Focus on… Growing leeks

LEEKS are often in the ground for 10 months, are an essential part of any winter plot and don’t require any technical growing kit – just soil. It’s no wonder gardeners can’t get enough of this allium! So, how do you guarantee successful harvests?

With careful selection, you can harvest leeks from August until April. Early varieties such as ‘Zermatt’ tend to have long, slender stems or ‘shanks’ and can be harvested as baby veg in late summer. As you move towards winter, varieties become stockier and hardier, with darker green leaves (called ‘flags’) – sowings of ‘Neptune’ and ‘Below Zero’ will yield well into the spring.

“They are an essential part of any winter plot”

While some leeks are open pollinated (such as ‘Musselburgh’), which can lead to variability of quality, the 1990s saw the introduction of F1 hybrid leeks. Bringing increased vigour, disease resistance and shank length, plus reduced bulbing and bolting,