2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Leeks are a worthy competitor to their onion counterpart, and more and more often you can find the planting of this unusual vegetable with an unusual bulb shape in the garden beds. The culture is rich in nutrients valuable for the human body: potassium and iron, phytoncides and essential oils. A cylindrical bulb is used for food, which is formed by the bases of wide flat leaves. Especially appreciated when this false stem is white
The secret of the white leek legs
Leeks come in many different lengths. In addition to the bulb, tender leaves of young plants also have nutritional value. They are taken mainly for preparing fresh summer salads from raw vegetables. Well, when ripe, leeks are highly valued by gourmets for their cylindrical onion. The thickness of this edible part is about 5 cm in diameter, and the length of the false stem on average ranges from 15 to 50 cm. This already depends not so much on the gardener as on the characteristics of the variety. However, it is the caring master's hands that give the false color its white color.
Harvesting of leeks begins in August. And at the beginning of the month, you need to take measures to whiten his legs. This procedure is not difficult at all. To do this, the onion must be hilled high - about 20-25 cm. Mass harvesting is performed before the arrival of stable frosty weather.
False stem bleaching can be taken care of in advance
Experienced gardeners make sure that the leek has a bleached stem in advance. For this, it is cultivated in high beds. For this purpose, first they are engaged in the cultivation of seedlings. Crops are made thick, but after the shoots should be thinned out. It is recommended to harden plants outdoors before planting in open ground. Then they are moved to high ridges. Seedlings at that time must be at least 50 days old. Roots that are too long can be shortened by a third.
Planting is performed in rows with an interval of 15 cm, the row spacing is left 25 cm wide. Initially, the leek hole is not made deep - about 5 cm. The soil after planting needs to be compacted a little, and the beds should be watered immediately. The established seedlings are mulched.
With the further care of the planting, everything above is hidden under the embankment of the earth, until the plant is almost completely out of sight. But first, it is better to protect the stem from falling grains of earth between the leaves so that they do not spoil the appearance of the vegetable. For this, a paper layer is arranged between the soil and the stem. In addition, caring for leeks consists in loosening the soil, feeding plants, weeding from weeds.
Wintering plantings of leeks
Leeks are grown not only through seedlings, but also by sowing seeds right away in the beds. The timing of such crops is the first summer days. However, the harvest in the first year from such crops will not work. Plantings are left to winter in the ground. Highly hilled young sprouts, additionally covered with humus, tolerate the cold season well. They will become suitable for consumption in July of the next warm season.
Dig out the whole leek from the beds. Before laying for storage, the plants are left to dry right in the beds. This requires no more than a few hours. Large crops can be stored in cellars. So that it does not lose its freshness, leeks are dropped in boxes filled with wet sand. The storage temperature is maintained at about 0 ° C.
Soil requirements
Leeks are best cultivated on fertile soils with a neutral reaction, and on acidic soils, the yield is poor. The site can be filled with manure, but under the previous crop. Organic matter is introduced into the soil at the rate of about 6-7 kg per 1 square meter. area.
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