By Chris Winslow
Last spring was the first time I had tried to grow a crop of leeks in my south Austin garden. It was so successful that I want to share all of the info that I have on this easily-grown and highly nutritious plant.
Placed in the genus Allium and the family amaryllidaceae, leeks are closely related to onions and garlic. However unlike onions that are day-length sensitive, and garlic which requires a winter ‘vernalizing’ period to bulb, leeks are ‘day length neutral’ – which simply means you can plant them any time of the year.
You can easily plant them from seed, but they’re most commonly planted from sets (seedling transplants).
Leeks are heavy feeders and love ample amounts of water. Copious amounts of rich compost and slow release organic fertilizer should be mixed into the top 6 inches of garden soil. Add some sand or decomposed granite to provide drainage. A sunny location is best.
Plant your leeks in trenches 6 inches deep and hilled up (like potatoes) as they grow. This blanches the bottom of the leek shafts making them sweeter and more tender. If you place them 2 inches apart in the row, this will allow you to harvest every other one early, leaving the others room to mature.
Leeks are most commonly used in soups or for adding flavor to stocks. You’ll find it in Scotland, for example, where it’s an important part of ‘cock-a-leekie,’ the national soup. From France comes potage parmentier, a potato leek soup made famous in this country by Julia Child.
Apart from being good for our overall health, experts tell us it is especially good for our vocal cords. The emperor Nero dined on leeks to add strength and quality to his voice, and much, much more recently, in the film Sophie’s Choice, Sophie (Meryl Streep) was given leeks to give her strength and add tambour to her voice.
This easy-to-grow vegetable is loaded with vitamins A and K, and iron, calcium and manganese.
With leeks at more than $1 each in the grocery store, an addition of leeks to your garden this year might just be an economically wise move.
Happy gardening everyone!
If you have a gardening question, send it to Chris via email: iathyme@yahoo.com. (Please put ‘Ask Chris Winslow’ in the subject line.) Or mail your letter or postcard to: Ask Chris Winslow. It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748
