garden news-planting leeks

GARDEN NEWS-PLANTING LEEKS 


i sit here this morning real early listening to the rain hitting the cover over our front deck
it reminds me of being at the country n when the rain would land on our metal roof

yesterday after i got home from my infusion i took a nap listening to the rain hitting our roof and going down our gutters
it was like a lullaby being sung in my head
i slept so good for my nap

we havent gotten much rain since i have lived here
last year we only got about 5 inches all year
we have gotten that already just in the last week

this rain yesterday and today is from that atmospheric river or pineapple express that brings a slurry of rain to us
it seems we are getting waves and waves of them

here the ground is real saturated now so the rain is running off real easy making it a set up for flooding and mud slides
one area in montecito under the area where the thomas fire was has been given mandatory evacuation orders
so far this morning the news hasnt said we had any mudslides 

in texas i never grew leeks but since moving here i have started growing them 
when i was sick almost 3 years ago i mainly could only eat soups 
the organic soup kitchen makes enriched nutritious organic soups for donating to those who need extra nutrition like chemo patient or the elderly

i ate their soup once or twice a day for several weeks
i always say their soups are the reason i got better
i could tolerate only a few other things like rice scrambled eggs crackers
everything i ate had to be pureed for several months

i noticed almost everyone of their numerous soup varieties have leeks in them
the leeks provided extra nutrition and flavor to the soups

in our garden we donate a lot of our vegetables to the organic soup kitchen
over half of the leeks we grow will be donated to them

so 
thats why i plant leeks in my garden
i use them in soups stews some casseroles and all my beans i cook

luckily i planted the leeks below a week before all this rain hit
these are the leeks i ordered from dixondale farms in texas
i order them every year in september and they are shipped right after christmas

usually i am sent much larger plants that are bigger than the onion plants i ordered
this year for some reason they sent the smaller younger plants
i ended up with about 500 more plants than i needed

they come in these bundles of about 50-100 leeks
i open the box as soon as they arrive
remove the rubber band and spread them out

i plant them in my plot and also in a designated row in the community garden

so since we got so many extras this year
i found places in the garden to plant a few others
some we will put in six packs and sell at our plant sale a fundraiser in 2 months
others i have given to other plot holders in the garden and other gardeners in the area
we will have an abundance of leeks this year for sure

this is my 3x7 ft bed
the soil was prepped about a month ago
i added a deep layer of compost from my worm composter and the gardens composter
i added a sprinkling of an organic fertilizer as per the bags recommendation
i then forked it all in with my garden fork
i then soaked it good with a mixture of fish emulsion seaweed and molasses
i then covered the area with a thick layer of mulch

when i was ready to plant the leeks i raked back the mulch
a 3 inch hole was made with the end of a childrens rake
the holes are are made 6 inches apart
i then dropped a leek into each hole
i then covered it with soil leaving a small amount of the green leaves sticking out of the soil

i will give the leeks a feeding of the fish emulsion seaweed molasses mixture about every 2 weeks

i planted 70 leeks in this bed
thats enough for us for the year
i pull them fresh to use in cooking
when they get mature i will harvest them
and slice them up and freeze them for use all year

ill probably find some open spots in my garden to plant more


this is a 30 ft row in our main garden that is about 36 in wide
i planted the leeks the same way i described above in my garden
the soil had been prepped the same as in my garden
the compost and organic fertilizer was forked in with a large 3 ft wide broad fork 
the bed was raked well with a larger garden rake
the bed was left to sit for over a month
this allows the worms and microorganism to get to work enriching the soil
or

as we say it lets it ripen

the leeks are planted 3 inches deep and 6 inches apart

i planted over 400 in our community garden
i will sneak a few others into other spots that are open also
we will be able to donate all of them

an organic leek can cost between $1.50-2.00 a piece


now this is our bed of onions that i recently planted
this is how this bed of leeks will look in a couple of weeks
that is
if the rain doesnt drown them

leeks are easy to grow
plant them as above
they require little care
some folks keep dirt pulled up on the white part so they will get a longer white stalk
they could be grown in pots also

try leeks in your garden

the organicgreen doctor