The advantages of onions are undeniable. But his relative leek is extremely tasty and tender, and therefore many people want to grow it, but often do not know which side to approach this matter.
Leek does not form a turnip. The edible part of this onion is the tightly rolled lower part of the leaves. It is bleached by highly hoeing plants, then it is especially tasty.
Two-year growing method
Usually leeks are grown in a two-year culture due to the fact that it has a long growing season — about 180 days after germination. In the first year, early in spring, seeds are sown-blackberries — just like onion seeds. Then, in early August, the grown plants are transplanted to a specially prepared place and left to winter. And only next year they receive commercial leeks.
Seedling method of cultivation
Leeks can be obtained in one season. To do this, seedlings are pre-grown, sown at home simultaneously with root celery and transplanted to a specially prepared place in May. By the end of September, you will get quite decent plants, but, of course, not as large as with two-year cultivation. Powerful plants turn out well in one year if you grow leeks in a covering ground. You can plant 5 pieces in a greenhouse to start using them early.
When growing leeks in seedlings, it has an interesting feature compared to the seedlings of onions grown from seeds. The fact is that the feather of onions when growing at home, lying down, breaks, and therefore it can be sown on seedlings no earlier than the beginning of April. But the leek feather is tough and does not spoil when lying down, so it can be sown very early, and thickly.
Preparation of the bed
In a sunny place, it is necessary to make a deep trench — at least to the depth of the bayonet of the shovel. All the soil from the trench should be folded on one side — an earthen roller is formed. In the lower part of the trench, it is necessary to add humus with a layer about 5-7 cm thick .
Planting seedlings
The seedlings are shaken out of the box into a deep dish, the tangle of roots is washed away with water, the roots and the aboveground part are cut off, leaving only 5-7 cm of both. Seedlings are planted about 15 cm apart.
The grown leek plants should be decomposed in a trench so that the roots do not bend upwards, but are evenly distributed over the humus. The aboveground part of the plants should be laid on the side of the trench that is opposite the earth roller. Now it remains only to sprinkle them with soil from the roller, filling the plants 2-3 cm deeper than they grew in the seedling container. In a couple of days, the transplanted seedlings will rise.
Care and fertilizing
Then you need to gradually, as the leek grows, pour the soil from the roller. Thus, the lower part of the plants will gradually be covered with earth. You will get a bleached stem without additional hoeing. If you want to get an even longer bleached part, you can additionally hoe the plants. The longer the bleached leg, the higher the quality of the leek.
Top dressing is required regularly. Every 2 weeks, leek should be fed, alternating organic with mineral. As an organic top dressing, a solution of manure or bird droppings is best suited. Manure is diluted with water 10 times, and bird droppings — 20 times. If there is no manure and manure, then feed with an infusion of weeds diluted with water twice. As a mineral top dressing, you can take any fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).
Using
You can start eating this onion as soon as it grows 4-5 leaves. Leek grows until late autumn, so you can not rush to clean it. It is necessary to dig with a pitchfork, so as not to cut the stems. After harvesting, the roots and the aboveground part of the green leaves are cut off. Leeks can be stored in a cellar in the sand, putting the plants in a box close to each other. But it is much better to store the stems in the freezer after washing them.
The aboveground part of the leaves is usually used for canning, but, as a rule, there is still too much greenery left, and it is thrown away. This should not be done, since the leek leaves are as rich in useful salts for humans as the bleached part, only they are coarse. The leaves should be finely chopped and dried. Then — grind on a coffee grinder and pour the resulting flour into a glass jar. Store in a closed jar in the kitchen cabinet and use when frying fish and meat instead of breadcrumbs or wheat flour. The taste of fish and meat turns out delicious!
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