Growing leeks is a profitable business, because this rather unpretentious crop produces high yields. The plant is usually cultivated on fertile loose soils with a high degree of moisture supply, but land with an acid reaction does not produce crops. The soil for plants needs to be prepared in the fall by applying an average of four kg of manure, 35 g of superphosphate and 17 g of potassium chloride per square meter of future plantings.
Growing leeks in the spring begins with additional fertilizing the soil with ammonium nitrate (25 g on average) and urea (about 17 g) per square meter. meter. Further, in mid-May, when the soil is well warmed up, it is possible to plant leek in open ground on ridges of sufficient height in an ordinary way. The optimal distance between rows is 0.3 meters, between plants in the same row - at least 0.2 meters, and planting depth - 0.1 - 0.15 meters.
Growing leeks can not do without regular loosening of the soil, weeding from weeds, watering and hilling plants. The growing season of the crop is about two hundred days, during which the onions need to be fertilized a couple of times with a mixture of manure (or bird droppings) with mineral fertilizers. This increases the yield and gives improved taste. The amount of nutrients introduced is usually calculated according to the same standards as for bulb varieties.
Growing leeks from seeds is usually carried out in the fall. To do this, at a soil temperature of 1-2 degrees Celsius, they dig it up, fertilize it with a pair of humus buckets and 70 grams of nitrophosphate per square meter. A plot (or ridges) is leveled and seeds are planted to a depth of about 2 cm at a distance of 3 cm from one another. Top seeds must be covered with humus or peat in a couple of centimeters. With sufficient snow cover, the plants survive the winter well and sprout together in the winter. Sowing work is usually carried out in early November or late October.
The cultivation of leek seedlings begins two months before planting in the ground. Before sowing in greenhouses, the seeds are soaked for three days and then planted to a depth of two centimeters with a row spacing of 0.05 meters. The optimum temperature for the emergence of seedlings is a range of 20-22 C, then the temperature during the day can be maintained at 18-20 C and 10-12 C at night.
Growing leeks of a quarantine variety gives plants with a relatively small onion, which is well stored. The Bulgarian variety produces larger bleached onion parts, but it cannot be sown for the winter due to insufficient tolerance of cold. Harvesting onions of all varieties is selectively started from mid-August, while thinning it. Mass harvesting begins in early October, while the roots of plants are cut to 2 cm, and the leaves to 0.25 meters. Storage of the crop is carried out in the cellars in the sand, in a dug form. One square meter can be obtained within one and a half - two and a half kilograms of stems and greenery. The green leek contains a large amount of vitamin K, as well as manganese, folic acid, magnesium, molybdenum and other necessary substances, which makes its use very useful for the body.