Welcome to Week 6!
We have leeks again this week! If you missed them last week, now is your chance. They are a trial crop for us this year, so we only planted enough for a few weeks. Let's just say we're confident in growing them and will plant a whole lot more next year! Here are some of our leek growing tips:
- Leeks harvested in fall and winter taste the sweetest. Summer leeks taste more like scallions though they are still lovely.
- Fall/Winter leeks require a looooooong time in the ground. Ours were seeded March 18, transplanted April 20, and harvested November 2. That's a full 230 days from seed to harvest! They *could* have been harvested earlier, but the beauty of leeks is they get better after a few frosts, and don't deteriorate in the ground.
- Leeks like a lot of space and very rich soil. Ours are planted singly, rows 10" apart, spaced 8" apart in row. If the soil isn't very rich, they will need even more space.
- To achieve a long, white shaft, leeks need to be transplanted deeply. Spencer made a special leek dibbler for this task!
- Leeks need even, heavy watering. Ours had overhead irrigation all summer long, multiple times per day. That is how they survived the June/July heat wave.
- The variety we're growing this year is "Tadorna", though there are many, many worthy varieties for this climate.
Enjoy the produce this week. Eat well and share often!
Katherine and Spencer
