Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden: How to grow leeks

September is the time to plant leeks. Photo / 123RF

Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s documenting her journey from leek hater to leek rater.

OPINION

As a child I detested leeks.

Had my mother bathed them in cheese sauce, they would have gone down a treat, but mine came straight from the boiling water on to the plate … ugh!

Thank goodness my palate has matured, and leeks now are one of my favourite vegetables as they are so versatile.

They are gorgeous in a leek and bacon tart, great in a leek and potato soup, delicious cooked and added to a cheese sauce, and ideal in a vegetable stock.

I also use them if I have no onions available.

They are such an easy vegetable to grow, but they do take a long time to mature.

To have lovely fat, plump leeks you are looking at up to six months to mature after transplanting.

In saying that, I do eat them when they are smaller as I find them sweeter then, but nothing beats pulling a perfectly formed large leek.

The best time to plant your leeks is late spring or early summer and then hope they mature for winter picking.

Maturity is often affected by temperature, how good your soil is, and that crucial factor, water!

Leeks perform better with a dressing of fertiliser that is high in nitrogen as this promotes more leaf growth.

They like well-drained, but moist soil and enjoy the sun.

As the old saying goes,” The colder they grow, the sweeter they are.”

Serve this leek and potato soup alongside crusty bread with lashings of butter. Photo / Babiche Martens

Leeks do well in soil that has been enriched by some good compost, preferably aged compost that you have made and that is well-rotted.

You need to dig this in a couple of weeks before planting your seedlings.

You can either plant your leek seedlings into a trench, or using a dibble, planting them approximately 15cm deep and 15cm apart.

They are best planted in rows.

And what is a dibble?

It is a pointed hand tool, usually made from wood and used for making holes in the ground for seeds or young plants.

To be honest, you could also use a piece of bamboo to do the same job, but a dibble is much more user-friendly.

Blanching leek stems to increase edibility

I know some gardeners who like to extend the length of the white of the leek.

This is done by using a paper collar or sometimes two.

Mid-autumn is usually when this is started or when your leeks are nearly fully grown.

A paper collar is put around each leek and then the soil is moulded up and around each stem.

Sounds easy, but you need to be careful that you do not get soil in between the collar and the leek as this could rot the leek.

Watch out for snails or the dreaded slugs as they love getting down in between.

I have always been happy just to let them grow and I don’t mind adding a bit of the green leek to whatever I am making.

Harvesting leeks

Big or small; harvesting comes down to preference.

I leave them in the ground till they are needed and then when I harvest, it is usually with a garden fork as pulling they can easily snap.

Make sure you harvest before they develop a seed head as this diminishes the quality of the leek.

With quite a few varieties to choose from, Winter Giant is my choice this year.