Leeks

You can eat them when they're not much thicker than a pencil, but i'd leave them for now as they will slowly thicken over winter.

Just had a look at mine, mostly a bit thicker than my thumb, could do with a bit longer.

 

Mine are like straws.

 

Don't think i've ever fed mine

 

Oh no

Got any wood ash?

 

I've grown leeks for quite a few years, on and off, and I often think we are told to plant them too late.
Mine are not that big either, they suffered during the summer, as usual.

I'm not expecting mine to increase in size much, unless it stays mild till Christmas.
But I'll not harvest mine until Christmas at the earliest.

 

Nitrogen might make them bolt early, but saying that, we've had a good dose of rain so it might have washed it out before they took too much up.

Best leave the feed out now Just keep an eye on them, if any start to bolt, have em out, it'll give space for the others to get fatter.

 

I harvested 1 of mine and cooked it with some cabbage,it turned a pink shade is there a reason why? i never had 1 from the supermarket do that

 

Was it Red Cabbage?

 

If you want to grow decent sized leeks you need to sow fairly early. I sow in early March in fish boxes in the greenhouse and usually end up planting out in late May to early June. Planting in holes dibbled to about 9 inches sets the roots into moist soil and makes them less prone to dry periods and if you plant through holes in membrane this also helps reduce evaporation from the soil as well as weeds.
I feed by adding poultry pellets a week or two before planting and give two or three liquid feeds during the summer.
You can reduce the possibility of rust by planting rust resistant varieties.

These are the "spares" left over after planting the main bed. I just shoved them in in bunches to use as baby leeks.

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My Musselburghs don't seem very long when we've harvested a few. Will they just fatter and not longer?