From the trench to the table In the spring, one of the staples in my household was planted--leeks. Anyone who grows them knows that there are many different types, which will be ready to harvest at different times of the year. The ones that we planted were a "fall harvest" variety. To begin with, I dug a trench with a furrow-maker. It is to the right of the young spud plants. I then used a dibber to make a even deeper hole in the bottom of the trench. The young leek plants were selected and then simply lowered into the hole. Here you can see the first row of them. The season progressed and they did well. They grew and didn't get too much rust. I earthed them up a number of times, taking care not to bury the growing point. The trench eventually filled and then further earthing-up until it looked as if they had been planted in ridges. This was, of course, the point...as the part that is most commonly eaten is the lower segment, and the very reason that I plant them do deeply is to give a longer segment of whitened leaves. Naturally, I could be exotic and place tubes around them, but that is extra work. I harvested four of them today for a leek casserole. Aren't they beauties! The measurement stick shows that they have 9-10 inches of white. I was well chuffed. Some of the ingredients laid ready for the preparation. Our own spuds here--Trixie's. I took this pic after we had taken our half. There is still enough for another meal in a day or two. Well, I reckon that I do not have to tell you that this turned out deliciously. I really had to restrain myself not to eat more. We call it "Prei Schotel". It has meat in it, but it doesn't have to. Popular meats are ground beef or chicken. Lawd have mercy.
That looks delicious! I have trouble with leeks ... I trench them as well but have never gotten 10 inches of white leaves!
You leeks are beautiful and delicious. I remembered the one and only time I planted leeks they all turned out to be like chives, all skinny!
That looks so good it makes me wanna go to the kitchen and cook. Like now. Could you please post a recipe for this casserole?
NETTY-- Hiya. well what adds to the length of whiteness is the extra inches that I get by making a hole with my dibber in the bottom of the trench. That, along with the earthing-up gives me quite a bit blanched leaf. As far as the earthing-up goes, I let nature fill the trench and dibber hole in naturally with rain; however, if I notice that the young plants are growing faster than they are being covered, I take the hoe and help out. I try and keep the soil level around the plant just under the growing point. **Just out of curiosity, do you clip the root tips and/or the leaf tips of the plantlets at the time of planting? Thanks for the comment, KK--I wonder what happened with your leeks? Perhaps the soil was not rich enough. I have noticed also that they seem top do better if they can have a bit of shade. I do not always plant them in this way, but when I do they are always taller and look stronger. Do you think that you will try again? Glad that you liked the posting this time, McS--I shall think about how the casserole was made and post a recipe on that forum. It is a un-complicated,off-the-cuff recipe, but it tasted so good.
Those leeks look so good Sjeord. My first thought when I saw your photographs was that they'd make great leek and potato soup. However, after seeing the mouth watering dish you made I want the recipe too. :-D
Oké Eileen I will see if I can get it all written down. McS was interested as well. NETTY--The jury is out on the clipping as far as I am concerned. Having said that, I understand the reason why the clipping is done: (1)--clipping the leaf tips forces the plant to develop more roots so that the plant can produce more leaves and lengthen the clipped ones. (2)-- By clipping 1/2 - 2/3rds of the roots they will branch and become thicker and more numerous.
I love easy recipes that use ingredients I don't normally buy. I also would appreciate the recipe. Jerry
I know I am late for dinner but leftovers are fine. :-D Looks fantastic,,going to copy the recipe now.
Chuckle...always a seat for you, Mart. Good luck with that. Let me know how it turns out for you, would ya?
Sjoerd, yes I will try planting leeks again but I have to wait awhile to get enough compost to do it.
