[Benandbill]

I have them growing in the small seed trays, they're getting quite tall - well, about 3 inches - and some of the leaves seem to be pairing off.  Never having had success growing onions from seed I was told to snip them so that when they grow, the strength stays in the bulb.  Can a similar principle be applied to leek growing?  My leeks are not much more than a hair's width, and I understand they should be about a pencil's width before they're planted out. 

I did do a search for previous articles and came across this http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=107052.msg1206192 but it seems to be a discussion about already established leeks and not about how to assist the growth of seeds.
 

[fatcat1955]

Leave them alone.

[Maarten]

Hi,

The aim of the leek is to grow as much as possible in the first year, conserve its energy in its stem, and then to flower in the second year. Upto the flowering that is exactly what we want as well. Evolution has made leeks pretty good at it and therefore I would not disturb them by cutting anything. In principle, the leaves are what brings the energy to the plant, so cutting them seems counter intuitive.
When you start transplanting it becomes a different story, as you are already disturbing them. Then it may (or may not) be benificial to cut part of the roots. If you cut part of the roots it may (or may not) be beneficial to cut the leaves to prevent too much evaporation, while not having enough roots to sustain the demand for water.

Best wishes,

Maarten