[AlaninCarlisle]

I need to get better organised with my leeks. I've had a great harvest of Musselburgh but now they're going woody.

What I really want is two crops, one for autumn and another for winter/early spring. Can anyone recommend early and late varieties and at the same time indicate sowing and planting out times for up here in the frozen North please?

[AnneB]

I only have room for one variety and grow a late one, Bleu de Solaise.   I sow in March, pot on into deepish containers and plant out in July to follow my early potatoes.   It stands really well over winter, is slow to bolt and lasts until March the following year.   

We are in Bradford, so I think would be fine in Carlisle.

[Grubbypaws]

This is my first year growing leeks so I cannot claim to be an expert. I wanted to plant them in the containers after my potatos had been harvested. It was a last minute decision so I bought plug plants. I bought the Winter Duo Pack from suttons.co.uk  which had

Poulton F1 (a short-shafted variety which produces high quality leeks with high density and attractive dark colour) and Vitaton F1 (an ideal partner to Poulton, allowing a supply of leeks well into the late winter).
LINK

I have been really impressed. They have grown well, look good and taste awesome    I will definitely be growing them again. I know that this is a more expensive option than seeds but with room/time at a premium at that time of year I thought that they were really good value. It felt really good just popping them in where the potatoes had been; why hadnt I thought of it before 

Looking at their site they also do an autumn duo pack consisting of

'Duration F1 (a quick-yielding late summer/early autumn variety) and Megaton F1 (a high-yielding hybrid that combines earliness with a long harvesting window thanks to its low risk of bolting). 

They need planting too early for my needs (May) but may suite you. I hope that this helps.


Edit:
URL too long for page so converted to "LINK" (although it unfortunately returns "page not found" anyway.)

[Goosegirl]

Over the years, I have tried several varieties of leeks, but the best for a long white shank (the tenderest part) seems to be Tornado (aka Autumn Mammoth 2). Despite planting the other varieties in a deep hole, they didn't have the white shank length my chef OH wanted for cooking. These are also very tasty. Having looked today at other choices to expand the season, it seems that they all can be harvested over the winter whether as smaller leeks or left until the New Year.

[syks grower]

I sow in 2 batches 1 early and one late  i used musselburgh for both and have nice young leeks for harvest after the early sown ones are done .

This came about by accident when I had a poor germination and had to re sow a month later.

[Mr Dog]

I've grown some Jaune de Poitou as an early leek this year, apparently not particularly cold hardy (although they are surviving so far), which I think taste great - slightly sweeter than most leeks I've tried before.

[fatcat1955]

Oarsman for me every time.

[Madame Cholet]

bleu de solaise did well for me too.

[Growster...]

Blauwgroene Bandit (Thompson and Morgan).

They're a late leek, and respond extremely well to weekly liquid feeding with comfrey, nettle and 6X tea, until autumn. (September).

So far, they've grown bigger than any we've tried before, and not one has bolted yet, so fingers crossed.

I did a rough count yesterday, and we still have about 150 standing well!

I hope they'll all last until the wilderness months in early spring...

[JohnB47]

This year I'm going for mussleburg as my early and bleu do solaise as the late. My bleu are looking well now but I could have done with some earlier.

Ive also noticed that a neighbouring plot holders mussleburg did great, despite being planted out as very thin seedlings. In contrast, my bleu de solaise were kept back until they were pencil thick and didn't get away nearly as quick as his. Perhaps it was just a variety thing but I'm planning to get them in the ground a bit quicker next year.

[AlaninCarlisle]

Thanks for all that advice. It seems like I'll do Musselburgh for early and Bleu de Soleil and Blauwgroen Bandit for lates

[Snoop]

"Megaton F1 (a high-yielding hybrid that combines earliness with a long harvesting window thanks to its low risk of bolting)."

I can highly recommend these. I grew them the year before last and they were ready for picking in September and lasted right through till well into March. Still nice and crisp at the end, even though they were absolutely huge, and no sign of rust at all.

I couldn't get any for this season and was extremely disappointed.

[Herb]

I got some free DT Browns trial seeds a couple of years ago of a variety called 'porbella'.

They were so good I've ordered them again and again,  they produced good large tasty stems that stood up well to the harsh winter we had last year.

[AlaninCarlisle]

"Megaton F1 (a high-yielding hybrid that combines earliness with a long harvesting window thanks to its low risk of bolting)."
I couldn't get any for this season and was extremely disappointed.

D T Brown have them at £2.19 for 50. Just ordered some

[superpete]

I'm feeling all a bit overwhelmed by this.... fatcat recommends Oarsman and I've seen these recommended elsewhere. At T&M 40 seeds are £3.00 while at Moles, 250 seeds are £4.00.... what I want is about 100 I guess

I buy a lot of my seeds from Moles but as I started filling my basket yesterday – and with four items (veg) I was already up to £16.... so when I popped into Aldi tonight I picked up a packet of Musselburgh, 250 for 39p. I appreciate there are early and later maturing leeks but I could ask if there is any that you would not recommend?