[3 allotments]

Yes i had aunt sally change mine from 2 allotments a while ago to 3, i think ill keep it at 3 for now 

[mrsbean]

went to dib mine in today but heavens opened. made ground a mud bath. have to wait till next week now,as working and baby sitting weekend. question do you put them in hard soil or soft, i always have job with soil falling in before watering in. if they are still thin should i use narrow dibber.

[Rexmundi]

I know the question is "Is it too late to plant leeks" but is too early?

I've decided to transplant mine into the ground but around 3/4 of them are really quite immature. I know the advice is to wait till they are approx pencil thickness but mine just seemed to have stagnated in their nursery pots and didn't seem as if they were developing. Some of the ones I have transplanted into the ground are as slim as noodles!

What do you think the likely consequences/outcome will be? They're in a raised bed that's around a 1ft high.

Good to know that I can always go to the garden centre and buy seedlings, if need be.

[JayG]

Keep them well fed and watered - you won't be the only one not to have achieved the magic 'pencil thickness' by the time of planting out, and if your garden centres are anything like ours round here you will be lucky to find anything better than what you've already got.

You're unlikely to get giant leeks this year, but they will certainly do better in the ground than in pots, especially if they were quite crowded and/or not given additional feed, which in my experience is what causes them to almost stop growing.

[Ma Lowe]

I SOWED a tray of leeks a week or sow ago  I will still plant them out later in the month and may not get big leeks but I will get some nice thinner ones.  If your not looking to get fat leeks then you can still SOW them now and get tender young tasty leeks. 

[Rexmundi]

Keep them well fed and watered - you won't be the only one not to have achieved the magic 'pencil thickness' by the time of planting out, and if your garden centres are anything like ours round here you will be lucky to find anything better than what you've already got.

You're unlikely to get giant leeks this year, but they will certainly do better in the ground than in pots, especially if they were quite crowded and/or not given additional feed, which in my experience is what causes them to almost stop growing.

I think what didn't help was the trays I sowed mine in perhaps weren't deep enough, I think that had a lot to do with them failing to thrive. Next year I am going to use the toilet roll method allowing more room for the roots to grow.

[JayG]

That could mean an awful lot of toilet rolls! 

DD uses cat litter trays which are clearly deep enough for him - the roots can get a bit congested particularly if too closely spaced but they don't seem to mind being separated (some people trim them anyway before planting out, although I must admit I don't bother.)

[Beetroot Queen]

I have actually seen the mystery pencil thickness leeks. Sadly not grown by myself but given to me. Funny bit was when I stuck them next to my rubbish attempt, laughable was not the word. 

[heloise]

I think what didn't help was the trays I sowed mine in perhaps weren't deep enough, I think that had a lot to do with them failing to thrive. Next year I am going to use the toilet roll method allowing more room for the roots to grow.

Cheap washing up bowls work very well as they are quite deep and you only need one or two for lots of leeks. With a few holes poked through the bottom they are big enough for leeks to be sown in and grow in until planting out. Half of mine have gone out, still got the other half in a washing up bowl waiting for the first earlies to be harvested.

[Sweet Pea 2]

what do you feed the leeks when they are still in cat litter trays?  Mine are still very thin.

[JayG]

Miracle Grow, Phostrogen, or one of the own-brand general purpose liquid feed equivalents (Wilco do one) are quite good because they all are quite high in nitrogen which is probably what they lack most.

[NewSteve]

what do you feed the leeks when they are still in cat litter trays?  Mine are still very thin.

I'm not recommending it, but I gave mine a one off feed of Baby Bio! That was around May when I felt they were being a bit sluggish. It seems to have worked.

[Sweet Pea 2]

hmm I have soem baby bio at home.

[JayG]

There are several Baby Bios - the 'Original' one is high in nitrogen, which should do the trick.

Don't know about the others, but if the compost has run out of food, which is very likely after several weeks, almost anything is better than nothing, although liquid feeds will work quicker than dry fertilisers.

[crh75]

Deep pots is definitely the way to go.  I start mine in 1 foot deep flower pots.  The root always go all the way to the bottom.