If you do any of your own slaughtering, blood mixed with water will please your leeks greatly. Buy Seeds - Giant SeedsTv & Radio Negotiations - EmailConsultancy - EmailSponsorship - EmailProduct Developments - Email. | Reply, Hi Michel. Leeks are pretty much problem free, although one time we got our leeks trimmed right down to the ground by a rabbit. I will be growing next season a larger version of this year’s garden, dedicated to a lot of the best chefs in Montreal, Canada’s culinary capital. The solutions I’ve researched seemed rather labor intensive and while I love my bulgarian giants, I’m only willing to go so far in time and energy. Bulgarian giant has good length and girth, but you generally have to trade one for the other to some extent. | Reply, Yes of course, Awesome enterprise you have going. It is harvested about 4 to 5 times a year. Your leeks are mighty and no doubt very powerful! I was inspired by your page to get hold of some giant bulgarian leek seed to offer to our customers, which I have now tracked down, but I was wondering if I could use one of your pictures to illustrate it on our website? It’s an incredible inspiration. small starts in separate batches to confirm that indeed selecting large seedlings does make a difference. January 5, 2012 Your approach fascinates me because it is all about big AND good, as opposed to giant flavourless veggies. 3) Start early and keep ’em movin’: Leeks grow slowly, so start your leeks in January, February at the latest. The fungal disease rust can be a minor problem from summer onwards, so look out for varieties described as ‘rust resistant’ and make sure you leave enough space between plants for good air movement. In areas where the ground freezes for quite some time, you should lift any leeks which are ready and store them in some sand in a cool spot. If you do this for a number of years you will have a strain that is adapted to your environment and tastes! ( Log Out / Products, you may have noticed, are not always as advertised. | Reply. https://turkeysong.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/leeks-size-does-matter-and-so-does-shape/. 1) Select a huge variety: Scratch that. Yours do not look gigantic but simply bigger because healthier ( and of course genetic helps). Comment by Dan R-M | Try to save at least six plants just to prevent inbreeding. Giant Musselburgh’ makes my most superb crop of leeks. Comment by turkeysong | If you want the super largest plants ever, you should plant them farther apart in the first place. February 16, 2012 Autumn-planted leeks will grow through winter and be ready to harvest in early spring, while the spring-planted … Planting Leeks. The World Record was achieved with my own Yorkshire giant plants. I’m a fan of equidistant grid spacing in wide beds, so I would probably go with 14 inches apart in every direction. Thanks for sharing your techniques. You can transplant them if they are in the way, then let them go to seed which will take most of the rest of the season. Comment by Stevene | https://turkeysong.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/leeks-size-does-matter-and-so-does-shape/, Potato Onion Video and Multiplier Onion Giveaway. ( Log Out / Look at the comment left by JHM on Gigante D’hiver left by on this leek article. 3. Leek seedling. Long white stalks for cooking, huge green tops for stock. Bulgarian Giant is not very hardy though. • As the plants continue to grow, you can fit another collar above the first one and hill up more soil. | Reply. The Leeks will grow more than any of them through the winter, but they take a long time to get to that point, so start in February at the latest. So I’m passing on one of my five Liebster Blog awards to you. When the plants are initially establishing themselves in the ground, we use a balanced liquid fertiliser once a week and Shropshire Seaweed once a fortnight. February 16, 2012 How to Grow a Giant Leek. It’s very good, similar to liver in richness, but much milder and a better texture. Its hard to find good flat mix and better to make your own from some tasty homemade compost. Today we'll show you how to grow leeks in your garden with our step-by-step … (See Eliot Coleman’s Four Season Gardening for techniques to keep your garden growing through the winter in cold climates). At this time, also cover the roots with mycorrizhal funghi. Scorzonera, salsify and parsnips should go in by june or preferably earlier. Mustards will usually do well too, but they have to go in pretty late not to bolt right away. gobble gobble. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. In Victoria, they can be planted in autumn or spring. This was my first attempt at how to grow leeks in containers. Trailman and Centennial, Delicious Super Early Crab Apples, A Video Tour of my Amateur Apple Breeding Project, Why I’m Not Selling at the Farmer’s Market Anymore, Virtual Garden Tour and Seed Packet Give Away for Subscribers, Wildlands and Plants.. and Animals and Stuff. The flavor and aroma those tops can provide to vegetable stocks is unbelievable, and it holds up to pressure canning. When To Plant Leeks. Turkeysong is a homestead in the beautiful coastal mountains of Northern California. We ensure that the plants have a minimum of 13 hours lighting during their early stages. Also the food value is higher in roots than in the stuff we often think of as summer vegetables. Just dilute it and use it. Very cold climates will probably dictate growing the stubby flag types unless significant protection is used. Blood is easy, but you have to whip it immediately to keep it liquid if it is to be diluted and applied. First you will need to choose a site that has good drainage. I start by sprinkling the seeds in a pot and sifting 1/2 inch of soil over them. HI, found your great blog while trawling the net for new and interesting veg for our catalogue of open-pollinated heirlooms (www.realseeds.co.uk) . We grow many of our own veggies, which I can and dry to use throughout the cold season. They are also tough and they will survive considerable neglect and crowding. A complete consultancy service available on request. And timely – Saturday is Full Moon, if you go by that sort of thing, perfect time to start Allium seeds. The pip will need to be on a heated sand bench to propagate and they will take around 7 days to root. The purpose of individual modules is to ensure that there is minimum disruption to the root system when they are transplanted. Also, do you want length or girth? As the leeks grow earth the soil up around the stem, this will block out most of the light and can be used to create a good stem. They will also do well in the more alkaline soils found in most vegetable gardens. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. October 24, 2015 High nitrogen concentration and coherent soil moisture If you want to grow big and thick nutritious leeks, there are two things you must not avoid to ensure for them to grow better: high nitrogen concentration and coherent soil moisture. I am an organic plant collector and breeder from Canada. I am french speaking…sorry if my english is poor. Also, I think its better to be cropping the soil than leaving it bare, although there are always cover crops too. 1. The leeks in this bed were planted with the largest seedlings at one end and tapering to smaller seedlings at the other. Leeks grow well in zones 3-9. Be sure to water leeks thoroughly and add a layer of organic mulch. Planting leeks can seem daunting, but it shouldn’t. I start many winter garden plants in July/August and some much earlier when that last thing you are thinking is about a winter garden. Food and Drink Making, Garden Stuff, Uncategorized | bulgarian giant leek, Growing big leeks, using urine on leeks. ... Do this regularly, and by autumn your leeks should be big enough to lift for use in the kitchen. | Reply. This will include some form of artificial lighting. 7) Grow for as long as possible: No matter what you do, leeks take time to get their biggest. Leeks prefer fluffy and well-draining soil, so prepare the site by adding plenty of organic matter. | Reply. They take about 80-120 days to mature depending upon the variety. We have been producing our own leek seedlings for many years. Use good flat mix. Urine mixed with water will rock them into orbit. How did you solve the rust problem you talked about in your first leek post? Home-grown leeks are far superior to those bought in shops and versatile in the kitchen. Big-ass leeks (also called LOSLS – Leeks of Suggestively Large Size)) are terrific for the homesteader. Most leeks mature 100 to 120 days after sowing seed, but a few varieties mature in as few as 60 days. If water gets inside the foliage, this is likely to cause the leeks to rot! The winter garden is actually much easier and more productive per unit of labor because there are is less weeding and no watering to do. I would love to buy some of your seeds or trade them. There are two types of leek plants: early season, and late season. Leeks are the onion's elegant, more subtle cousin and when prepared correctly, can be absolutely delicious! Scarcely a day goes by when I don’t get at least one, and often multiple, hits on this page for people searching “huge ass”, “How to grow a giant ass” and the like.