Leek is a universal product. Due to its ability to quickly adapt to different climatic conditions, it is widespread throughout the world. It is consumed fresh, used in cooking, it is fried, boiled, steamed, dried, pickled, and from this it only tastes better. Leek is used as a separate product, as a seasoning and as an addition when harvesting vegetables for the winter. In this article, you will learn that planting leeks on a plot is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. A little care for him, and in the fall on your table will be a storehouse of vitamins.
Biological features
Consider leek, the general characteristics of the variety are presented below. This is a two-year-old plant that does not form bulbs familiar to us. In the first year, a false stem is tied to the leek. It has a cylindrical shape and wide leaves, which are fan-shaped located around the stem. The most productive part of the plant is the false stem mentioned above. Its thickness can exceed 7 cm, and the bow reaches a height of 30 cm.
In the second year, the plant develops a victorious shoot, at the end of which a spherical inflorescence is formed. From it, at the end of the growing season, you can collect seeds, thanks to which the leek is planted for seedlings.
It is necessary to observe a strict temperature regime of 2 ° C, under such conditions seeds will germinate and leeks will rise. Growing seedlings is a painstaking process. Young shoots do not tolerate frost, but when the plant takes root, small frosts are no longer dangerous for it.
There are two ways to grow leeks: planting seedlings or direct sowing in the soil. Below we will talk more about both methods.
The best place for planting onions seedlings
In order for leek to yield a plentiful crop, it must be grown with seedlings on well-treated fertile soils. For this type of plant, slightly acidic and neutral soil is excellent. Leek is very fond of moisture, so it can be grown on moist loamy soils. In heavy clay soils, the plant is poorly developed and sometimes dies. Urea, compost, superphosphate or
potassium salt are used as fertilizers
.Leek. Growing seedlings from seeds
In order to quickly germinate the seeds and get strong seedlings, you must resort to the following procedure. You need to place the seeds in hot water for 20 minutes, then in cold. After the hardening procedure and to accelerate germination, the seeds are soaked for three days in warm water. After the seeds have hatched, they are dried on gauze, and then the leek is planted with seedlings.
Sowing seeds
In order to grow a healthy leek, the procedure should be carried out at a certain time. For this, the gardener will need boxes for growing seedlings, which should fit on the window. February is the best time for the cultivation of leek from seeds. Caring for a plant during this period requires minimal effort. Timely watering and regular spraying will do the trick. If you plan to grow seedlings in a greenhouse, sowing is carried out in mid-April. And at the end of this month - the seeds can be planted on the beds. Do not forget to cover them with film.
Boxes are filled with prepared soil, but not to the very top. Then the seeds are planted in a row with an interval of about 5 cm. The depth of such a groove is not more than 15 mm. After the boxes are covered with foil and put in a warm and dry place. Inside the resulting greenhouse, the air temperature should be around 25 ° C. When the first shoots appear, remove the film and maintain the temperature regime all week - at night 12 ° C, and during the day - 17 ° C. After a week exposure, we observe 20 ° during the day and 14 ° at night. And so throughout the entire phase of growing seedlings.
We look after seedlings
After the first sprouts appeared from the seeds, a thorough care of the seedlings begins, on which the final result will depend.
Leek is a cultivated plant that loves water very much. Therefore, the soil should always be slightly moist. Do not overdo it with watering, otherwise the roots may rot. Make sure that the soil does not dry out, but you do not need to moisten it excessively.
Watering is carried out with warm water with a small pressure. The whole procedure is done carefully so as not to damage the stems of the sprouts. If you want to get a healthy and rich harvest, you do not need to limit yourself to just watering. In this case, top dressing plays an important role. It is carried out once or twice.
In order for the root system to become more powerful, and the stalk thick, they trim the leaves. After this procedure, the length of the leaves should not exceed 10 cm.
Planting leek seedlings after the plant is hardened. Within six weeks, it is taken out onto the street and watering is gradually reduced. And then the seedlings are planted in open ground.
We plant leek seedlings correctly
When the seedlings have grown stronger, it is time to plant it in open ground. Most often, this procedure is carried out in late April or early May. The plot must be prepared in advance. Seedlings are planted in rows in previously prepared grooves. Depth of planting is slightly greater than it was in the drawers. The roots and leaves of the onion are slightly pruned.
Rows are made at a distance of 50 cm from each other, and onion seedlings are planted, observing an interval of 10 cm. This provides good growth for the plant and makes the hilling process more convenient.
We grow leek
Planting leeks on seedlings is just the beginning. The hardest part is caring for a stronger plant. The basis for successful onion cultivation is two factors: care and top dressing. For a young plant, timely loosening of soil and weeding is very important. Watering and
feeding leeks is carried out as necessary. Most often, these procedures are performed during the growing season. For leek, an excellent fertilizer is bird droppings, it is bred with water in a ratio of 1:20.
After the young plant is well rooted, fertile soil is sprinkled on the bed. After a couple of months, the first hilling is carried out, then, as necessary, the procedure is repeated until the harvest. For a plant, it is very good to add wood ash to the soil before hilling. Leek does not tolerate weeds around itself, therefore it needs regular weeding.
To protect the crop
Like any plant, leek is susceptible to attack by pests and various diseases. But its main advantage remains that, in comparison with onions, it is still more persistent and is not so often attacked by pests or some kind of disease. Adhering to the above recommendations (proper planting of leeks for seedlings and observing cultivation agricultural techniques), as well as paying proper attention to the plant, growing it healthy is not so difficult.
However, there are still dangerous insects for this culture. For example, an onion fly. Despite its name, this pest damages many plants. But still there is a plant that this insect does not transfer to the spirit - carrots. If you plant these two cultures side by side, the problem with the onion fly will be solved. Another pest is tobacco thrips. To combat it, special chemicals are used. But nature managed to take care and create for tobacco thrips a natural enemy - a predatory tick.
One of the most famous ailments of leek is powdery mildew. To get rid of it, they use an effective tool called Bordeaux liquid. And if white rot appeared on the shoots and leaves, it's time to use the calcareous soil.
We harvest and store it correctly
Depending on the variety of onions, harvesting begins with the onset of the first frost, when 3-4 real leaves have already formed on the plant. The plant is gently dug up and pulled out of the ground, holding the shoots. The roots are removed by secateurs, leaving no more than 2 cm of the basal lobe, and the leaves are cut to 2/3 of the length. Leek has excellent long-term storage properties. At the same time, the content of vitamin C in the stem does not decrease. It can be stored in the basement all winter, for this it is enough to maintain 80% humidity at a temperature of 1-3 ° C, and stalk upright in a slightly damp sand. If the sand is excessively wet - the air regime will be violated, which means that the plant may begin to rot.
In addition, leeks can be stored in an unconventional way. It is frozen, salted, pickled, dried, etc. When dried, onions become a great addition to other seasonings. You can also pack onions in packages of 5-7 pieces and keep in the refrigerator for about 5 months.
Useful properties of leek
Leek contains a lot of vitamins, as well as a lot of protein. High content of ascorbic acid, potassium, carotene, etc. allows you to use this product to improve metabolism, increase appetite, increase immunity and to treat a whole list of diseases. For example, in the treatment of rheumatism, kidney stones, obesity, salt deposition, gout, atherosclerosis.
Many useful substances contain leeks. Growing, caring, seedlings on the windows and germinating seeds are worth the effort.
Summing up, we can say that leek is worth at least once in the garden of your garden.