How to grow them
Sow in a pot or a short row in spring. When the seedlings are as thick as a pencil, make holes 15cm deep with a dibber, drop one into each and fill the hole with water, not soil. That gives the long white stem.
Onion family
Leeks
They take over the bed when the early potatoes come out, and stand all winter.
- Buy as
- Seed
- Space
- 15cm between plants, 30cm between rows
- Position
- Full sun
- Rotation
- Roots and onions
- Difficulty
- Easy
The year
Sow indoors
Sow outdoors
Plant out
Harvest
When to pick
Dig as needed from September. Hardy varieties stand until March.
What goes wrong
Problems, and what to do
Leek moth
Caterpillars tunnel in the leaves, mainly in the south. Cover with fine mesh.
Rust
Orange pustules on the leaves. Usually cosmetic: peel them off in the kitchen.
Allium leaf miner
Mesh in spring and autumn where it occurs.
Good neighbours: Carrots, Celery.
Same family
More from onion family
OnionsPush small bulbs into the soil in spring and they do the rest.
ShallotsPlant one, lift a cluster of eight. Milder than onions, and they keep longer.
GarlicIt needs a cold spell to form a bulb, so it goes in when everything else is coming out.
Spring onionsA pinch of seed every few weeks keeps you in salad onions all summer.