Leek Geek
I pulled a single leek today to see how the “new” leek scheme for 2012 worked. I really wanted to maximize the usable yield so I decided to put up with the early hassles of this method. (And it was a hassle for sure.)
As a refresher, here is the short version of the scheme:
- Start seeds in vermiculite
- Transplant (deeply) to soil mix
- Transplant (deeply again) to garden bed
- Hill up later to increase blanched portion
- Harvest all winter anytime after first freeze
I started the seeds in mid March then transplanted them (step 2) on April 10:
In June, I transplanted them to the beds (step 3) as deeply as I could. The squirrel-guarded transplants on June 3:
Sometime in August I added the second level to the bed and hilled (step 4). I hilled again with shredded leaf compost in September and by Oct 7 they were getting some growth on:
By Nov 10 they were fattening up as I had hoped:
Now that we’ve had some lows in the 20s I couldn’t resist pulling a sample specimen from a corner of one bed ( by chance it turned out to be the one next to the tape in the Nov 10 pic above).
Wow.
1 1/2″ thick and sweet blanched portion runs approximately 9″ up from the roots. (yes I measured it.)
Dec 2 
The Leek Geek says:
This IS the way to grow leeks in Georgia.
Behind cohutt's fence 
Great, now I know how to grow leeks in Georgia. Any tips for Sydney? I’ve tried a couple of times and end up with something approximating sickly chives. I just don’t have the knack for growing anything in the onion family (including chives). I try to tell myself it’s the climate, but I know that’s bullocks. I’ll keep trying, but if it takes as many transplantings as you did here, I will never master the lowly leek.
Love the leeks… I hope they’ll do well in NM, too. I had to laugh when I saw the photo of your paring knife and leek side by side. Says I, “That’s the exact same paring knife that I like best!” (Zwilling, right?)
LC.
Good eye. 4 Star. The one the same size with a “hooked” or concavely curved blade is quite useful too.