Never grown them but I am a big leak fan. I feel your enthusiasm
this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2025
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I appreciate the leek camaraderie
Leek soup woth garlic and croutons is delicious
I've been doing leek, white bean and potato, with garlic, crushed Aleppo pepper, heavy black pepper. Very simple. I made one with some spicy sausage added also. I take half the beans and blend them with the immersion blender so it gets creamy and thick. Just finished my last batch last night.
We've had leek soup four times in the last month(more if you count me serving it as leftovers), I think I need to settle down with it or my family may get sick of it.
I'm already planning next years garden, I'm so excited. I went looking for leek seedlings or seeds at a couple garden places over last weekend, i know I could get a winter crop with our weather, but didn't find anything, not even seeds.
I did come home with $2 end of season sale, giant Hot pepper trees. One reaper, and one ghost. 3-4 foot tall pepper plants with tons of peppers already established. Gorgeous
No leeks though. Next year. Im ready.
I tried to grow leeks in my garden, but I don't think I did it right because when I went to harvest them the stalk was not tasty like it had become woody or something. Do you need to harvest them before they start to create the flower?
Yes, you don't want it to flower.
That's true of basically all plants. I don't know of any off the top of my head that still taste good by the time they flower.
Only things that you eat the flower or seeds.
Sounds like you waited too long to harvest - leeks get woody when they mature too much, gotta pull them when the stalks are about 1-2 inches thick for the best texture and flavor.
From my brief look into it today, it seems similar in this way to garlic.
You want to cut its scape, or flower, when it appears, so that the plant puts more energy into its root/stalk, not the flower. Then the plant will continue to grow.
Happy cake day :)
Oh yeah? Wow time flies. Thank you :)
I've grown leaks in SE MI, which was recently reclassified as 6a, as a spring into summer crop from seeds started indoors. I didn't have any problems with health or yeild. Haven't tried them as a fall into winter crop.
Like all things produce, "Leak" is a family with different members being more cold tolerant than others. It looks like 20 °F is the floor, but dropping below freezing can do damage.
I love eating leeks. They are one of the best in the onion family which is a hard category. I've never grown them before but I think I might like to
They really are the best. I'm disappointed it's taken until my mid 30's to see their value. Totally slept on veggie.
I think it's easy to miss out on vegetables especially if they aren't cooked correctly
I’ve grown leeks last few years in 6b immediately adjacent to 6a. (Doing kohlrabi this year instead). They grew just fine for me. The only tending needed was weeding. I start them indoors mainly because have tomatoes and other things to start as well. Then I don’t have to worry about germination rates and thinning either. I just pop them in the ground in the spring, let them go all summer, and harvest them throughout fall as I need them. I’ve never had a problem with too hot, too cold, or flowering/woodiness, though I’m sure there is variation between different cultivars. I grew American Flag leeks.