An essential staple of a self-sufficient vegetable garden, the leek is planted in abundance, since you’ll need about 300 leeks for a family of four each year. In this context, growing your own leek seedlings makes sense not only as a gardener’s interest but also financially.
When to sow leeks
The harvest will depend on when you carry out your leek sowing.
Thus, sowing leeks from January to February means transplanting them in April to be ready for consumption from June onward.
If you sow leeks in March, you’ll transplant them in May and eat them from August to December.
Leeks sown in May and transplanted in July can be harvested throughout the winter.
Finally, for the famous spring leeks, sow them directly in the ground in August to harvest in April of the following year.
How to sow leeks
Sowing leeks in seed trays
This is certainly the most efficient way to start leek seeds, because a seed tray allows you to start a large number of leek seeds without taking up a lot of space or soil.
Find a seed tray, or any container that can serve this purpose, that is at least 20 cm long, 10 cm wide, and at least 5 cm deep. Puncture the bottom to ensure drainage and prevent the soil from suffocating the roots.
Sow leek seeds as evenly as possible and cover them with a very fine layer of light potting soil (no more than a few millimeters) and water generously.
Sowing leeks in a frame or directly in the ground
Leek sowings under a frame are typically started from March, and in open ground in August.
In both cases, you must absolutely weed your soil with care, because young leek seedlings are very fine and fragile, and they don’t tolerate competition. Loosen your soil and don’t hesitate to mix in, at the surface, a light, high-quality potting mix.
Sow your leeks as you would in a seed tray and water to keep the soil moist for the entire germination period, which lasts about 12 to 20 days.
Planting your leek seedlings
After sowing leeks, you’ll need to think about placing them in the ground so that the small leek grows into a big one… that’s the whole point.
Once your young leeks have reached the thickness of a pencil, it’s time to transplant them in rows at around one leek every 12 cm, with row spacing of about 30 cm. Trim the leek roots to about 2 cm in length and shorten all the leaves by half before planting them deeply.
How to make your own leek seeds
Leek seeds are harvested from leeks sown in May and placed in a gauged bed (dug from the soil, the leeks are then laid together in a V shape in a trench about fifteen centimeters wide and then covered over the roots with soil, packing it down firmly) and then protected by a good mulch—perhaps with fallen leaves or cereal straw.
In the following spring, in March, replant the leeks kept in gauge about 50 cm apart from each other in another location. Plan to support the flower whose umbel can be very heavy and may cause the stalk to break.
Once the seeds reach maturity in August, harvest them and place them in a kraft bag or a paper envelope to store them away from light at room temperature… And that’s all there is to it!
