[Snoop]

Hi guys,

I started off some De Carenton (spelling?) leeks from seed in a washing up bowl (rather than a cat litter tray). The packet says harvest from November to February. It occurs to me that I wouldn't mind having some to pick after that, as I'm a great leek fan.

So my questions are: can anyone recommend any leeks for April to May and am I too late to start them off?

As an aside, the De Carenton seeds came from Lidl. I have no idea what these leeks are like, so I hope they'll get your approval. Germination was good and they seem to be doing OK so far.

Thanks for any advice.

[Coach]

Grew them last year!

 Lovely to look at delightful to eat!!!
They should be ok for next year mind you the weather is different here!!!!!!!

[gillie]

So my questions are: can anyone recommend any leeks for April to May and am I too late to start them off?

Once the days lengthen and  the sun warms leeks that have stood all winter will start to grow flower heads and become tough.  You can't beat nature!

You might be able to raise 'baby leeks' sown in January indoors and grown fast - but I doubt they will be any size by May.

Gillie

[Trebor]

That said, given the cold start to the year, I pulled the last of my leeks this weekend and even had Kale up to a couple of weeks ago. Maybe if you put them in a shady or cold spot they will last a bit later in the season – but then again it is Spain, so not sure that is possible!

[Snoop]

Thanks for the replies. If I've understood the advice rightly, there is no such thing as a leek bred to be harvested in April and May. That's a shame. I was really hoping there was. Maybe I should just start off another lot of leek seeds a bit later and plant them in a cold spot and see what happens.

Thanks for the comment on the De Carenton, Coach. That's put my mind at ease. The seeds were the grand sum of 39 cents (euro cents). It's not easy to buy seeds round here (most people buy plants from nurseries) and I'd forgotten to order some from the UK seed catalogues.

As for the weather, Spain is a vast country. Where I am, it's not your typical 'costa' climate. Here we have extremely cold winters (down to minus 13ºC) and very hot summers (44ºC in the shade that can last for weeks). In spring, daytimes are very pleasant but we have storms most afternoons. We're still only just hovering above zero most nights. Last frost is towards the middle-to-end of April, first frosts any time after mid October.

[Kristen]

" there is no such thing as a leek bred to be harvested in April and May."

Dunno if this is all the varieties that Moles Seeds sell, but it doe have some late varieties.

http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/flower_and_vegetable_seed_store_uk/chart-leek.html

P.S. This may help too:

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/leeks.html

[Snoop]

Thanks Kristen, that was very useful. Moles Seeds was an eye-opener. Packets of 50,000 seeds! I'd never really thought about what commercial operations might need to buy.

[Loubs]

We got our plot last October, and our neighbour kindly gave us some leftover leeks that he had.

Daresay we got the smaller leftover weaker smaller ones,  but it's been such a cold winter they've been very slow growers, so we're only just starting to harvest them now in early May. None are showing any signs of wanting to flower yet.

So I'd say go for it, sow some a little late, see what happens.

[gypsy]

I froze a big bag of leeks for use in spring. Just washed them, sliced them and put them in the freezer in a bag.

[Snoop]

Thanks Loubs. Useful experience. I'll give it a go with the seeds I've already got and see what happens.

I picked the last of our leeks only a few days ago and they weren't showing any signs of flowering either. I certainly haven't got much to lose by trying it - just a bit of effort planting out and watering.