it can be sown densely, for example, in a butter container.

How to prepare a site for transplanting leeks for finishing

In a sunny spot, you need to dig a deep trench, at least to the depth of a shovel blade. All the soil from the trench should be piled on one side, forming an earthen mound. At the bottom of the trench, you should apply humus about 5–7 cm thick. The transplants are shaken out of the box into a deep plate, the root ball is rinsed with water, and the roots and aerial part are pruned, leaving only 5–7 cm of each. The transplants are spaced about 15 cm apart.

The grown leek plants must be laid out in the trench so that the roots do not bend upward but are evenly distributed over the humus. The aerial part of the plants should be placed on the side of the trench opposite the earthen mound. Now, all that remains is to cover them with soil from the mound, burying the plants 2–3 cm deeper than they were growing. After a couple of days, the transplanted transplants will stand upright.

Next, you should gradually, as the leek grows, add soil from the mound. Thus, the leek will be gradually covered with soil. A blanched lower part of the onion will be formed without additional hilling. If you want to get an even longer blanched part, you can additionally hill the plants. The longer the blanched stem, the higher the quality of the leek.

Leeks require regular top dressing. Every two weeks, you need to provide the leeks with top dressing, alternating organic with mineral. As an organic top dressing, it is best to use a solution of manure or poultry manure. Manure is diluted with water 10 times, and poultry manure 20 times. If there is no manure or poultry manure, then fertilize with an infusion of weeds diluted with water by half. As a mineral top dressing, you can take any fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (three tablespoons per 10 l of water).

Harvesting and storage methods for leeks

You can start eating leeks as soon as they have 4–5 leaves. Leeks grow until late autumn, so there is no need to rush with harvesting.

Recommendations for harvesting and preparing the crop:

• Dig up with a pitchfork so as not to cut the stems.
• After harvesting, the roots and the aerial part of the green leaves are pruned.

Leeks can be stored in two ways:

• In a cellar in sand, placing the plants in a box close to each other.
• In a freezer, after washing them.

The aerial part of the leaves is usually used in canning. But there is still too much greenery left, and it gets thrown away. This should not be done, as leek leaves are just as rich in salts beneficial to humans as the blanched part, but they are tough. The leaves should be finely chopped and dried. Then, grind them in a coffee grinder and pour the resulting flour into a glass jar. Store in a closed jar in a kitchen cupboard and use when frying fish and meat instead of breadcrumbs or wheat flour. The taste of the fish and meat turns out delicious!

Agrotechnical features and beneficial properties

This onion is particularly demanding regarding soil fertility. In autumn, you should apply at least 1 bucket of organic matter per 1 sq. m to the area where you intend to grow leeks, while digging, and add a glass of complex fertilizer.

Like all onions, it grows well only in a sunny location. Water the leeks in dry weather at the beginning of summer. From the second half of summer, watering should be stopped, but in rainy weather, there is no need to install any tunnels over it, since it does not form a bulb.

Leeks have a pleasant aroma and a delicate, mildly pungent taste. Leeks contain a large amount of mineral salts essential for humans. Leeks are very beneficial for those suffering from rheumatism, metabolic disorders, especially obesity, gout, and those with kidney stones. It can be consumed raw, boiled, or dried. Or added to soups and main courses. When dried or frozen, leeks retain all their beneficial qualities.