[Remy]

Has anyone ever use the cardboard centre of the loo rolls to put on they leeks?
My girlfriend started doing it as she saw some of the other at the allotment doing it.
It seems to get them whiter but is that all they are used for?

[mumofstig]

It keeps the dirt out of the leaves when you earth them up a bit later, well that's what i use them for.

[Sue33]

sounds like a good idea, when should I be doing this??

[mumofstig]

I'll go and find my garden diary and see if i wrote it down

found it i put the rolls on and earthed up for the first time in early september and then added more soil in October. The soil in my beds stays quite dry and really settles down during the autumn, without the earthing up i get very little white on the harvested leek, at least with the rolls it keeps a lot of grit out

[Remy]

It might sound a silly question but do you earth up inside the roll or outside?

[Riala]

I have never ever grown leeks before... why do you earth them up (like potatoes??) and is it needed?

Mine are still pencil thin/thick, but are in the raised bed... should I be doing something?

[mumofstig]

The rolls are to stop the earth getting into the leeks, so the earth has to go outside the loo roll

Riala...You don't earth them over the top like potatoes......as I've said it just makes the white bit of the leek a bit longer.
Not everyone does it, or needs to, but it helps here on my soil, which seems to settle down a lot in the beds in autumn.

[Snap Dragon]

I've got my leeks in and thought I'd experiment with covering some with loo rolls this year...

Do you just place it over the leek as it is or slit the loo roll lengthways and tie it so that it 'fits' the leek and 'let it out' as the leek grows - if you know what I mean?  

[mumofstig]

Well, last year i managed to get my leeks into the rolls without toooo much fiddling about ...which gives them plenty of room to grow nice and fat (live in hope )

I just added the earth round the outside to stop them blowing away....it's windy here. Then as the beds sank even more :blink: i earthed up again.
Was a 'suck it and see' effort but seemed to work for me so will be doing the same this year

[Tattyanne456]

I've used the loo roll method this year too. I've also managed to get hold of some plastic piping which Hubby cut down into managable lengths for me.... looked very neat and tidy when I had finished! The trouble is, where as the loo rolls, will tear off easily, the plastic tubing wont!. Recently I have noticed that the leeks are filling the tubes beautifully.....so beautifully, I dont think I will be able to pull them off without breaking the leeks!!!! You live and learn.....

[Sue33]

thanks mumofstig, i'd better start saving my loo rolls and not shredding them for the compost! I assume kitchen rolls would be ok as well, just cut in half.

[Snap Dragon]

thanks mumofstig, i'd better start saving my loo rolls and not shredding them for the compost! I assume kitchen rolls would be ok as well, just cut in half.

Loo rolls seem to breed in my house! I only need to leave 2 in the toilet and days later there are millions of the little blighters!  Defo not an endangered species!

[Sue33]

Snapdragon, if I send you my addy will you send me some, got about 40 leeks to cover   

[Snap Dragon]

You're more than welcome to them! My girls go through toilet paper like it's going out of fashion!!  :blink:

I've got about that many leeks too but am only covering half to see what difference it makes!

[DD.]

Got 300 spare?