Hello everybody,
The time has come to get the leeks planted. Actually we are a bit late but the weather has been so odd that we waited a bit. In past years we did it the traditional way which was to create a deep furrow down the center of the bed and leave a large bank of soil on either side. We would plant the leeks at the bottom of the furrow and then gradually over time fill in the furrow with the soil on each side.
This year we are trying something new. This is the way that Eliot Coleman plants his leeks and if it works for him, I am sure it should work for us.
We begin by making the bed surface quite smooth and then watering it well. You want the soil to be wet enough to hold together but not sopping wet.
Because I like my garden to be orderly, I use a tape measure down the center of the bed and then down each side to be able to make my planting holes exactly 6" apart. The planting stick I am using is merely a broken handle from a shovel that Frank has cut the end straight and then tapered one side. I plunge it into the ground about 6-7" deep, give it a twist around and lift it out. It makes nice clean holes.
The leeks are separated and one is gently inserted into each hole. If their roots are particularly long, I trim them off a bit. They are long enough that quite a bit is sticking up out of the hole.
After they are all in the ground the entire bed receives another very thorough watering. A bit of soil washes into all the planting holes and they are snug in the ground and all ready to start growing into beautiful white leeks.
That is all for today. I have some beds to weed and then I need to get some beans planted. Have a terrific day. Cheers.
~ Melanie ~
The time has come to get the leeks planted. Actually we are a bit late but the weather has been so odd that we waited a bit. In past years we did it the traditional way which was to create a deep furrow down the center of the bed and leave a large bank of soil on either side. We would plant the leeks at the bottom of the furrow and then gradually over time fill in the furrow with the soil on each side.
This year we are trying something new. This is the way that Eliot Coleman plants his leeks and if it works for him, I am sure it should work for us.
We begin by making the bed surface quite smooth and then watering it well. You want the soil to be wet enough to hold together but not sopping wet.
Because I like my garden to be orderly, I use a tape measure down the center of the bed and then down each side to be able to make my planting holes exactly 6" apart. The planting stick I am using is merely a broken handle from a shovel that Frank has cut the end straight and then tapered one side. I plunge it into the ground about 6-7" deep, give it a twist around and lift it out. It makes nice clean holes.
The leeks are separated and one is gently inserted into each hole. If their roots are particularly long, I trim them off a bit. They are long enough that quite a bit is sticking up out of the hole.
After they are all in the ground the entire bed receives another very thorough watering. A bit of soil washes into all the planting holes and they are snug in the ground and all ready to start growing into beautiful white leeks.
That is all for today. I have some beds to weed and then I need to get some beans planted. Have a terrific day. Cheers.
~ Melanie ~
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