Leeks

[triffid]

Those are some very handsome leeks!
Yes they are very winter hardy and keep chugging along during the depths of winter. Musselburgh is a popular old variety here, named for the region in Scotland where it originates. They have about 7hr of daylight in December.

Have you tried any perennial varieties? They form fat bulbs and hide away during the summer, with a fresh flush of new growth once the autumn rains arrive. Little baby bulbs bud off the outer edges of the mother bulb, and you can end up with a patch in no time. And the green part of these is tender and delicious.

[chrysanthemum]

Thank you, triffid. We had another even better harvest the other day, and I’ve definitely been enjoying leeks and Woods Mountain Crazy Beans sautéed together. It was our side dish at supper last night again.

I’ve heard of leeks called “Giant Musselburgh” [pronounced, Musselburrah, like Edinburgh, right?], I believe, but I had been unaware of perennial varieties before. I’m definitely going to have to do some investigation on those.

Edited to add: I did some reading on leeks, and it seems that in general leeks are actually perennials, just grown usually as annuals or biennials.  I really had no idea.  Thanks for calling that to my attention.

[Jim Tjepkema]

leeks are one of my favorites. In the past I got all of my leek starts in the mail. The ones you can by mail are very small. However, if planted early they will produce large leeks for eating by fall. Lately I have been able to buy young plants from a local source and I have also started leeks inside under lights to transplant into the garden.

At the end of the season I often harvest some leeks and stored them in a bucket with the roots covered with moist sand. I just set the bucket in my unheated garage. If I left them in the garden they would be frozen into the ground when winter arrives and could not be harvested. The leeks in the bucket will withstand freezing down to almost zero. I try to use them up before we get any below zero weather. If the sand in the bucket freezes so hard that I can't get the leeks out, I bring the bucket inside to warm it up so I can pull out the leeks. I think leeks could over winter in the garden if they were covered with a thick layer of mulch. Frozen leeks might look like they are damaged before they warm up. However, after warming up they will look normal and are edible. Those subjected to very extreme cold might not come back to life when thawed.

[galina]

Jun 10, 2023 13:35:22 GMT -6 chrysanthemum said:

Thank you, triffid. We had another even better harvest the other day, and I’ve definitely been enjoying leeks and Woods Mountain Crazy Beans sautéed together. It was our side dish at supper last night again.

I’ve heard of leeks called “Giant Musselburgh” [pronounced, Musselburrah, like Edinburgh, right?], I believe, but I had been unaware of perennial varieties before. I’m definitely going to have to do some investigation on those.

Edited to add: I did some reading on leeks, and it seems that in general leeks are actually perennials, just grown usually as annuals or biennials.  I really had no idea.  Thanks for calling that to my attention.

Here is a video that explains all about them, Chrysanthemum.  Unfortunately I struggle with them here and have yet to establish that easy bed of perennial leeks.  It is clearly much easier in Australia.  But I haven't given up yet.  It may be too cold over winter and our acidic soil doesn't exactly help, despite mulching with alkaline soil from the local council composting scheme.