Organic Leek: Blauwgroene herfst

Description

Organic Leek: Blauwgroene herfst. Allium porrum.

Blauwgroene Herfst, translating as Blue-Green Autumn, is strong and can withstand the wind as well as the frost, with our mild winters it’s good until spring.

How to grow:
Sow seeds in deep pots thickly under cover in February and March or sow in beds outside March/April. Once they’re about 7-8″ tall separate them out gently and drop into holes made with a 1″ diameter stick/dibbler of about 6″ deep and 14″ apart. Water in well, filling up the hole you made for each one. Feed well.

Problem solving:
Leeks are pretty easy to grow. Susceptable to rust especially later in the season, but it’s harmless to us, just looks a bit unsightly. Eat the worst ones first, thinning out helps the rest, sometimes you can find the source of rust in the garden, so you could remove that, tends to lurk around long soggy grasses.

Favourite ways to eat them:
Sauteed with onion and kale, olive oil and salt. The bedrock of stews with potato, parsley, carrot and anything else you love, divine in stews and casseroles.

Cultural history:
A cultivar of the native broad leaf leek, Allium ampeloprasum, native to southern Europe and Asia.

Approx. 400 seeds per gram.