Select your climate zone Australia - cool/mountain Australia - sub-tropical Australia - temperate Australia - tropical New Zealand - cool/mountain New Zealand - sub-tropical New Zealand - temperate United Kingdom - cool/temperate United Kingdom - warm/temperate What is my climate zone?

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
S	S	T	T				S		T

(Best months for planting Leeks in New Zealand - sub-tropical regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays. T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings.

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 15-18 weeks.
• Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 30°C.
• Space plants: 10-15cm

A member of the onion family. Looks rather like a large scallion or spring onion Grow in seed trays or punnets until about 20cm (8in) tall. They look rather like large blades of grass at that stage. Then plant out into trenches or individual deep holes. The aim is to blanch the stems while the plants are growing. Trenches should be about 20-25cm (8-10in) deep. Set the seedlings 10-15 cm (4 - 6in) apart then add enough soil to just cover the roots. As the plants grow fill the trench. Otherwise - make holes with a dibble or suitable stick 15 cm (6 in) deep and 3-4 cm (1.5 - 2 in) wide. Drop a seedling in each and water enough to cover the roots with soil. As they grow, watering will gradually fill the hole.

Leeks prefer moist clay soils. Keep soil moist and loose, mulch will help.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Leeks

Trim off the roots and any damaged leaves.
Young ones can be used whole with some of the green leaves
Wash thoroughly as the earth tends to get inside.
Chop and fry in butter (or olive oil) until tender.
Can be added to casserole meals, allowing time to cook through.
Leek and mushroom make a tasty combination for a tart filling.

Your comments and tips

28 Jul 10 darren (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I have found a leek growing in my garden from last summer and it is absolutely huge forgot to pick it.Beginning to feel its part of the family.Funny thing is it hasnt or didnt go to seed can anyone tell me when this may happen .Its probably to tough to eat but I can at least get seeds for this season.

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28 Jul 10 (Australia - temperate climate)

I would leave it to go to seed, then grow lots more! It sounds like a really good variety to propagate with such good 'holding' in the ground.

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18 Jul 10 Yvonne (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Gee. So many growing questions, so few answers. I have planted my seedlings in a well prepared garden 2 weeks ago they are going well, standing up but off course still looking rather delicate. I am going to blanch them with cane mulch as they grow. By all accounts, harveting in November. We'll see how it goes. I will let you know.

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15 Apr 10 (Australia - temperate climate)

leeks are also great in soup

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21 Mar 10 sandy (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I planted my leeks about 2 weeks ago I have never grown them before is this the right time?? I'm not really understanding how you should plant them? Can someone help me please!!

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04 Mar 10 Wendy (Australia - tropical climate)

I'm trying to grow leeks in a full tropical climate. As our winter/dry season is more like summer in a temperate zone, this year I'll try planting out as soon as the rain diminishes then plant maybe six every two weeks or so. We have an aquaponics system also which I plan to try leek in this winter. Wish me luck.

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20 Jan 10 elisa (Australia - temperate climate)

i planted leeks about august last year, of the 7 that were planted only one grew to a decent size, the others are still in there but no where near ready to pull. why would this be, could i have planted them too close together or was i just too late in planting?

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11 Jan 10 (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Thanks very much for the tips Chris, Demeter and Barb. The variety sounded so nice too - a French one called Jaune du Poitou. Next year I will give it another try. One positive thing the flowers are beautiful and the bees love them.

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02 Jan 10 Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

All is not lost if your leek goes to flower - You can eat the flower stem, just cook it like asparagus. I've never tried eating the leek flowers, but spring onion flowers can be a yummy addition to salad - I just pick a few 'petals' when they have the nectar in them (sweet and oniony flavour) and add to salad or garnish.

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30 Dec 09 Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Evelyn, once leeks start to flower they are completely inedible. You need to harvest them well before they grow the flower stem as it is very woody. You shouldn't need to cover the stems, but I would harvest them as soon as they reach an edible size (a couple of centimetres in diameter).

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