Kitchen Garden Forum

I have some cardboard rolls from upholstery material its 2" wide and its very strong card could I use it to grow leeks and if so when would be the best time to put them on or could it be used for anything else?.

I'm not a fan of using cardboard or paper as pots/grow tubes. I tried it a couple of times and the tubes grew pink fungus and the plants keeled over. I know many people do though. The other disadvantage is that wet cardboard attracts slugs.... Sorry to be a wet blanket but that's my experience of it; I'm sure others will love using it!

Motherwoman

I'm no fan, either. I thought it was just me. I tried newspaper once, too: what a mess. Slug central.

A nice long blanched leek can be achieved by dibbling or troweling them in deep, then regular earthing up.

Hi Felix,

I almost didn't write what I did because I felt like a coconut climbing onto the stand to be knocked down! I thought it was just me too. I'd rather compost the cardboard and reuse plastic pots. I plant my leeks at the bottom of a hole (I use an old fork handle) and let it fill in over time.

I think Bob Flowerdew has a lot to answer for.

Motherwoman

I've used cardboard loo inners for parsnips (occasionally) and for climbing beans but wouldn't bother for leeks, for which I have a steel dibber. I just make a deep hole with that, drop the leek in and water them in. The earth soon implodes down the hole to cover the roots.
I've read somewhere that if the roots are too straggly when you come to plant them out you can trim them back a little but I've never seen the point of this, thinking that the translanting is probably enough of a shock for them without giving them a short haircut at the same time.

I used to trim the roots of my leek transplants when I dibbered them in, but I'm won round to planting them with a trowel these days — they seem to grow away a lot quicker. And I think it's because the roots are left mostly intact. The roots need to be trimmed when they are dibbed / dibbled / dibbered because otherwise they end up mostly sticking up out of the hole, or in any case are a pain to tackle. To plant, I now take out a shallow trench with a draw hoe, then plant them with a trowel in the trench bottom. A good "puddling in" sets them on their way.

I grow leeks initially in quite small modules and although they seem to be really pot bound when planted out they simply race away.
I fetch out a 'V' trench approx 4" to 6" deep plant out by dibbing into the bottom of the V again around 4" to 6" deep and the dibber used corresponds to the size of the module used. I drop the plant into the hole and water and when they are around 6" clear of the hole I begin the earth up to achieve a good long white shank. I have grown some super leeks over the years by this method and I always stick to three varieties Musselburgh, Lyons Prizetaker and Tornado. Tornado makes up the largest sowing as it has good rust resistance qualities whereas the other two do succumb occasionally.
Earthing up must be very gradual and done extremely carefully so as not to get soil into the foliage of the leek.
NB. Tornado took over from Goliath some years ago.
JB.

I like the sound of the V trench and planting in a hole in the base, I might try that this year.

MW

Hi MW,
With all the rain last year I actually did very little earthing up as the weather did it for me.
By using a V trench it makes earthing up very easy and you certainly get more blanched shank using this method.
JB.

FelixLeiter wrote:I used to trim the roots of my leek transplants when I dibbered them in, but I'm won round to planting them with a trowel these days — they seem to grow away a lot quicker. And I think it's because the roots are left mostly intact. The roots need to be trimmed when they are dibbed / dibbled / dibbered because otherwise they end up mostly sticking up out of the hole, or in any case are a pain to tackle. To plant, I now take out a shallow trench with a draw hoe, then plant them with a trowel in the trench bottom. A good "puddling in" sets them on their way.

Just bought myself. Dig on for Victory. by Mr Middleton from 1945. Amongst other things he mentions trimming long leek roots, and the top's.
Thumbing through this worthwhile little book came across some old seed catalogue names. Ryders. Carters. Bees. Webbs.Lowis And what about 4yr old fruit trees for 7/6d about 35p in new money.

Shallot Man wrote: And what about 4yr old fruit trees for 7/6d about 35p in new money.

Or about £15 in real terms now.