Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: hermon on August 02, 2007, 14:36
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read on here somewhere that you can cut the foliage down and it makes the white bit larger,well i have done this so i hope that advice wasn't false!
does any one else do or heard of this am i going to loose all my leeks?!! :shock:
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Ive read you can do this to enhance the white bits, then i have also read that it actually does nothing to help! Either way, it shouldnt harm your leeks!!
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read on here somewhere that you can cut the foliage down and it makes the white bit larger
On here?? Can you remember where??
I don't think you'll lose them but you will end up with much smaller leeks (white or green).
Earthing up (or planting in a hole) is what makes the white part white.
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damn yes it was on here i was gonna leave a few but thought well if it does work i will have all big leeks so instead i will have all little leeks! quite funny really its gonna do the opposite of what i was try to do! i will earth up what i can!
thanks for your help :wink:
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I can't imagine why anyone would have written that......the leaves are the 'engine room' of the plant and so are essential surely?
What it might have referrred to is the practice of cutting half the leaves off and trimming the roots when transplanting to dibbed holes in the soil during the Spring. This prevents excessive moisture loss through tranpiration (in much the same waay s when you take a dahlia or fuchsia cutting) until the leek has established in its new planting hole.
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I can't remember anyone saying you get more white from trimming leeks. I did try trimming last year to see if it made any difference to the overall leek, but it didn't, so I don't bother anymore.
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sorry folks this was a " new idea " abandoned many years back .to stop the greens being to large and increasing the white my idea has born results year after year i just wrap a few sheets of newspaper around the leeks leaving the tops to go where they will, then i found the taste is in the green is more to my liking than the white anyways so eat the flipping lot ,without chopping the green off like wot these lasy but chefs do :wink:
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an I always thought you chopped the leaves when you transplant them to reduce transpiration so they get going again quicker .
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and trim the roots
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erm why trim anything ? how you would like ur hair cut n ur root trimmed ?i know it would set me back :roll:
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and trim the roots
ohh I do that too. treat em mean and keep em keen. :wink:
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well matey it stands to reason ,,,,,, they grow with the roots taking good stuff from the soil ,,,,,trimming em is a bit like sowing half ya mouth up ?
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Yes.. It seems like an strange thing to do to me (and I do it) Why do so many people say trim the roots :?:
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Well my theory is that like shoots if you chop 'em they come back fast and makes em bushy rooted, so you then get more smaller roots which do the work, them big thick ones are only like pipework the smaller ones work harder, more surface area etc
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mmmmmm werth thinking on matey :wink:
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because when you plonk them in your hole the roots dont get all pushed up around the stem,makes sense to me
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Hey, as far as cutting roots go i can shed some light on this! In most plants if you cut the roots then this can allow the introduction of nutrients in the roots at a greater rate than that they would normally. I wont bore you with the science on this!! So, cutting the roots may help with increasing nutrients to cope with the move?? As far as cutting the leaves, i dont see how this would help, surely it would hinder as less photosynthesis?!?!? As long as you keep the leek in the dark, they will be white! Try toilet or kitchen rolls??
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and another tip is when you transplant them,put them in the hole and look at the way the leaves grow,they all come out of 2 sides left and right,so plant em so they flag down the row this way you wont damage them as you walk past em,its hard to explain but you know what i'm thinking :wink:
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you been reading my posts agin oh short hairy one?
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errm nope old norman from the plot over from me told me that a few years ago :wink:
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my great grandfarther trims the roots and tops when he re-plants, last year he won a show with one of his leeks (not bad for someone rear 100)
he gave me 12 leeks about 3 weeks agp with the roots and tops cut, i planted them in a hole and just watered them in lewaving about 2" out the ground.
now theres is a good 13" or so on most of them so it cant do any halm as they have long overtaken the others i planted ages ago
nathan
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Back on track here ... the original question was not about transplanting leeks but was whether or not to mutilate semi-mature leek plants to increase size of white portion. :D
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I am too lazy to do any trimming,however the rabbit has trimmed one bed of leeks for me before I got the netting on!
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We had the same problem last year Annie, but the leeks recovered ,this year we've put fencing around the plot .
As for trimming when the leeks are growing in situ , I've never heard of doing that, might try the loo roll on some of them but wont it disintegrate during the winter .
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I give my young onion seedlings a haircut before planting and it really helps them, but I never trim back leeks as they need all their hair to grow properly. They're the same family but not quite the same re growth.
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my Leeks are growing fast but i've noticed on the tops it looks like there growing bulbs now i've either got alien leeks or something needs doing i wondered if they were going to seed there is only a few like it all quite small one compared tot he rest!!!!! can anyone advise me as what to do please
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there going to seed tali ,when did you plant em ?
you can still eat the bottom bit but dont leave em to long though.
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i planted them a bit early being an eager first timer thanks for confirming what i thought i'll get them up asap!!!!
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you could try and save a couple for the seed.i think they look ace when they get there seed heads onions aswel.
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ok tell me what to do????? how do i save them already saves some of my peas that have dies off for next year and i drying out some runner bean seeds!!!!
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and for some reason i can not spell today lol
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no worrys i'm like that every day :wink:
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so how do you save the seeds ???
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just let them get to the full size like a ball and dry em upside down with a paper bag over the head (sounds a bit kinky) the seeds will drop into the bag.
ive not tried it myself but i think someone on here must have.
a woman on our plot lets a lot of her onions go to seed i think she uses them in cooking will have to ask her what she does with em.
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how big a ball ????????? lol oeeerrrrrrrrrr
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the ones ive seen are a tadge bigger than a cricket ball :lol:
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and its ok to let em get that big with out the leek being affected itself? is it true that if you pick them when there medium size they are better tasting??
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if your saving the seed i should imagine the leek would be no good for cooking.not heared that one about medium size i just pick em from october right through to feb/march as and when i need them
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many thanks i'll take your advise and let those few go to seed :D
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many thanks i'll take your advise and let those few go to seed :D
you have me worried now tali what if it all goes wrong will you blame me :wink:
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of course i will!!!! and you won't get any leek and potato soup either!!!!!
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i much prefer carrot and potato :lol:
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mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm can you share recipes or is it top secret you may have to kill me if you tell me???
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well this recipe has been passed down through 12 generations :roll:
you boil the spuds and boil or steam the carrots until they are soft
drain the water of and save it in a bowl
now mix em both together and blast them with a hand blender adding the water you saved a good dollop of double cream and blast even more untill you get it how thick or thin you like it ,a bit of salt and pepper to taste
and serve with a crusty balm thickly buttered
bring it on ramsey :wink:
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cooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr i'm coming round for dinner sounds superb!!!!!!
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you will have to wait tali cus the carrots are not ready yet :wink:
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let me know when!!!!! :D