How to grow leeks. Planting technology and proper plant care. Leeks: proper planting of seeds and care of seedlings

Growing leek seedlings in Lately has gained considerable popularity among summer residents. Many people liked this vegetable for its taste (delicate smell, spicy sweet taste) and ability to easily adapt to different climatic conditions and produce a rich harvest. In cooking, leeks are used both raw and canned, pickled, salted and dried. In addition to its pleasant taste, onions have beneficial medicinal properties.

Beneficial features

The chemical composition of leeks includes a large number of protein, vitamins B2, Bj, B, C, PP and minerals (calcium, potassium, iron, nickel, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, iron). Thanks to the high content ascorbic acid, carotene, potassium, and low content of pungent essential oils, this dietary product is used to improve metabolism, increase appetite, improve immunity, and also to treat many diseases.

Used for diseases:

• rheumatism;
• stones in the kidneys;
• obesity;
• salt deposits;
• gout;
• atherosclerosis.

How to grow leek seedlings?

Methods of growing onions: seedless method (direct sowing in the soil) and seedling method. Direct planting of seeds in the ground is used mainly in southern regions with long warm summers. Here the soil warms up faster. For other regions, growing onions with seedlings is more acceptable.

The best place to plant onion seedlings

Onions are grown as seedlings on well-cultivated lowland fertile soils, seasoned organic fertilizers. Slightly acidic or neutral soil is suitable. It can also be grown in well-moistened loamy and sandy soils. Unfavorable soils are heavy clay soils. To fertilize the land, superphosphate, potassium salt, compost, and urea are used.

Growing onion seedlings from seeds

To grow onion seedlings from seeds, you should preparatory stage. It lies in special treatment seeds The seeds are placed in hot water 45 for 20 minutes, then in cold water. For quick germination, seeds are soaked for three days in warm water. After the seeds hatch, they are left to dry.

Sowing seeds

Onion seeds are planted at certain times. To grow seedlings, use boxes that can be placed on the window, and it is better to start sowing in mid-February. In greenhouses, sowing occurs in mid-April. And at the end of April, you can sow seeds in the beds, while covering them with film.

In small boxes or other suitable-sized containers prepared for planting, specially prepared water is poured into them, but not to the very top. Sowing of seeds is carried out in rows with an interval of 5 cm, and the depth of the furrow should not exceed 1.5 cm. Subsequently, cover with film and place the boxes in a dry and warm place. The room temperature must be maintained around +25. When the first shoots appear, the film must be removed and the temperature maintained at +17 during the day and +12 at night. In this mode, onion seedlings are kept from seeds for about a week. After a week of aging, the seedlings are transferred to a different temperature regime - +20 during the day and +14 at night. This regime is followed throughout the entire stage of growing seedlings.

Caring for leek seedlings

Based on the conditions in which the seeds are grown, the first shoots may appear on the 10th – 20th day.

Leeks are a crop that requires moist soil. Therefore, you should ensure that the soil does not dry out. But at the same time, you should not over-moisturize.

Water the leek seedlings with warm water, carefully so as not to damage the stem. But watering alone is not enough; the seedlings need to be fed. Fertilizer feeding can be done once, but two are better.

To strengthen the root system and thicken the stem, it is necessary to trim the leaves so that their length after trimming is 10 cm.

Immediately before planting the seedlings in the soil, it is necessary to gradually harden them, take them outside, while reducing watering. After six weeks the landing takes place in open ground.

Transplanting

Onion seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of April and until the beginning of May. Seedlings are planted in rows on a pre-prepared and fertilized area, going a little deeper than they were in the seedling boxes. The roots and leaves are slightly trimmed.

For good growth of leeks and convenient hilling during the growing season, the distance between rows of growing plants should be at least 10 cm, and between rows - at least 50 cm.

Growing technology

The technology for growing onions through seedlings includes two main factors: care and feeding. Caring for young plants is especially important. Do not neglect weeding and loosening the soil. Plants should be watered and fertilized as needed. Water abundantly and feed mainly only during the growing season, in the first half.

Bird droppings are a good fertilizer for onions. It is used in a solution of 1:20.

After the seedlings are well rooted, add fertile soil. Hilling is carried out after two months and repeated as necessary until harvest. Before hilling it is useful to add to the rows wood ash. It is worthwhile to carry out weed control in a timely manner.

Harvesting and storage

Harvesting, depending on the variety, begins in August until the onset of frost. The plant is dug up with a shovel and pulled out of the ground. The roots are removed and the leaves are shortened by 2/3 of the length. Leeks tolerate frost well. If you leave it in the ground for the winter, it will overwinter well and sprout in the spring. For better overwintering, you should cover the plant with soil, cover it with branches, preferably coniferous ones.

You can store leeks in the basement all winter, at a temperature of 0°C, with a humidity of 80%, buried in a vertical position in damp sand.

When stored, leeks not only do not reduce the content of ascorbic acid, but on the contrary increase it even more.

Video: how to plant leeks

Leeks (pearl onions) - belonging to the onion (lily) family herbaceous plant. In the Mediterranean, its wild ancestor, grape onion, is still found in nature. Leeks were grown in Egypt, Greece, Rome, and since the Middle Ages they have become widespread in Europe, especially in France.

The beneficial properties of leeks have long been known. It helps with gout, rheumatism, obesity, urolithiasis, mental and physical exhaustion. Leeks normalize liver function, improve appetite, promote the production of digestive enzymes, and have anti-sclerotic properties.

Planting leeks as seedlings allows you to grow the plant in the northern and central regions; in the south, the seeds are sown directly into the ground.

The herbaceous biennial reaches a height of 40 centimeters to 1 meter. In the first year of life, the plant forms a strong root system, which turns into a false stem (false bulb). white 10-12 centimeters long and 2-8 centimeters in diameter and many fan-shaped linear-lanceolate bluish-green or green leaves.

In June-July next year, it develops a peduncle up to 2 meters high with white or pink flowers, collected in an umbrella-shaped inflorescence. The seeds, similar to onion seeds, ripen in August or September and remain viable for 2 years. The culture is resistant to cold, but demanding of moisture.

Leeks are selected for sowing depending on the ripening period.

Early varieties

Early ripening varieties of leeks are the most productive; depending on the variety, they ripen within 130-150 days:

1. Columbus- tall variety Dutch selection with leaves up to 80 centimeters long and high taste. With proper care, the plant weight reaches 400 grams. This variety does not require hilling to bleach the stem.
2. Goliath- a medium-sized variety with wide gray-green or green leaves, the bleached part reaches 30 centimeters. Plants weigh about 200 grams. The variety is susceptible to some diseases and requires special care.
3. Vesta- a productive variety with an excellent sweetish taste, the plants reach a height of 1.5 meters, and the bleached food stalk is 30 centimeters in height and 350 grams in weight (with regular hilling).
4. Elephant's trunk- a long-lasting variety with a sweetish taste. With repeated hilling, the bleached leg reaches a height of 30 centimeters.
5. Kilima- mid-early variety with high yield. The bleached part reaches 10-25 centimeters in height, 3-4 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 150 grams.

Medium varieties

Mid-season varieties of leeks with a growing season of 150-180 days are inferior in yield to early varieties, but their quality is an order of magnitude higher:

1. Tango- highly productive winter-hardy variety, not susceptible to disease. The leaves are medium in size, the length of the bleached part reaches 15 centimeters. The weight of plants reaches 200-250 grams.
2. Bastion- a mid-ripening variety that ripens in 155-160 days with medium-sized leaves of gray-green or blue-green color. The bleached part reaches a length of 30 centimeters, the weight of the plants is about 200 grams.
3. Kamus- a variety of medium height with green concave leaves with a slight waxy coating. The bulb is weakly expressed, the bleached stem reaches a height of 20 centimeters and a diameter of 2.5 centimeters. Resistant to fungal diseases.
4. Jolant- a productive variety resistant to fungal diseases. The bleached stem reaches a height of 35 centimeters, the leaves are grooved, narrow, and arranged vertically.
5. Kazimir- a productive variety resistant to fungi. The leaves extend from the stem almost vertically, the bulb is weakly expressed, the bleached stem reaches a height of 25 centimeters and a diameter of 3.5 centimeters.

Late varieties

Late-ripening varieties ripen in six months, their yield is at the same level as mid-ripening ones, but they are stored longer. The leaves of late varieties of leek are wide, with a blue-green tint, often with a waxy coating. On the false stem they are located very tightly, extending from it almost at a right angle. Plants look squat. Their legs are short, thick, and dense.

The most popular among late varieties:

1. Mercury- distinguished by dark, green leaves, the bleached part 25 centimeters long has a cylindrical shape.
2. Elephant- a drought-resistant and frost-resistant Czech variety that ripens in 190 days with a sharp, specific taste. Plants 85 centimeters high with a medium stem and weighing about 200 grams are resistant to viral diseases.
3. Karantansky- a spreading plant with wide, dark green leaves with a waxy coating, the bleached part of the stem reaches a height of 25 centimeters and a diameter of 4 centimeters, weighing more than 200 grams.
4. Bandit- a cold-resistant variety with excellent taste bred by Dutch breeders. The stem is short, thickened, the plant is tall and beautiful.
5. Asgeos- a winter-hardy variety, with a semi-sharp taste, the leaves are wide, dark, bluish-green, the stem reaches a height of 20 centimeters and a weight of 350 grams.
6. Autumn giant- a variety of Dutch selection with excellent keeping quality, forms a large stem 40 centimeters high and 8 centimeters in diameter.

Planting leeks for seedlings

Recently, growing leek seedlings has become very popular among vegetable growers. The growing season of the crop is 150-200 days. Leeks are grown in seedlings to speed up the ripening process.

When to plant?

At home, leeks are sown for seedlings at the end of February and early March. Seeds are sown in the greenhouse in mid-April. To grow leeks under a film in a garden bed, the seeds are sown at the end of April.

How to prepare seeds for sowing?

Before sowing, it is recommended to place the seeds in a thermos, fill with warm water (40-45°C) and hold for several hours, and then immediately put into cold water. After this, the seeds are dried until they flow. To speed up germination, seeds are soaked in warm water for 3 days. The hatched seeds are dried before planting.

Soil preparation

Sowing leek seeds requires rich organic matter and mineral fertilizers the soil. You can buy a ready-made universal soil mixture or prepare it yourself by mixing peat, turf and humus in a ratio of 1:1:1.5.

Selection of capacity

Leeks have long roots, so sowing seeds for seedlings requires containers with a depth of at least 12-15 cm. To disinfect the dishes, it is recommended to wash them with a strong 5% solution of potassium permanganate. You can plant leeks for seedlings in small boxes, pots, peat humus cassettes or peat tablets. This culture does not require picking.

Technology for sowing leek seeds for seedlings

Then the seeds are laid out (width between rows - 5 centimeters, between seeds - 2 centimeters), sprinkled with a layer of earth 1.5 centimeters thick, covered with film and kept at a temperature of 22-25 ° C until shoots appear.

Leek crops are ventilated daily, and the soil is sprayed with a spray bottle so that it is slightly moist at all times.

After 10-20 days (depending on the variety and pre-planting seed treatment), when the first shoots appear, the film covering is removed and exposed to diffused bright light, and the temperature is lowered to 12°C at night and 17°C during the day.

Onion seedlings are kept in this mode for about a week. It is recommended to place a sheet of polystyrene foam or drywall under the container with the crops to keep the roots of the plants warm. Seedlings must be protected from drafts and direct sun rays. After a week of exposure, the temperature regime is changed (up to 14°C at night and 20°C during the day) and is maintained throughout the entire growing stage.

Seedling care

Leek seedlings are thinned out if they have sprouted too thickly. Water the seedlings with warm water, carefully so as not to damage the stem. The culture loves moist soil, but you should not over-moisten the soil. It is enough to ensure that the soil does not dry out. To feed grown and strengthened seedlings, a solution of 40 grams of superphosphate, 20 grams of ammonium nitrate and 20 grams of potassium chloride in a bucket of water is prepared per 1 m2 of crops.

To avoid stretching, the seedlings are additionally illuminated with a phytolamp. The duration of daylight should be at least 16 hours. The lamp is placed half a meter from the box with plants.

As the seedlings grow, soil is added. Onion feathers can be trimmed, leaving no more than 10 centimeters so that the seedlings do not fall. 5-6 weeks after the emergence of seedlings, they begin to harden the seedlings: they are briefly taken out into the open air during the day, gradually increasing the duration of the procedure. Before planting in open ground, plants must have at least 3 leaves, and the diameter of the stems must reach 6 millimeters.

Planting in open ground

In mid-May, 55-60 days after sowing, the seedlings are planted in open ground. The seedlings are watered and carefully removed from the ground. The upper part of the stem and roots are trimmed. Loams with a neutral reaction and floodplain lands are best suited for planting leeks. Heavy acidic and clayey soil, light sandy loam are not suitable for growing.

For planting leeks, select well-lit areas. In the shade, the plant develops poorly, the risk of disease increases, and productivity decreases. Cabbage, potatoes, green manure, legumes are the best precursors for leeks. It is not recommended to plant it in beds where carrots, cucumbers, and garlic grew. Any type of onion should not grow in the garden for 3 years before leeks.

The future bed is prepared in the fall. Per 1 m2 of area add 20 grams of urea, 60 grams of nitrophoska, 15 kilograms of humus or compost. Add lime or lime to acidic soil before digging. dolomite flour. In spring on 1 square meter add 20 grams of urea and 30 grams of ammonium nitrate. Before planting, the soil is dug up, loosened and moistened.

Leeks are planted in a two-row pattern with a distance between rows of at least 20 centimeters, and between ribbons - about 70 centimeters. The interval between seedlings in a row should be about 8 centimeters, when planting large varieties- more. If desired, a single-row planting option can also be used. In this case, maintain a row spacing of 30 centimeters, the interval between plants is 8-12 centimeters.

Leeks are planted to a depth of 12-15 centimeters, after planting they are watered and mulched with sawdust, small straw, and peat. If night frosts have not passed, fragile plants are covered with spunbond.

Caring for plants after planting

Young plants require careful care: weeding, loosening the soil, and, as necessary, watering and fertilizing the plants, which are especially important in the first half of the growing season.

Fertilize leeks well bird droppings. To do this, 1 kilogram of litter is poured with 10 liters of water and left for a week. Before applying to the soil, the resulting solution is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20. When the seedlings are well rooted, add fertile soil. Hilling is carried out as necessary, adding wood ash to the rows first.

Harvest and storage

Depending on the variety, the harvest is harvested from August until frost. The plant is dug up with a shovel and pulled out of the ground. The roots are removed, leaving no more than 2 centimeters, the leaves are shortened by two-thirds of the length.

Leeks are not afraid of frost. Left in the ground for the winter, it overwinters well and sprouts in the spring. To help the plants overwinter better, they are covered with soil, covered with peat and covered with pine branches.

In the basement, at a temperature of 0 degrees and a humidity of 80%, leeks can be stored all winter buried in damp sand in an upright position. Wrapped in film, leeks can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time without losing their qualities. The content of ascorbic acid in it does not decrease during storage, but increases even more.

Leeks have not yet become widespread enough in our country, although in terms of taste and beneficial properties it is not inferior to onion. There is an opinion that leek is a capricious crop, demanding care and growing conditions, but in fact this point of view is erroneous.

Growing this vegetable in the garden is not difficult, but it should be borne in mind that this crop is cultivated using the seedling method. In this article you will find useful information about when and how to sow leeks for seedlings and how to properly care for seedlings to get a rich harvest.

Leeks for seedlings

When planning to grow leek seedlings, you should be guided not only by information from the Lunar calendar, but also by some cultural features.

When sowing seeds, the following nuances should be taken into account:

1. Processing of planting material: sowing dry seeds in the soil significantly impairs germination, so it is advisable to soak them first. Under these conditions, the first shoots will appear within 7-10 days.
2. Variety: like others vegetable crops, leeks come in early, medium and late varieties. Early varieties are sown in early April, and the ripening period lasts 3-4 months. Mid-ripening varieties ripen 145-175 days after planting, and late varieties - after 6 months, so seedlings of such varieties are grown in greenhouses, planting in February.
3. Climatic features: Since the growing season of the plant is quite long, the climate of your region should be taken into account. For example, in the southern regions, seeds can be sown later, since it will have time to get stronger before stable warm weather sets in. In temperate climates and northern regions, sprouts begin to grow in February.

In addition to determining the timing of sowing, it should be taken into account that seedlings require certain care. Only in this case will you be able to grow healthy and productive plants.

Sowing seeds

Growing a crop begins with preparing the seeds. Treatment is required only for ordinary planting material. If you purchased seeds coated with a special colored shell, you do not need to further process them and can immediately sow them in the ground (Figure 1).

Pre-sowing treatment can be carried out as follows:

• Place the seeds in hot water (no more than 50 degrees) for 20 minutes, adding a little potassium permanganate to the liquid for disinfection;
• After this, the seeds are placed in cold water for another 20 minutes for hardening.

Note: If desired, the seeds can be further germinated by placing them on damp gauze and placing them in a warm place. But even without this procedure planting material has a fairly high germination rate.

It is better to use separate containers for sowing. This will reduce labor costs for caring for seedlings, since they will not need to be picked. Planting is carried out at the end of February or beginning of March. Then the sprouts will have time to get stronger before being transplanted into open ground.

For sprouts, you should select sufficiently deep containers (about 12 cm), since the root system of leeks is powerful. The containers are filled with light soil consisting of turf soil and humus. The soil must be lightly compacted and watered thoroughly. Prepared seeds are laid out on the surface and sprinkled with a layer of sand 5 mm thick. Next, the bed needs to be covered with film and placed in a warm, well-lit place. If the room temperature is maintained at +22+25 degrees, the first shoots will appear within a week.

Growing seedlings

The process of growing crop seedlings includes certain stages of caring for the seedlings. Firstly, the crops need to be ventilated daily by raising the cover of the containers. Secondly, it is necessary to maintain moderate soil moisture by spraying the soil with a spray bottle during the ventilation process.

When the first shoots appear, you need to remove the cover from the garden bed and place the containers in a well-lit place. It is advisable to maintain a stable temperature: during the day +18+20 degrees, and at night - not lower than +12 degrees.

You also need to take care that the root system of the plants does not freeze. To do this, it is advisable to place the container on a sheet of plasterboard or foam plastic, and use it lightly for watering. warm water.

In addition, it is advisable to periodically shorten the leaves of the plant so that their length does not exceed 10 cm. In such conditions, the root system of the plants will develop faster, and the crops will more easily tolerate transplantation into open ground. You can transplant seedlings into open ground after they have formed 3 true leaves and the diameter of the stem is approximately 1 cm. As a rule, this happens 6-8 weeks after sowing.

Growing seedlings in a snail - new, original and very effective method seedling cultivation. Its advantage is that you can get a large number of sprouts without taking up a lot of space for placing seedling beds (Figure 2).

Making a snail is very simple. To do this, you will need a soft porous substrate for the laminate, from which a strip approximately 15 cm wide is cut out. A thin layer of soil is placed on it, compacted and watered, and seeds are laid on top. It is advisable to maintain a distance of 1-2 cm between them, so that already grown sprouts can not be picked, but immediately planted in the ground.

Next, the substrate, along with the soil and seeds, is rolled up and fixed in this position using thin rubber bands. Ready snail Place in a transparent container filled with water and cover with film. The container is taken out into the light and warm room. Sprouts appear within 7-10 days after planting, after which the film cover can be removed and, after waiting for the seedlings to grow, move them to open ground.

Calendar for planting leeks for seedlings in 2018

To determine the appropriate time for planting crop seedlings, it is better to use Lunar calendar, which clearly indicates favorable days for carrying out certain work.

Since crop seeds begin to be sown in February and March, let's consider which days are best suited for this purpose in terms of the phases of the moon. So, it is better to plant in February on the 17th-18th, 21st and 25th-26th, and in March the procedure can be carried out on the 5th-6th, 18th-22nd and 24th-26th. If you do not plan to store the vegetable in winter, seedlings can be sown later, in April. Favorable days this month the dates are 2-9 and 11-15.

The video shows all the stages of growing leeks, from preparing and sowing seeds to transplanting seedlings into open ground.

Leeks are a versatile product. Due to its ability to quickly adapt to different climatic conditions, it is widespread throughout the world. It is consumed fresh, used in cooking, fried, boiled, steamed, dried, pickled, and this only makes it tastier. Leeks are used as a separate product, as a seasoning and as an addition to the preparation of vegetables for the winter. In this article you will learn that leeks on the site are not as difficult a matter as it might seem at first glance. A little care for it, and in the fall there will be a storehouse of vitamins on your table.

Biological features

Consider the leek, general characteristics varieties are presented below. This is a biennial plant that does not form the usual bulbs. In the first year, leeks develop a false stem. He has cylindrical shape and broad leaves that fan out around the stem. The most productive part of the plant is the false stem mentioned above. Its thickness can exceed 7 cm, and the height of the bow reaches 30 cm.

In the second year, the plant develops a victorious shoot, at the end of which a spherical inflorescence is formed. At the end, you can collect seeds from it, thanks to which leeks are planted as seedlings.

It is necessary to observe a strict temperature regime of 2°C, in which the leeks will sprout. Growing seedlings is a painstaking process. Young shoots do not tolerate frost, but once the plant takes root, light frosts are no longer dangerous for it.

There are two ways to grow leeks: planting seedlings or direct sowing in the soil. Below we will tell you more about both methods.

The best place to plant onion seedlings

In order for leeks to produce a bountiful harvest, they must be grown as seedlings on well-cultivated fertile soils. Slightly acidic and neutral soil is excellent for this type of plant. Leeks love moisture very much, so they can be grown in moist loamy soils. In heavy clay soils, the plant develops poorly and sometimes dies. Urea, compost, superphosphate or

Leek. Growing seedlings from seeds

To quickly germinate seeds and get strong seedlings, you must resort to the following procedure. You need to place the seeds in hot water for 20 minutes, then in cold water. After the hardening procedure and to speed it up, soak it in warm water for three days. After the seeds have hatched, they are dried on gauze, and then leeks are planted as seedlings.

Sow the seeds

In order to grow healthy leeks, the procedure must be carried out within a certain period of time. To do this, the gardener will need boxes for growing seedlings, which should fit on the window. February - best time so that growing leeks from seeds is fertile. Caring for the plant during this period requires minimal effort. Timely watering and regular spraying will do the trick. If you plan to grow seedlings in a greenhouse, sowing is carried out in mid-April. And already at the end of this month, the seeds can be planted in the beds. Don't forget to cover them with film.

The boxes are filled with prepared soil, but not to the very top. Then the seeds are planted in a row with an interval of about 5 cm. The depth of such a groove is no more than 15 mm. Afterwards, the boxes are covered with film and placed in a warm and dry place. Inside the resulting greenhouse, the air temperature should be about 25°C. When the first shoots appear, we remove the film and maintain the temperature all week - 12°C at night, and 17°C during the day. After a week of exposure, we maintain 20°C during the day and 14°C at night. And so on throughout the entire stage of growing seedlings.

Caring for seedlings

After the first sprouts have appeared from the seeds, careful care of the seedlings begins, on which the final result will depend.

Leek is cultivated plant who loves water very much. Therefore, the soil should always be slightly moist. Do not over-water, otherwise the roots may rot. Make sure that the soil does not dry out, but do not over-moisten it.

Watering is carried out with warm water with low pressure. The whole procedure is done carefully so as not to damage the stems of the sprouts. If you want to get a healthy and rich harvest, you don't need to limit yourself to just watering. In this case, feeding plays important role. It is carried out once or twice.

In order to make it more powerful and the stem thicker, the leaves are trimmed. After this procedure, the length of the leaves should not exceed 10 cm.

Leek seedlings are planted after the plant is hardened off. For six weeks, it is taken outside and watering is gradually reduced. And then the seedlings are planted in open ground.

Planting leek seedlings correctly

When the seedlings have grown stronger, it is time to plant them in open ground. Most often, this procedure is carried out at the end of April or at the beginning of May. The site must be prepared in advance. Seedlings are planted in rows in previously prepared grooves. The planting depth is slightly greater than in the boxes. The roots and leaves of the onion are trimmed a little.

The rows are made at a distance of 50 cm from each other, and the onion seedlings are planted at an interval of 10 cm. This ensures good growth for the plant and makes the hilling procedure more convenient.

Growing leeks

Planting leeks as seedlings is just the beginning. The most difficult thing is caring for a strong plant. The basis successful cultivation onions are made up of two factors: care and feeding. For a young plant, timely loosening of the soil and weeding is very important. Watering and leeking are carried out as needed. Most often, these procedures are performed during the growing season. Bird droppings are an excellent fertilizer for leeks; they are diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20.

After the young plant is well rooted, fertile soil is added to the garden bed. After a couple of months, the first hilling is carried out, then, as necessary, the procedure is repeated until harvest. It is very good for the plant to add wood ash to the soil before hilling. Leeks do not tolerate weeds around them, so they need regular weeding.

To protect the harvest

Like any plant, leeks are susceptible to attack by pests and various diseases. But its main advantage remains that, in comparison with onions, it is still more resistant and is not so often attacked by pests or some kind of disease. Adhering to the above recommendations ( correct landing leeks for seedlings and compliance with agricultural cultivation techniques), as well as paying due attention to the plant, growing it healthy is not so difficult.

However, there are still insects that are dangerous to this crop. For example, onion fly. Despite its name, this pest causes damage to many plants. But there is still a plant that this insect cannot stand - carrots. If you plant these two crops next to each other, the problem with onion fly will be solved. Another pest is tobacco thrips. To combat it they use special chemicals. But nature managed to take care and create a natural enemy for tobacco thrips - a predatory mite.

One of the most well-known diseases of leeks is powdery mildew. To get rid of it, use effective remedy, called Bordeaux mixture. And if white rot appears on the shoots and leaves, it’s time to use calcareous soil.

We collect the harvest and store it properly

Depending on the onion variety, harvesting begins with the onset of the first frost, when 3-4 true leaves have already formed on the plant. The plant is carefully dug up and pulled out of the ground, holding it by the shoots. The roots are removed with pruning shears, leaving no more than 2 cm of the root lobe, and the leaves are cut to 2/3 of the length. Leeks have excellent long-term storage properties. At the same time, the vitamin C content in the stem does not decrease. It can be stored in the basement all winter; to do this, it is enough to maintain 80% humidity at a temperature of 1-3°C, and bury the stems in a vertical position in slightly damp sand. If the sand is excessively wet, the air regime will be disrupted, which means the plant may begin to rot.

In addition, leeks can be stored in an unconventional way. It is frozen, salted, pickled, dried, etc. When dried, onions make an excellent addition to other seasonings. You can also pack the onions in bags of 5-7 pieces and store them in the refrigerator for about 5 months.

Useful properties of leeks

Leeks contain a lot of vitamins, as well as a lot of protein. High content ascorbic acid, potassium, carotene, etc. allows you to use this product to improve metabolism, increase appetite, improve immunity and treat a whole list of diseases. For example, in the treatment of rheumatism, kidney stones, obesity, salt deposits, gout, atherosclerosis.

A lot of useful substances contains leeks. Growing, caring for, seedlings on windows and germinating seeds are worth the effort.

To summarize, we can say that leeks deserve to be in your garden bed at least once.

Growing and caring for leeks, a herbaceous biennial of the amaryllis family, may seem excessively labor-intensive only in comparison with the cultivation of onions. For experienced gardener Caring for this plant will not be difficult.

Considering the length of the growing season for leeks, vegetable growers in the central and northern regions Russian Federation It is grown using seedlings. In the southern regions they resort to the seedless method, sowing the seeds of this crop directly into open ground.

If you use seeds from your own garden to grow leeks, they must be disinfected (etched). To do this, they are placed in a thermos and, filled with water heated to 45 degrees, are kept in it for several hours.

After this time, the seeds are rinsed cold water and then germinated. This tactic significantly speeds up the appearance of the first shoots. After moistening a piece of clean cotton cloth with warm water, place disinfected seeds on its surface and keep it in a warm place (with an air temperature of at least 25 degrees) for two to three days.

The hatched seed material is slightly dried (so that the seeds do not stick to each other) and sowing is started immediately. Thanks to these manipulations, leek seeds, which normally do not absorb moisture well, accumulate the water they need for germination.

Seeds purchased from a specialized store do not need to be treated; you can only germinate them. There is no need for soaking and germination only for seeds intended for winter sowing.

Sowing

Sowing leek seeds for seedlings is carried out at the end of February or at the beginning of March, using sowing boxes (homemade or purchased) or pots with a diameter of at least 12 cm as seedling containers.

A soil mixture for seedlings can be prepared from 1 part garden soil, 1 part peat and 1.5 parts humus.

Growing instructions:

1. The seed boxes are filled with prepared soil, the soil is compacted and disinfected using a warm (temperature of 40-50 degrees) solution of potassium permanganate for irrigation.
2. When using separate pots, you can sow either one or 3-4 seeds in each of them (in the latter case, only the strongest shoot is left) to a depth of no more than 1.5 cm.
3. If boxes are used to grow seedlings, grooves 1-1.5 cm deep are made in the soil every 5 cm, seeds are planted in them and sprinkled with soil.
4. Having finished planting, the seedling containers are covered with glass or thick plastic film and transferred to a well-lit warm room, the air temperature in which does not fall below 25 degrees during the day and 21 degrees at night.
5. In order to avoid problems with the germination of leek seeds, it is necessary to strictly ensure that the soil in the seedling boxes is always moist, using settled water at room temperature for irrigation.
6. Leek seedlings need long-term (at least 12 hours) lighting, so compensate for the lack sunlight possible by additional illumination of crops using special phytolamps.

Seedling care

1. After the first shoots appear, the film is removed from the seedling containers, and the temperature in the room is lowered to 15-17 degrees during the daytime and to 10-12 at night. This temperature regime should be maintained for one week.
2. After seven days, the temperature in the room with the seedlings is raised again, bringing it to 17-20 degrees during the day and 10-14 at night. This temperature regime should be strictly adhered to until the seedlings are planted in open ground, since their presence indoors is too high temperature can provoke the formation of flower arrows in the first growing season (instead of the second).
3. 4 weeks after the appearance of the first shoots, the thickened plantings are thinned out, leaving a gap of 3-4 cm between neighboring plants.
4. When picking grown seedlings, use small cups with a diameter of at least 4 cm. To avoid picking, you can use peat tablets or peat humus pots to grow leek seedlings.
5. In order to achieve thickening of the stems and good development of the root system, it is necessary to trim the leaves of young plants every 14 days to a height not exceeding 10 cm.
6. An important condition for the successful development of seedlings is good soil moisture. Allowing it to dry out is completely unacceptable.
7. Given the fragility of the stems of leek seedlings, they should be watered with great care.
8. In order for the bulbs to form correctly, soil should be added to the stems of young plants from time to time.
9. During the entire period of growing seedlings, it is advisable to feed young plants at least twice, maintaining a two-week pause between feedings. You can feed seedlings with either ready-made fertilizers (such as Kemira-universal) or self-prepared mineral mixtures dissolved in water. To prepare such a nutrient solution, you can mix 10 g of urea, 5 g of potassium chloride and 20 g of superphosphate, and then dissolve them in 10 liters of water.
10. 10 days before transplanting seedlings into open ground, it is necessary to begin hardening them, while simultaneously reducing watering. For the first time, seedling containers are kept on outdoors no more than two hours, each day gradually increasing the duration of the hardening procedure. To prevent the tender stems of young plants from being damaged by scorching sun rays, boxes with seedlings must be placed in a shaded place. By the time of transplantation into open ground, the duration of the leek seedlings' stay outside should be at least 24 hours.
11. The age of seedlings ready for transplanting into open-air beds, depending on the variety, can vary between 50-70 days. Mature seedlings must have a well-developed root system and at least three true leaves.

Planting in open ground

It is possible to grow leeks from seeds in open ground only in the southern regions of the Russian Federation, since in climatic conditions middle zone this crop, characterized by a vegetative period that is too long (at least 7 months), simply will not have time to reach the maturity stage.

It is recommended to sow leeks in open-air beds in the spring (at the end of April or at the very beginning of May), after waiting for the soil to warm up well and the weather to become warm, since in the event of frost, fragile seedlings may die.

Optimal temperature environment for sowing seeds: at least 20 degrees during the day and 8-12 at night. By sowing the seeds in open ground, by the end of July you can get excellent salad greens.

Site selection

1. The area where you plan to grow leeks must be well lit and able to retain moisture. The soil on it should have weak or neutral acidity.
2. Leeks are one of the crops that are extremely demanding on soil quality. It should not be planted in beds with heavy, acidic or light sandy soil. It will develop best in areas with light, fertile floodplain or loamy soils that have a neutral environment.
3. When choosing a place to plant leeks, you must follow the rules of crop rotation. The best predecessors of this plant are: tomatoes, legumes, garlic, carrots, cabbage, onion, cucumbers and potatoes (early, of course).

Step-by-step instructions for sowing seeds in open ground

Before sowing leek seeds, the soil is carefully dug up (to a depth of at least 20 cm) and fertilized, adding to each square meter a nutrient mixture consisting of superphosphate, urea, potassium salt (taken 40 g each) and 4-5 kg humus.

Growing instructions:

1. Having lightly compacted the dug up and fertilized soil, make rows of shallow grooves in it, leaving a distance of 20 to 25 cm between them.
2. Prepared seeds are sown in the grooves and sprinkled with a two-centimeter layer of soil.
3. To further compact the soil, pat the bed with your hand.
4. Grown seedlings, stretching up to ten centimeters in height, are transplanted to permanent place, leaving a 15-centimeter interval between plants and a 50-centimeter interval between rows.

Technology of planting seedlings

It is best to prepare a bed intended for growing leeks in the fall, adding at least six kilograms of compost to each square meter of soil.

In the spring, you can add some more compost or humus to it (at the rate of 3 kg per square meter). It is strictly not recommended to dig up the soil.

It is necessary to plant strengthened and hardened leek seedlings in a permanent place in early May:

1. The leaves and roots of seedlings are shortened by about one third before planting (the remaining root length must be at least 4 cm).
2. To improve the survival rate of young plants, their roots are dipped in a mash made from equal parts of clay, water and mullein manure.
3. To plant leek seedlings, dig holes (no more than 15 cm deep), not forgetting to place a certain amount of compost or rotted manure on their bottom.
4. Having planted one seedling in each hole, carefully cover the roots with soil, making sure that the hole is only half filled. After this, the plants are watered.

The beds in which leeks are grown can be:

1. Double row. With this planting scheme, a gap of 15 to 20 cm is left between seedlings, and no more than 35 cm between rows.
2. Multi-row. The distance between seedlings in such beds is from 10 to 15 cm, the row spacing is from 20 to 30 cm.

For growing leeks, narrow beds with wide row spacing are more convenient, in which you can plant leek-friendly crops: onions, carrots, celery, garden strawberries or beets.

How to plant leeks before winter?

Leeks can be planted with seeds before winter directly in open ground. Preparation of the site, consisting of digging up the soil and applying complex fertilizers, carried out at the end of summer, and sowing of seeds is carried out in early November.

Growing instructions:

1. Having made grooves spaced 20 cm from each other, seeds are placed in them every 8-10 cm and sprinkled with soil. The seeding depth should be at least 10-12 cm.
2. It is impossible to carry out pre-winter sowing in too warm weather, since in this case the leek will sprout seedlings that will inevitably die during a cold snap.
3. Having finished sowing, the bed is mulched with a thick layer of sawdust, humus or peat, and in winter, pour as much snow on it as possible. The significant thickness of the snow cover ensures long-term snow melting. As a result, leek seedlings will appear only when the threat of return frosts has passed.

Plant care

Leek care consists of a set of standard procedures: regular watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil, hilling, removing weeds and protecting plantings from pests and diseases.

One of the conditions for successfully growing leeks is the obligatory hilling of the stems. The first hilling, which consists of adding soil to the stems, is carried out after they acquire a thickness of at least 7 mm.

The complete hilling procedure is carried out 6-8 weeks after transplanting the seedlings into open ground, and then, as necessary, it is repeated at least three times. Hilling should not be neglected, since it is thanks to it that the stems are bleached.

In plants with tall stems, the hilling procedure may not be enough to maintain a long white stem and perform high-quality bleaching. In this case, it is recommended to wrap the leek stems thick paper having a dark blue or black color.

Top dressing

During the vegetative period of planting leeks, it is necessary to feed at least 3-4 times:

1. The first feeding is carried out 21 days after transplanting the seedlings to an open-air garden bed. To water the soil, use a solution prepared from potassium salt (15 g), ammonium nitrate (20 g) and water (10 l). This volume is quite enough to fertilize a bed of 4 square meters. meters.
2. Organic fertilizers that involve introducing into the soil solutions of bird droppings (1 part droppings to 20 parts water) or mullein (1 part manure to 10 parts water) are very useful for leeks.
3. Before each hilling procedure, you can sprinkle wood ash under the leek stems (a glass for each square meter of planting).

Watering

Leeks, which are extremely sensitive to lack of moisture, will actively develop only if they are properly watered:

1. Newly planted seedlings should not be watered during the first three days.
2. After this time, it is necessary to water the leek beds every five days, using settled warm water (the watering rate is 10 liters per square meter).
3. During periods of severe drought, the watering rate is increased to 20 liters per square meter of planting. Otherwise, the growth of leeks will stop.
4. At the same time, we should not forget that stagnation of moisture in the soil is detrimental to the root system of the plant.
5. In order to retain moisture in the soil, while simultaneously preventing the appearance of weeds, it is advisable to mulch the soil in leek beds.

Disease Control

Leeks can suffer from fungal and viral infections that cause irreparable harm to plants and can completely destroy the entire crop:

1. The greatest danger to leek plantings is a viral infection called mosaic, which manifests itself by the appearance of longitudinal yellow spots on the leaves of the plant. Its carrier is aphids. It is impossible to get rid of this infection, so the only way to fight it is to prevent its occurrence. To do this, it is necessary to treat plants with insecticidal preparations, promptly destroy infected seedlings and regularly remove weeds.
2. Leek plantings often suffer from fungal diseases: downy mildew, rust and powdery mildew. By attacking the stems and leaves of leeks, they make the plants inedible. To destroy the fungus, the soil and aerial parts of the leek are sprayed fungicidal drug"Fitosporin" or copper oxychloride solution.

The main pest of leeks is the onion fly, which lays eggs in the soil and on the leaves of the plant, from which larvae emerge three days later and actively eat the leaves and stems. As a result, affected plants begin to rot and wither.

Coping with the invasion onion fly can be done using tobacco tincture prepared from 200 g of tobacco, two teaspoons liquid soap and 10 l hot water. The mixture, infused for 3-5 hours and filtered through cheesecloth, is used to spray leek plantings.

Cleaning

Leek harvesting must be completed before the first frost arrives, since this cold-resistant plant can withstand frost only down to -7 degrees. As a rule, leek harvesting begins after the air temperature drops to -3 degrees.

Armed with a shovel or pitchfork (the latter option, which prevents damage to the bulbs, is preferable), the plants are carefully dug up and laid out for a short time on the edge of the furrow, allowing them to dry out a little. After this, having cleared the soil and shortened the roots to one centimeter, the leek is transported to the storage location.

In order to prevent the rapid withering of leeks, which is fraught with the loss of their unsurpassed taste qualities, you can cut the leaves only by one third. It is also unacceptable to completely cut off the roots, without which the leek will begin to rot.

Storage

To ensure that all efforts aimed at growing leeks are not in vain, the harvest of this crop should be stored correctly.

The main condition successful storage succulent stems is to ensure optimal and stable temperature conditions. The temperature in the room where leeks are stored can vary from -1 to +1 degrees, and humidity - between 85-90%.

You can use a refrigerator, basement or cellar as storage for leeks.

If leek stems are stored in a cellar, they are placed in boxes, at the bottom of which there is a five-centimeter layer of moistened river sand. Having placed them vertically, they are sprinkled with sand and stored in this form for six months.

In regions with mild winters, leeks placed in a box with damp sand can also be stored on the balcony if you provide them with good shelter.

For storage in the refrigerator, it is necessary to select the best specimens and, after trimming the leaves and roots, cool them to 0 degrees. After this, quickly placing the stems (6-7 pieces each) into perforated plastic bags, you can store them in the vegetable compartment for 5 months at a temperature of -5 degrees.

Leeks can also be stored in the freezer if you chop up the previously washed and dried stems and leaves, spreading them in a thin (no more than 5 cm) layer in plastic bags.

In progress winter storage As the leek grows, its white stem enlarges, creating the illusion that the onion continues to grow in the refrigerator. In fact, the juiciness of the white stem increases due to the influx of nutrients and plant juices coming from the leaves.