Saving Leek Seed

[Arnie]

Hi everyone,

I left some of last years planted leek run to seed, can anyone tell when is the best time to cut them down I know that I will have to bag them so that I catch all the seed.
I would be grateful for any advice on this

Regards

Arnie

[Monika]

Arnie, rather than saving seeds you may like to grow next year's leeks from 'pips', that is from the growing baby leeks in the 'seed globe'. There is a lot about this method on the internet (try 'leeks from pips' in Google), including in the archive version of this forum. I have never tried it but I know people who always grow their leeks like this.

As for saving the seeds, I would wait until the black seeds are clearly showing, then cut off the head and hang it upside down into a paper bag and suspend it somewhere dry and wait until the seeds fall into bag naturally.

[Arnie]

Hi Monika,

Thanks for the advice on the seed saving but I will now go and have a look at growing leeks from pips

Regards

Arnie

[FelixLeiter]

If you're aiming to try the pip method, you've rather missed the boat for this season. The flowers need to be cut off as they are developing, but by now they are already ripening. I have some leek seed heads drying off at the moment, and they're nearly ready. When a few seeds are starting to be dispersed, cut the heads and bag them on a dry day.