[muckyboots]

Hi all, I have 2 rows of leeks still in the ground,what I would like to know is will it be ok to leave them in the ground and pull as required or pull them and freeze.It my first year growing leeks and don't know the rules with them.Thanks for any info.

[mumofstig]

leave them til you want them. The only time you won't be able to lift them is if the ground is frozen solid.

If we get warning of a big freeze you may want to dig some before it arrives. The cold doesn't hurt the leeks just makes it impossible to lift them without a pickaxe 

[barley]

I've tried both ways leaving and freezing

makes no difference to taste

as mumofstig says winter won't hurt them at all

[8doubles]

You can dig a few and put them side by side in a shallow trench laid at 45' and cover the white again.

If it does freeze hard they are easier to get at !

[muckyboots]

Good tip 8 thanks all.

[Nobbie]

I'm just about to lift all mine, prepare and put in the freezer. It just saves the hassle of many trips to a muddy allotment. I only use them to make soup, so it's good to just take as many as required straight from the freezer without all the mess of preparing them.

[compostqueen]

Only use them for soup!  What a wasted opportunity    They are so very versatile. Come on, do justice to your veggies 

[Annen]

Will they grow more if they are left? Mine are a bit slim at the moment.

[compostqueen]

Mine are so I'm leaving mine in and then I'll pick the fattest first. Mind you the pencil ones are useful 

[gypsy]

I'm just about to lift all mine, prepare and put in the freezer. It just saves the hassle of many trips to a muddy allotment. I only use them to make soup, so it's good to just take as many as required straight from the freezer without all the mess of preparing them.

I only use leeks for soups and casseroles as that is the way we enjoy them most. We have tried other methods but have not enjoyed them much.

[brokenglass]

They are good as a veg in their own right or can be used in a dish with ham and cheese or covered in a cream sauce or etc.     Leeks are versatile but each to their own.

[8doubles]

A cheese and raw leek sandwich makes a change from onion !

[tosca100]

I've pulled mine as that is what they do here, but I refuse to bottle them! They are over three feet long so they have gone in the freezer as 'soup', the end bits and tatty bits, rings for saute, longer pieces to have with sauce or roast veg, and the skinny ones in four inch lengths. We had some skinny ones sauteed in butter, yummeeee.

Next year I will try growing some hardy fatter, shorter ones to leave in and see what happens. Venka will not be able to cope!

[AnneB]

I love to put them in a chicken pie with a few carrots and mushrooms and some fried sausagemeat balls.   Top with a puff pastry crust.   Another favourite is sliced and fried, add some butter beans, either tinned or previously cooked, add some cream and top with grated parmesan then pop in the oven til brown on top.   

Both Jamie Oliver recipes, but they are now firmly part of our family repertoire.


Mine are still on the thin side, but slowly fattening up, even now.   They are a late variety, Bleu de Solaise and will still be fine well into next year, say March.

[Totty]

If you have mounded the soil up around them to blanch, scrape it back and cut the leek at ground level. Within weeks it will have pushed up lots of new growth for a secondary harvest. Don't leave them too long though as they will bolt.

Totty