Growing your own - is it worth it?

[umslopogaas]

ardcarp, all advice welcome, I have never grown leeks. I was thinking of sowing the seeds much earlier, in early January. Raise the plants in pots until the peas are finished, somewhere in mid summer, then plant them out where the peas were. That way, you get a head start for big leeks, though growing veg in pots in dry weather is a pain, you have to water every day.

No problems about poking around with my dibber, the last time I did that she seemed to enjoy it. Gives a whole new meaning to pricking out ... perhaps I'd better stop here.

[doversoul1]

Leeks are slow growing thing. I start the seeds in a seed tray in early February and when they are large enough to handle, transplant the best/largest seedlings to a large and deeper tray. (I always have far too many. Pity you are not closer or you could have as many plants as you need). You still need to water the tray but much easier to look after than pots. I keep them in a greenhouse until they are almost ready to plant out or until I need space for other plants. In my garden, leeks are the last plants to be planted out, towards the end of June. I used to use a dibber and watering can but now just plant them as any other vegetables, only a little deeper. I actually like the green bit almost better than white part. Leeks like a lot of manure. I dig the patch first, spread well rotted manure and dig it in*. Water them well after planted and that’s it. Until this year, that is. I had to put a wire fence around them as something nibbled the young plants.

*Leeks have thick, long roots. Water the tray well before you start planting out.

As ardcarp says, leeks are a most useful winter vegetable. You can add them to all sorts of pies casserole, hotpot to add bulk as well as flavour. Or cut them into a couple of inches, boil them thoroughly with salt, drain well and mix with olive oil and vinegar plus salt (if needed) and pepper. This doesn’t have to be hot so you can prepare it when it is convenient for you.

Note: if you have fat leeks, cut in an inch or so from the base. They don’t stay in neat leek shape as you may see in cookery books but it’s the taste that matters.

[ed] warning: bought leeks do not taste anything like home grown, so don’t be put off if you try them.

[umslopogaas]

ds, excellent advice. I'm sure you are right about bought leeks, I have already had the same experience with bought onions. My home grown ones have brought tears to the eyes of the friends who received a bag full of them, and the store bought items never did that, but the friends seemed to be like them, none the less.

[doversoul1]

Rabbit repellent spray?

I’ve just found a product that claims to keep off rabbits and pigeons.

http://www.grazers.co.uk/

Has anybody used it? And (this is for the Forum’s Chief Biologist, umslopogaas), what is trace element based?

[Globaltruth]

I’ve just found a product that claims to keep off rabbits and pigeons.

http://www.grazers.co.uk/

Has anybody used it? And (this is for the Forum’s Chief Biologist, umslopogaas), what is trace element based?

Not used it, but interested to read that it is claimed to prevent Cabbage Whites too - definitely of interest.

[jean]

'Trace-element based' as a recommendation must surely depend on the particular trace element/s involved?

[umslopogaas]

Um ... I think my local nurseryman sells it and he knows his stuff, so there must be something in it (the claim I mean, not the spray). Trace elements are elements plants need only in very tiny amounts, but without which they show deficiency symptoms. Cobalt and Molybdenum are a couple that come to mind: major elements are things like Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus, and there are some sort of in between, like Iron.

All I can think of is that this particular combination of trace elements doesnt taste very nice to rabbits, so they avoid anything that has been sprayed with it. Of course, the same trace elements are present in the plants that rabbits eat, but perhaps in the chemical form used in the spray they dont taste very nice? For example, we all need iron in our food for nutritional reasons, but if someone gave me a glass of ferrous sulphate solution I expect it would taste rather nasty.

[doversoul1]

Umslopogaas

Thank you. That makes sense (re: trace element based). I suppose it’s a bit like KitKat covered in sugar. If it works, it’ll make an enormous difference, since the rabbits are now daily visitors to my vegetable garden.

[umslopogaas]

doversoul, I'll pass comment on Kitkat until I've had some time to think soberly. Which alas is not now, I've had a dram or two of Talisker and very nice it is too.





iThe problem with rabbits is keeping them out of the garden. I must now go to sleep, but see previous posts, they can be excluded.

[gradus]

Thanks for the Grazers tip, I'm going to give it a go as the fauna round here are getting very active again and I've lost most of the kale and sprouts.

[doversoul1]

Are you going to try on your winter crop? If you are, do let me know the result. The size of my back garden makes it hard (terribly expensive) to fence it properly.

[gradus]

Yes, on garlic as it emerges and possibly peas but the peas weren't attacked last year although that's no guarantee. It's a bit late for the sprouts and kale but I'll try it on the purple sprouting. if it works it'll be a godsend as the only alternative is heavy duty rabbit fencing. I'll keep you posted.

[umslopogaas]

The rabbit fencing doesnt actually have to be that heavy duty. I know that rabbits can burrow and you are supposed to bury the wire netting ten inches underground, and bend it outwards, but if I had done that it would have been prohibitively expensive. So I just ran it all round the garden and had it pegged down at ground level. The rabbits could easily burrow under it, but so far, after at least five years, they havent and I havent had any further problems. It was still quite an expensive operation, but its one I'm only going to have to pay for once, by the time it needs replacing I'll be too old for gardening.

[mercia]

I have been watching Hugh Fearnley-W's War on Waste TV programmes and find this supermarket idea that consumers "will not buy cosmetically-challenged fruit and vegetables" insulting to my intelligence. I assume that home-growers on this thread would find the idea of throwing away blemished or 'odd-shaped' produce utterly ridiculous.

[jean]

I wouldn't throw away anything I'd grown myself.

But if I'm buying vegetables and there's a choice, I uncomfortably recognise that I may well pick out the more conveniently-shaped ones.