Mrs Growster and I were sorry to lose our regular leek rows of about 250, when we had 'The Patch', so after seeing them for about a quid each in the shops, we're having another go, but in the Growster-Micro-Garden, formed from chopping down a useless hedge, hoiking out the old sprawling compost, and doing more in the less space we now have.
The spud bags never really worked well for us, we tried for a few years, but the disappointment at the poor yield was enough to cause us to give up, so, this year, we're trying an experiment, (which has been tried elsewhere, maybe here, with some success) - leeks in bags!
The pics show the position, with the old holly and laurel stumps still in the ground, because they go down too far to clear out this season. The space behind was going to waste!
So the old compost, some more garden soil etc, went into the three bags, with no trays underneath (they don't fit well), and as we need at least a foot of depth, and there's an overhanging tree (out of pic), plus the old wall adjacent, there has to be a new way to water them!
Step up 'Growster-Drip Ltd, Inc,PLC' (a new firm, incorporated somewhere daft in Kent, and probably already under the scrutiny of some authority or other...)!
The idea is to sink an ordinary short length of drilled 2" pipe, down the middle of the bag, with the holes further than half-way down, so that all the water, comfrey tea, more 6x liquid stuff etc., can be directed to the bottom, while the normal rain/watering can deals with the top! The funnel just helps alleviate any hand-shake when filling the pipe, (not unusual...) which takes about two minutes to permeate the compost down below! The grey pipe is a bit ugly, but hopefully, the plants will mask all that when (if) they grow properly!
(The old chimney pots next to the bags will have courgettes, which need top watering and feeding more easily, so I'll treat them as normal with just a can etc. I wanted a climbing variety, but there just isn't room at the moment. Thanks Mum, though, for your advice back then)!
I must also confess that we have actually found some space for a few leeks in the ground nearby, but not nearly enough, so we'll see how this all pans out this year! I'm not exactly sure how many to pop in each bag yet, any ideas?