[juvenal]

Mine got a start today. Ten inch pots of compost. Seed 3/4" apart. 20 -30 per pot. Clingfilm over the pots and into the kitchen warmth. When the new green 'hoops' appear and straighten up, the pots go out into a cold conservatory.

Roll on Spring..

[Aidy]

Nope!

I tend to go a little later then most so I get them throughout winter (still using them now) Most of the inpatient I have not got anything better to do peeps on site always put theirs in early and now their plots are deserts with nothing growing!

[Goosegirl]

Like Aidy says, it's easy to get going planting seeds but I usually wait until at least March before I do as the seedling catch up and grow better because they're not being set back by cold snaps.

[jaydig]

My onion seeds are already in, but I tend to hold fire on the leeks for a while yet.  As Aidy says, I'm still harvesting leeks from the plot at the moment. 

[mumofstig]

My onion seeds are already in, but I tend to hold fire on the leeks for a while yet.  As Aidy says, I'm still harvesting leeks from the plot at the moment. 

Same here!

[rowlandwells]

been thinking about sowing some leek seed but i think I'm going to hold back a bit till the middle of  February but on the subject of growing leeks is the seed best sown in large pots as Juvenal said  ten inch pots rather than trays as I've always sown my leek seed in 2 inch deep trays so maybe the trays are not deep enough?

and do you prick out  the plants  at a smaller stage rather than letting them grow a more stronger plant then prick them out into pots I usually  pot my plants into plastic coffee cups

I'm thinking about pricking the young plants into compost blocks this season should I  feed the leek plants after potting on before planting out in the soil and then follow on feeding the leeks as they grow?

I've tied  to grow leeks like my late father in law did the leeks he grew had long shafts but i can't seem to get my leeks like his maybe i should consider ridging them up  like we do our potato crops i think the variety he grew was Musselburgh I'm going for Porbella and Winter giants this season

any advise would be much appreciated RW

[jaydig]

I grow both my leeks and my onions in the same way.  I sow the seeds VERY sparsely into large, deep pots in a cold greenhouse. I never prick them out, only remove seedlings that have grown too close together. I leave them in the original pots, giving them a feed as time goes on until it's time to plant them out. I just knock them out of the pots very carefully and tease the roots apart then drop them into planting holes. Water them in and leave them to it  Probably not the right way to do it, but it always works for me.

[mumofstig]

Since DD posted his method,
 https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=26363.msg312300#msg312300
I've always done it his way 
One tray of about 90, is more than enough for me.....

[al78]

My father says to start my leeks in January because that is how my grandfather sowed them (I think he grew for show). I'm reluctant to start too early because firstly, it is looking like this winter will be colder than average, so starting now might not gain much, if anything, and secondly, if they do get going, they are ready to transplant before I have somewhere prepared to transplant them. I have a couple of deep seedtrays and I sow them individually about an inch apart, then they have sufficient space to grow up until I transplant them.

[Aidy]

my method is a little fiddly but it works a treat...
I always pre-chit the seed, in an old chinesse tray lay a piece of kitchen, damp, place seed and put a piece on top and pop the lid on and place under a radiator, in a few days they will sprut.
Once sprutted I then sow them into 5 inch pots so they have room to grow on.
The leek bed is a trench filled with rotted muck still retaining the trench so as the grow this will be back filled.
Oh and Mussleborough is my prefered

[Growster...]

We only want late leeks, so I sow a variety like 'Bandit' aound the start of March.

No frills really, they go into a seed tray, get teased out when they're biro refill size, then popped into holes about 8" deep around early June.

I tried some in spud bags last year, but they were in a sheltered spot, so weren't that fantastic, so it's a normal bed this year.

[Goosegirl]

I sow mine into small-ish pots then, when they've grown to Growster's biro size, I empty the pot and re-plant into larger pots, six per pot and a bit deeper, and water them in with a bit of dilute Maxicrop. They seem to like this and I get quite thick stems which I plant out in late June. I like Tornado because they have a really good flavour.

[Growster...]

When do 'Tornado' mature, GG?

We never really want leeks much before November, even December, and after learning (here) that there are several growing times, we really prefer a late variety!

[bobbyt]

I've just got a seed blocker 2", so I'll try some in those, and some in a deep tray, and wait and see what happens. I've also got a new heat mat for the greenhouse, so thinking of starting them off with that.
Never had any success with leeks, so here's hoping with all the advice on this forum, I will hopefully have a different outcome this year ! Fingers crossed !