How to Grow Leeks

Leeks are flavorful, nutritious and easier to digest than their onion cousins. They're also easy to grow, tolerant of cold weather - and very expensive to buy in the supermarket. What more reason could you need to add a big patch of them to your kitchen garden?

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Bypass Pruners
• Compost Makers
• Fertilizers
• Garden Spades
• Garden Trowels
• Mulch
• Plants
• Seeds

1. Choose a site that gets full sun and has well-drained soil with a pH of 6.2 to 7.0 (see "How to Have Your Soil Tested," under Related eHows). Work in plenty of compost and manure.

2. Buy started leek plants at your local nursery for planting about the time of the last spring frost. Otherwise, start seeds indoors at least 10 weeks before the average frost-free date.

3. Harden off seedlings when they're about the thickness of a pencil, then transplant them to the garden.

4. Set seedlings 4 to 8 inches apart, depending on the variety (check the directions on the seed packet or plant label). To encourage long, thin stems, plant leeks closer together; for thicker stems, set them farther apart.

5. Use a dibble (a planting tool that looks like a fat, pointed stick with a T-shaped handle) or the end of a rake handle to make a hole that's just deep enough to leave only the top inch of the transplant exposed. Set the transplant into the hole and fill it loosely with soil.

6. Make sure the plants get at least an inch of water a week; otherwise the stems will toughen. Mulch to conserve moisture, and side-dress with manure tea once a month.

7. Begin harvesting leeks as soon as they're big enough to use. Young, tender ones are good raw; once they reach scallion-size, they're better cooked.

Tips & Warnings

• There are several methods for planting leeks. The dibble method described above is the easiest, especially for novice gardeners. Like the other methods, it blanches the stems, that is, protects them from light to keep them white, tender and mild-tasting. If you want to experiment with the other methods, you'll find them described in most comprehensive gardening books.

• Like all members of the onion family, leeks can fall victim to pink root, a disease that stunts roots and turns them pink or red. The problem befalls commercial growers more often than home gardeners, but to be on the safe side, buy disease-resistant varieties and rotate crops each year.