Showing posts with label Leek transplants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leek transplants. Show all posts

Sunday, 17 July 2016

Planting out my last leek seedlings mid July


 You may notice by the ripples under the water-but that we did have a very brief shower of rain , during which I thought I,d get this little job done .
I ,ve had dreadful migraine for most of last week ...so unable to update my journal .
So I actually did this just over a week ago and I,m so glad that I did it because right now we're having some fiercely hot sunny weather .
  You see , leek seedlings should be planted out and in the ground by mid July . I had already planted the main lot out  , so these will give me a good succession in supply . I use a lot of leeks , we love them and they stand so well , out in the ground  , through the winter months .
 The water in the wheelbarrow is water I put into it from the almost empty water-but , not from the rain shower ,which evaporated almost as soon as it hit the ground .


I tipped them out and gave them a swish around in the water to loosen the matted roots .


 Being careful not to get compost between the delicate leaves ...we dont want gritty leeks .


 I think I already mentioned this before ,but I dont trim the roots and leaves as some folk do .

I use this leek dibber  tool to make the holes... it's a bit like a wooden garden fork handle , with metal around the point . I found it in the shed when I moved here .
If you dont have one of these ,  just use a similar sized piece of  stick or spade handle .
 See hoe dry the ground is ?


 So what you do is , you water into the hole , let it drain away , drop the baby leek into the hole , you dont have to back fill as when you then water them all in , some of the earth will fall in around the roots . Actually , sometimes I do put a small pinch of compost onto the roots ...then over the coming months the leeks swell and have lovely blanched stems .
 Some people earth them up and put pipes around them to make the stem taller and even more blanched ....... I dont  and my leeks are always just fine .


                                   So there they are ..poor pathetic little things !
                 They will only really get growing when the cooler weather returns .


I still have about thirty more or so baby leeks left to plant out ....I hate to waste a single one and will slip them in wherever I can around the veg garden .


 Then to weed the Squash bed again  and whilst hanging upside down to do that , some how ,  I get my ear ring caught on the pig wire ...can you see it ?
You can click to zoom in . Yes my ear was attached to the pig wire fence ...mercifully  the rest of me was also still attached ....my husband had gone in doors calling out " Dinner will be ready in ten minutes ! "


It was like one of those magic tricks , where the magician links two rings together and then magics them apart again .....only , I didn't know the magic words to undo it ! With muddy hands I fiddled and fiddled and finally got my ear ring open to release myself .
  Oh my aching back , but my ear still in one piece .


                                         Husband's tomatoes are looking great .


       With the exception of this one ! ..but then wonky vegetables are very trendy at the moment ....we have now actually eaten this extraordinary one and it was delicious  .