Planting Out Leeks

Dirty Nails has been planting out his first batch of leeks into the main bed this week. He grows a number of varieties to crop from September through to March. The tall, strong, long-shafted Axima will be harvestable well before New Year, and then the thicker, heavier Giant Winter variety will supply the kitchen until the spring. Carentan 2 is an autumn cropping leek which Dirty Nails grows in order to eat as baby leeks in July. The Mammoth variety can grow to be the size of a person’s arm and will take some eating. He is cultivating a few of these as a novelty.

Dirty Nails sowed the small black seeds in trays indoors from February to early April, and then transplanted them into a nursery bed when they were like blades of grass. With those Axima leeks now the size of pencils, this is the right time to get them into their final growing positions. Dirty Nails dug over the bed, weeded it thoroughly, sprinkled wood ash over it and raked to a fine tilth. He plants these early leeks at 6 inch (15 cm) intervals in rows set a foot (30 cm) apart. A broken spade handle with a rounded-off end is used to push into the soil to a depth of 6 inches (15 cm). The seedling leeks are popped into these, one to a hole.

Dirty Nails then puddles them in, which involves filling each hole with water. As this soaks in the roots will settle down. Careful puddling-in daily for a week or so will be worth the effort because leeks respond well to generous watering at this stage. His other varieties will be planted out similarly in a fortnight or so at 8 inch (20 cm) intervals, except Carentan 2 which will go directly from the nursery bed into the kitchen.

Natural History In The Garden: Badgers In June

This is a month of plenty for badgers. Although classified as carnivores, badgers will in fact eat almost anything and they have a sweet tooth (they are omnivores). Household scraps and kitchen waste are popular around human dwellings, as well as beetles, grubs, roots, bulbs and sweet veggies such as carrots. Young rabbits and moles will be dug out and dined upon, if available, and fruit becomes a major portion of their diet later in the year. Wasp and bee nests built into the ground are much sought after. But a badger’s food of choice is the humble earthworm, which is sucked up like a string of spaghetti.

All that leeks require from now on is to be kept moist and weed-free.

Vegetable Snippets: Nursery Beds

Nursery beds bridge the gap between seedling and developing young adult. They are areas of the veg patch set aside for nursing seedlings through from pricking out from trays to planting out in the main plot. Hardy crops like leeks and brassicas (the ‘cabbage tribe’) are classic benefactors from this system of husbandry, where small plants can be lovingly nurtured through their most tender stages under a close and watchful eye.

A high density of veggies can be cultivated in this small area, with careful attention paid to weed control and watering. In many respects this process is like potting-on into a larger container (which is a method Dirty Nails uses to bring on his courgettes and squashes before nestling them into the ground as soon as the risk of frost has passed).

Handling at all times must be done with a deft touch. Seedlings are especially vulnerable to damage and bruising. Light manoeuvring, only holding the leaves, is essential, and roots should be kept as intact as possible. By the time they are ready to move on they should be tough little customers. Nonetheless a considered fork must be skilfully employed to loosen and lift the roots. With leeks, Dirty Nails gathers them up in bunches and wraps his charges in damp newspaper to bridge the gap between nursery and main bed.