Good enough to eat

Dec 1 2007

by Susan Taylor, The Journal

Leeks THEY are a staple of winter, conjuring images of steaming leek and potato soup, leeks wrapped in ham or baked in the oven topped with juicy tomatoes and grated cheese. And they are very easy to grow, either in containers or raised vegetable beds. Also, they are happy being left in the ground until you need them. Sow the first seeds in March in a seedbed. In colder areas, you need to cover the seedbeds with cloches or garden fleece. If you want them in your borders, sow them in small pots or modular trays, keeping them cool but frost-free. Within a few weeks, plants raised inside can be hardened off and moved outdoors in spring and pricked out to grow on. In June and July, plant them out into their final position, dropping each plant into a hole made with a dibber. The deeper the hole, the longer the blanched stem will be, but make sure some leaves are above soil level. Fill each hole with water to settle the plants in and don’t worry if they droop initially. The leeks can then be harvested from October to spring. Good varieties include ‘Autumn Mammoth 3 Snowstar’ and the baby leek ‘King Richard’.