Leek and its cultivation

Leek is an infrequent guest in Russian gardens, although it is unpretentious, and this is a valuable gastronomic culture. Let’s see what a leek looks like and how easy it can be to grow.

Leek is a herbaceous biennial plant.. Grown as an annual. Outwardly, it differs from ordinary onions. The leaves are wider, fit a powerful stem like a fan. The usual bulb is absent; at first glance, the plant ends with a stem, from which a small bunch of roots sticks out. In fact, this is a misleading impression. Both the visible bulb and the stem are false. In the ancestors of the modern leek, the bulb was more pronounced, today it has decreased in width. What looks like the stem and bulb are the thickened undersides of the leaves. The length of the so-called bulb is 10-12 cm, diameter is 2-8 cm. The lower parts of the leaves are light green.

Leek blooms, like all plants from the onion family, with a spherical umbrella of small loose flowers. Flowering begins in the 2nd year. The plant throws out an arrow up to 2 m high. The seeds are very similar to onion seeds – trihedral. All parts are eaten, they are all edible, and there are no differences from onions in this. Most often, white legs (false stem) are eaten. You can eat the green part, but with age it coarsens. But young green leaves have a piquant, slightly spicy taste, tantalizing, fragrant and more interesting than that of onions. Known since ancient Egypt, widely cultivated in medieval Europe. The world leader in the production of leeks is France.

The most interesting varieties

• “Columbus”. A variety that is suitable for the Leningrad region. Very early. The legs are up to 7 cm in diameter, up to 35 cm long, very juicy. It stands out against the background of other varieties with very thick legs.
• “Karantansky”. Late-ripening, compact, legs up to 25 cm long, 4 cm in diameter, tender and juicy. Ideal for small beds and dense crops.
• “Casimir”. Tall, slender variety with long elegant legs. False stems 22-26 cm high. Mid-season.
• Goliaf. Very large early universal variety, legs can reach 8 cm in diameter, up to 50 cm in length.
• “Terminal”. Czech mid-season variety. The legs are very long and slender, up to 40 cm in length. Plants are powerful and elegant at the same time.
• Siberian Giant. Mid-season, very hardy variety with giant legs up to 50 cm in length. The weight of the legs is 2-2,7 times greater than that of the “Terminal”.
• Bulgarian Giant. It differs from the “Siberian Giant” in slightly smaller legs. Length – up to 45 cm. Otherwise, it is very similar, the same mid-season, cold-resistant.

The culture has a long growing season – up to 6 months. The leg will begin to grow only 2-3 months after sowing. Therefore, in most regions of the Russian Federation, leeks are grown through seedlings. Seeds are planted immediately in the ground only in the southern regions.

Seeds are sown from mid-March to April in a greenhouse or greenhouse. To avoid picking, the seeds are immediately laid out in individual containers.. Peat tablets or cassette cells are best suited. 1-2 seeds are placed in each cell.

Immediately sown in a permanent place at the end of June, in this case, the harvest will be only the next year. In October, instead of harvesting, the plants are once again spudded and covered. It is also possible to sow seeds before winter: in October, the seeds are sown immediately in a permanent place and covered with a layer of peat or humus. Seeds remain viable for 2-4 years.

Seedlings need to be highlighted, young plants should receive 10-12 hours of light. Temperature conditions:

• seed germination – + 22 … 24 ° С;
• immediately after germination – day + 17 … 20 ° С, night + 10 … 12 ° С.

Higher temperatures will cause the flower buds to form too quickly. Seedlings are planted in open ground from May 1 to May 20, seedlings are 50-60 days old. 2 weeks before planting, the seedlings are accustomed to fresh air – they are taken out into the street, gradually increasing the time. The distance between seedlings is 7-10 cm, depending on the variety, between the rows – 15-40 cm. Different planting patterns are possible, it is better to focus on the recommendations of the seed manufacturer. For example, the leek “Karantansky” is sown every 6 cm, in row spacing of 25 cm.

When planting seedlings, you can shorten the leaves of the leek. Especially if the roots were damaged. And you can also shorten them in the summer to direct the juices of the plant to the formation and growth of legs. Leaves are shortened by no more than 1/3. The soil for leeks should be capacious for moisture, fertile. The best choice is high-humus loam. In heavy clay soils, plants often get sick. In too sandy, they lack nutrition, they grow slowly. Acidic soils are not suitable, pH should be 7-7,6.

Leek seedlings are planted in special holes in the garden. Make grooves up to 12-15 cm deep. Holes are needed to make it easier for plants to spud. Hilling allows you to get longer, juicy and white legs. After the first watering, the soil will wash into the grooves, and they will be leveled with other soil. That is, such an organization of plantings saves the gardener from the first hilling. In the future, planting spud 3-5 times over the summer. If you need to get seeds, the plants are left for the winter. Selected bushes spud, mulch with peat and sawdust.

Watering for leeks is very important, but in the first 3 days after planting seedlings in the ground, it is better not to water it so as not to provoke the development of diseases. In the future, they are watered 1 time in 5-7 days with warm water, pouring 1-1,5 buckets of water per 1 sq. m. Leek loves top dressing.

The main pests and diseases of leeks.

• Onion leafhopper. It feeds on plant tissues and spreads viral diseases. The leaves are covered with a dark coating. From them and from tobacco thrips, they are treated with the preparations “Confidor”, “Karate Zeon”.
• Tobacco thrips.
• Lukovaâ flies – the most dangerous pest for the crop. Fly larvae settle inside the stems and suck the juice out of them, adults feed on the lower parts of the plant. They are treated with Connect, Vantex insecticides or sprinkle the beds with pepper powder and wood ash.
• Alternaria. Most often affects leeks in warm and humid weather. It often occurs as a secondary disease – on plants already affected by other diseases or weakened by excess nitrogen in the soil. Treatment – fungicides “Kvadris”, “Signum”, “Kurzat”, “Acrobat”.
• Powdery mildew. The leaves are covered with a white coating that resembles flour or frost. The causative agents are a variety of fungi. Landings are treated with Topsin M and Quadris preparations.

Disease prevention.

• Thorough fall cleaning. All plant residues are either burned or plowed very deeply.
• Compliance with crop rotation. Onions should not be sown in the same place every year. There should be at least 500 m between plantings for sale and for seeds.
• Do not sow onions next to or after tomatoes. They are the most common source of powdery mildew.
• Joint planting with carrots. The smell of carrot leaves repels the onion fly.
• Seed dressing before sowing “Fitosporin”.
• Use of growth stimulants and biological protection agents: “Biocin-F”, “Fitosporin”, “Epine”, “Zircon”.
• Good care. Powdery mildew often affects plants suffering from moisture deficiency. Stagnation of water in the soil provokes bacterioses and attracts an onion fly.

Occasionally, leeks can be affected by Fusarium.

Cleaning is carried out in the fall, before the arrival of frost. Mature plants are not afraid of cold weather, but negative temperatures are undesirable. The optimal harvesting period is October 1-15. Undermining carefully, with a pitchfork, so as not to damage the stems. Dug out plants are allowed to lie in the fresh air for 2-3 hours to dry. The crop is sorted out, it makes no sense to put all too small stems in storage. Select the largest. The roots are cut, but so as not to damage the bottom. It is best to leave 1/3 of the roots. There is no unequivocal opinion about cutting the leaves. But most gardeners are of the opinion that the leaves are best left. Any damage weakens the plant, infections can enter through the wounds. Store the crop in a cool, dry place for up to six months. A basement, cellar, balcony is suitable as a place. Storage temperature – from 0 to +4°С. With a warm shelter, it can withstand frosts down to -7 ° C.

You can place the plants with their ends in a bowl, on the bottom of which a mixture of sand, sawdust and peat is laid. The stems are tightly, one to one, laid, the mixture is slightly sprinkled on the roots, but so that the white stems remain in the air. The substrate is slightly moistened. At +2°C, plants will grow slowly. As a result, the harvest will last longer – until mid-spring. Leek is perfectly stored in the freeze – up to 1 year. It is washed well, cut into pieces, placed in plastic bags and placed in the freezer. Leek stalks can be dried, especially if they are substandard and not suitable for storage. All excess leaves are cut off, the legs are released, washed under running water so as to rinse the sinuses. Then the stems are cut into thin slices, 1 mm each, disassembled into rings, dried in an oven, stored in a closed container.