Leeks: Planting and Care in the Open Ground

Leeks: planting and caring for them in the open ground, growing from seed, and storing them for the winter—that's the topic of today's gardening discussion. If you have a plot of land, be sure to plant these healthy greens there, store them for the winter, and you'll have a treasure trove of vitamins and a delicious addition to your dishes until next summer.

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Growing Leeks from Seed

Soak the seeds in warm water for half an hour, drain, and leave them in a damp cloth for a couple of days. If you live in a temperate climate, you can sow the seeds directly into the ground. In northern regions, it's recommended to plant seedlings, so do this in advance. Leeks have a long growing season, so you should start sowing seeds and seedlings very early, around mid-March. While the seeds are soaking, prepare boxes filled with peat moss (or sod soil with some humus).

Plant the prepared seeds in furrows dug every 5 cm, 1 cm deep. Place the seeds in the furrows, compact the soil, lightly water with warm water, and cover with plastic wrap. This will create a greenhouse effect for better germination. To prevent your seeds from becoming stale, periodically air them out, giving them a breath of fresh air.

Until seedlings emerge, maintain the temperature at 25°C (77°F). Once sprouts emerge, reduce the temperature to 10°C (50°F). While the seedlings are growing, fertilize them twice. Potassium chloride, urea, and superphosphate are excellent fertilizers. If the seedlings are crowded, thin them out so that each seedling is at least 2 cm apart. Water regularly, making sure the soil doesn't dry out.

When it's time to transplant into the ground, begin hardening off the seedlings a week beforehand. Reduce watering and lower the temperature. You can also bring them outside a little at a time on warm days; otherwise, the tender seedlings will have a hard time adjusting to the outdoor temperature when planted in the ground, and they may die. Plant in a well-lit area in rows spaced 30 cm apart, with 10 cm between seedlings.
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How to care for onions after planting

At first, the sprouts will require more attention, but then everything will become much easier. To ensure your onions grow well, beautifully and juically, be sure to thoroughly remove weeds and water the leeks so that the surrounding soil is consistently moderately moist, but not overly soggy.
To get juicy white stems, you need to hill the plants a couple of times and mulch with dry grass. Once 4-5 leaves appear, you should start fertilizing. Leeks like this: a bucket of water plus a liter of mullein. But water between the rows, not under the plant itself, otherwise your onions will become inedible. If your soil is rich and well-fertilized, you can simply water them with an infusion of mown grass; that will be sufficient.

Protection from diseases

Protect your onions from pests and diseases such as onion flies, rust, black mold, fusarium wilt, and powdery mildew. Don't worry, your onions won't necessarily get all of these diseases, but forewarned is forearmed. Right?

You can't cure aphid mosaics, downy mildew, or rust—just keep an eye on them and remove infected plants promptly to prevent them from spreading to other plants. Onion flies can be controlled by diluting a cup of salt in a bucket of water and watering the beds at the roots, then sprinkling carrot seeds, ash, or pepper on top. To prevent this problem, plant carrots between the rows beforehand; onion flies dislike their smell.

Growing from seeds in winter

Using the method described above, you'll harvest leeks the same year, and they're ready to eat as soon as three or four leaves appear. If you sow the seeds directly into the ground in June, you'll get a two-year-old crop that can be stored over the winter. By the end of summer, stop fertilizing the plants, and in the fall, earth them up. You can also cover them with compost and cover them. Spruce branches, for example, are suitable for this purpose; remove them in the spring when the weather warms up.

Another option: fertilize the beds in November, sow the seeds, cover them with humus and peat, and cover them with snow in the winter. And by spring, you'll have green leek shoots.

Storing leeks

You can preserve leeks until spring by placing them vertically in sand in a basement. To do this, harvest the leeks before frost and trim off the roots and leaves. They can also be stored in the refrigerator for several months, placed in plastic bags, but not tightly sealed to allow air circulation and prevent rot. Suitable varieties include Columbus, Tango, Karantansky, and Elephant. Good luck!

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