Sowing leeks for seedlings and in open ground: terms and rules for growing

Some summer residents believe that to grow onion much lighter than leeks. However, it is worth knowing that the gastronomic qualities and rich vitamin composition of leeks are significantly superior in their subtlety of taste (not spicy, but even slightly sweet) to their onion counterpart. Nevertheless, even a novice summer resident will be able to plant and grow leeks on his site, which you will definitely see by reading this material to the end.

Well, then you will learn when and how to plant leeks for seedlings (including whether it is possible to plant leeks directly in the ground, so to speak, grow in a seedless way), how to properly care for them to get a decent harvest.

How to plant leeks for seedlings: timing, preparatory activities and phased planting

In the south, leeks, due to the earlier warming up of the earth and the long summer, are planted with seeds directly into the ground, they use a seedless planting method, which is in no way suitable for the Middle Lane (the same suburbs) due to the fact that recurrent frosts are not rare in these latitudes and relatively late onset of stable warm weather. Therefore, due to the fact that the growing season for leeks is very long (about 6 months), it is better to grow leeks through seedlings in this region.

Sowing dates

As for the timing of planting, as a rule, they begin to plant leeks for seedlings from February to March. However, some varieties are best planted for seedlings at the end of March, for example, the quarantine leek.

By the way! The site already has a separate material about how to tell when to plant leeks for seedlings, including auspicious days according to the lunar calendar in 2020.

Required planting capacity and soil

The choice of containers for sowing leeks for seedlings is not limited to purchased options, you can always make planting containers yourself.

By the way! Planting and growing leeks in peat tablets without picking would be excellent options.

In order for the leek to successfully sprout and grow quickly, it needs light and nutritious soil. Heavy (dense) or excessively clayey soil does not suit him.

At the garden store you can buy ready-made soil for seedlings, at the same time, ready-made soil mixtures for eggplants, peppers and cucumbers are excellent for this.

Recipe for self-preparation of soil mixture for growing seedlings of leeks:

• 1/4 peat;
• 1/4 garden (orchard) land;
• 2/4 humus.

Before sowing, the prepared soil is desirable disinfect in one of the waysby spilling a warm solution of potassium permanganate, or even better Fitosporin.

Seed preparation and treatment before sowing

Before planting leek seeds, they must be processed for better germination, no matter if you plant the onions first in seedlings or directly into the ground.

Remember! The optimal shelf life and, as a result, the germination of leek seeds is 3 years, then the chances of friendly seedlings of crops are significantly reduced.

There are many ways to prepare leek seeds before planting.

For example, you can simply soak the seeds in lukewarm water, let sit for 24 hours, and then dry.

Another processing option can be keeping the planting material in a thermos at a water temperature of about 40 degrees for 3-5 hours. Then the seeds must be rinsed in cold water and dried.

You can pickle leek seeds in a special solution, for example Fitosporin.

We plant seeds for seedlings

Sowing leek seeds takes place in different ways depending on the size of the planting container: if it is a separate container, for example, cups, then it is better to put 1 seed in each (although, for better further selection, you can sow 3-4 seeds, to later leave only the strongest seedling).

So, step-by-step instructions for planting leeks for seedlings:

1. Fill containers with moistened substrate.
2. Make small grooves 1-1.5 cm deep.
3. Sow seeds at a distance of 4-5 centimeters from each other and lightly cover with soil.
4. Then additionally sprinkle the entire surface with 0.5 cm of sand and water.
5. Now you can cover the crops with a lid or plastic wrap, or you can use the most ordinary shoe covers (to create a greenhouse effect) and put them in a warm place where the air temperature is around + 21-25 degrees throughout the day.

Video: planting leek seedlings

You can sow leeks in snail or non-woven napkin. For how to do this, see the following video:

Care of leek seedlings after planting

As soon as the friendly shoots of leek appear, and this takes 2 to 3 weeks, the planting containers must be transferred to a cooler place. Theretemperature indoors at night it should be at + 10-12 degrees, during the day - + 15-17 degrees. In such conditions, plantings should survive for 1 week. Then the temperature must be raised again to + 13-15 degrees at night and + 18-20 degrees during the day. It is in this mode that the seedlings should be kept until their final transplantation into open ground.

Video: caring for leek seedlings

For normal growth, onion seedlings require 12 hour daylight hours... Therefore, with early sowing, you need to immediately think about how you will supplement the leek: these will be more expensive phytolamps or economical LED counterparts.

Leeks need frequent and abundant watering... Do not allow the soil to dry out, leek germinates well only in moist soil.

Important! Due to the fact that withYoung leek seedlings are very tender and should be watered very carefully. That is why constant additionaladding earth into seedlings, which ensures the correct formation of the leek.

After 1 month from the moment of seedling formation, they must be started thin out so that the distance between the seedlings is about 3-4 cm.

For the successful cultivation of leek seedlings, it is necessary to ensure the development of its roots, as well as the thickening of the stem by pruning plants every 14 days, while maintaining the height of the onion at a level of 10 cm from the ground.

Video: caring for leek seedlings - pruning (haircut)

Leek seedlings require fertilization for better growth. So, it is advisable to spend exactly 2 feeding.The first - a couple of weeks after the emergence of shoots and the second - about a week before transplanting to the garden. Can be used as ready-made fertilizers (for example, Kemira-universal or Nitroammofosku).

Interesting! Poultry droppings are what leeks need as fertilizer. To prepare such a top dressing, you need to dilute 0.5 kg of droppings in 10 liters of water, then water the plantings as carefully as possible, while not getting on the seedlings themselves.

For a week or a little more before planting the leeks on the garden bed (that is, 7 weeks after the first shoots appear), seedlings require preliminary hardening... Therefore, gradually begin to take out the planting containers with seedlings outside (preferably left in partial shade), every day increasing the time of his stay in the open air.

Picking

Note! Carrying out a picking of leek seedlings is undesirable, so plant the seeds immediately in spacious containers.

If you have planted the leek too densely, then the transplantation of young seedlings must be done very, very carefully, in no way damaging the small roots.

Method of planting leek seedlings in open ground: terms, rules and regulations for further care

The appearance of 3-4 true leaves in leek seedlings is a signal to transplant seedlings from planting containers into open ground. As a rule, this occurs approximately in the interval from 55 to 65 days from the moment of germination, depending on the selected variety.

If you have not prepared the soil in the fall, then it's okay, this can be done in the spring. Mark the garden in advance, dig up the ground and apply fertilizers (for digging).

Leeks do not favor or grow in acidic soils. Therefore, if you are not sure that we have a soil of neutral acidity, then add, for example, lime or dolomite flour.

Advice! Leeks grow very well in the vicinity of beets, carrots, strawberries and celery, so they can be planted side by side, for example, alternating beds.

According to the crop rotation, if you plant a leek in a garden where legumes (peas) were previously grown, as well as potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage or sideratesthen it will grow well.

By the way! You should not plant onions in the same place for 2 years in a row.

Just before planting, lightly (1/3 or 1/4) pinch the roots and top of the leek seedlings. Such a shortening will have a positive effect on the speedy rooting and on the further receipt of better quality greens.

By the way! To improve the survival rate of seedlings, it is recommended to dip the leek roots into a clay mash with a mullein (1 to 1).

Leek seedlings are planted in small V-shaped grooves with a depth of 10-12-13 cm and at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other and at a distance between rows - 35-45 cm. Such a planting pattern would be ideal for subsequent hilling of the beds.

You can plant leeks from separate containers and into individual holes.

Important! Do not forget to lightly sprinkle the grooves (furrows) with a mixture of humus and ash before planting the onions (1 bucket of humus per 0.5 liter can of ash).

Video: planting leek seedlings in open ground

How to care for leeks in the garden after planting

The subsequent care of onions is not very difficult, but in order to get a rich harvest, you will have to follow exactly the basic procedures for growing leeks.

Leek care includes the following agrotechnical measures:

• hilling;
• loosening and weeding;
• watering;
• lure;
• treatment for diseases and pests.

After the young seedlings take root, and the stems reach a thickness of 0.5-0.7 cm (so to speak, they will look like pencils), then you can already begin to do light hilling, namely: add a little earth under the stems. Real hilling can be started only after 45-60 days from the moment of transplanting.

Note! The most important part of leek care is hilling because it is this that leads to the bleaching of the lower parts of its stem.

If you ignore regular hilling (for the whole season it must be performed 4 to 5 times), then you will grow a tasteless green "trunk".

To water leeks are needed often, about 1 time per 4-6 days. Naturally, if the days are hot and the weather is dry, then it is necessary to increase the amount of watering. You can water it with cold water, somewhere at the rate of 1 bucket of water per 1 sq. meter of the garden.

Important! It is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil, because constant stagnation of moisture negatively affects the growth and development of onions, and can also contribute to its diseases. However, the same applies to moisture deficiency in plantings.

By the way! The site already has a general article about the rules for watering onions.

Leeks respond very well to feeding chicken droppings with the addition of phosphorus and potash fertilizers to them. It is necessary to breed in the following proportion: 1 part of droppings and 20 parts of water.

In addition to hilling, feeding and watering, leek care should definitely include regular loosening and weeding planting from weeds.

Seedless way to grow leeks

As mentioned earlier, the seedless method of growing leeks is only suitable for southern regions.

With the onset of April-May, when the earth warms up enough and stable warm weather sets in, the time for sowing leek seeds in open ground is also suitable. This is due to the fact that onion seedlings do not tolerate frost, although they are quite resistant to cold weather.

The main requirements for a garden bed for planting leek seeds in open ground are as follows:

• priming in no case should it be sour and heavy, leek grows well only on light and neutral soils;
• a place for a garden it is better to choose a well-lit and moisture-retaining site on the site.

Step-by-step instructions for planting leek seeds in open ground are as follows:

• Treat the seeds (of course, you can use the same methods as when sowing seedlings)
• Preparing the garden bed. First, dig the soil to a depth of 20-25 cm (shovel bayonet), and then add fertilizer to it, and then dig again and lightly tamp.
• Now you need to make grooves and sow seeds in them at a distance of 10 cm and sprinkle with earth.

Further care for leeks fundamentally does not differ in any way from caring for onions, which are grown through seedlings.

When to harvest and how to store

The term for harvesting leeks is determined by its variety: certain varieties can be harvested already at the end of summer - August, others created for long-term storage only in the middle of autumn, that is, starting from October.

How to harvest leeks for storage? First you need to dig in the plant, and then pull it out, holding the stem with both hands. Loose soil allows you to easily pull out the stems without resorting to the use of additional funds. Now the onion needs to be cut to 20-30 centimeters in length, while shortening the roots to 1.5-2.5 cm. Be careful not to cut the roots completely, otherwise the leek will simply rot during storage.

Advice! The site already has a general article aboutwhen to harvest onions and how to store them in winter.

Storage for leeks can be a basement or cellar, perhaps even a shed or garage. It is only important that the air temperature is at least 0 degrees.

If the optimal storage temperature is observed, pearl onions have every chance and opportunity to lie like this until spring and not lose their useful properties.

By the way! Leeks have one very distinctive feature: during storage, they increase the level of ascorbic acid by 150%.

Video: growing, harvesting and storing leeks

As you already understood, it will not be difficult even for a novice vegetable grower and summer resident to grow strong and healthy seedlings of leeks and correctly plant them in open ground. It is only necessary to properly care for the seedlings, and then you will be pleased with the fragrant and juicy harvest.

Video: leeks from A to Z - sowing, picking, planting on the garden, collecting and storing crops