Practical Tips For Growing Leeks

I have grown a gorgeous leek. One problem is not to preserve the harvest. When my parents were digging the cellars, it exploded in Chernobyl, so they buried themselves so deep that all my friends ceased to be afraid of the end of the world, they say, there will be somewhere to sit out. Our bunkers will withstand a direct hit from a nuclear warhead, but it is impossible to store vegetables there - it is too warm even in twenty-degree frosts.

For example, cabbage, suspended from the ceiling, immediately begins to grow and in a couple of months turns into a "mammoth tusk" covered with pitiful white scales. And the leeks just start to rot there. Therefore, with a generous hand, I give it away to neighbors, friends, acquaintances.

Imagine my surprise when about a third of the city's natives were sincerely interested, "and at what end they eat this thing," and two-thirds, although they know what it is, but do not even imagine how onion - quickly apply in cooking. And you, dear readers, do you often eat leeks? And what about beans, lentils, turnips, anise, lovage, nettles, cow parsnip, quinoa and other earthly fruits that are irreplaceable in the lean diet of our healthy ancestors? That's the same!

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I have no desire to go into botany: having looked through the "Flora Price" magazine in the "bows" section for the last 2-3 years, I noticed that there are many articles devoted to onions of different types and varieties, therefore, not wanting to take away bread from specialists, I will share my profane, but practical experience.

В молодости, когда мои родители только купили дачу, я сажала и сеяла почти всё. Очевидно, тогда порей не произвёл на меня впечатления, и я забросила это занятие и покупала его в супермаркете до той поры, пока однажды осенью на рынке в Кингисеппе я не увидела «порейку» толщиной с мою руку и в мой рост высотой! Разговорились с девушкой, которая его продавала. Кроме того, что, без сомнения, у неё, как говорят американцы, «зелёные руки», она оказалась ещё и хозяйкой фирмы по продаже семян. В результате я заполучила шесть разных сортов лука-порея и рекомендации по его выращиванию. Сейчас семена луков можно найти почти в каждом магазине по продаже семян.

I was a diligent student, so all six varieties (2 American, 2 European, 1 selection of our VIR and 1 joint production) gave an excellent harvest! As they say, find 10 differences. I didn’t find even one, just twin brothers, the reference version! Therefore, I will not recommend anything, which variety you buy, and plant this.

In short, it is necessary to sow leeks at the end of February, and in order not to forget about the timing, I have determined for myself the last day of this month. If you want, you can check the lunar calendar, it won't be superfluous. I sow seeds in Belarusian peat pots the size of a thimble. I don't know how about the rest, but peat products in this new state are produced excellently, of different shapes, sizes, and most importantly, cheaply. By the time the seedlings have to dive, they are sold in all supermarkets in St. Petersburg. Ours are also not baked, they learned how to do the soil well.

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Peat soil with white polymer inclusions is ideal for germinating seeds, I won't name the company, I don't remember, and who would allow me to do hidden advertising.

I fill each pot with soil, water it abundantly, throw in 2 seeds each, sprinkle it a little, cover it with a film and put it on the central heating battery. Three days later I determine a place for the pots somewhere on the backyard of the loggia. And there I have - the gardens of Eden. And in the shade of balsams, under a fig (literally) leaf sprout miserable leek hairs. The main thing is not to let the soil dry out.

In the meantime, the day remains. I move some of the plants to the village, making room for other seedlings. Now I take larger-caliber peat pots and load the thimbles into them, mixing the purchased soil with three-year-old manure. I repeat this procedure 2-3 times in the spring. Moreover, each time the smaller pot is placed on the bottom of the larger one, and the onion itself is covered with earth. If both seeds have sprouted, I do not touch them until planting. Provided the ground is loose, it is easy to separate them.

In May I bring out the seedlings to the greenhouse, usually we plant the leeks according to the residual principle, i.e. when all other landings are finished. Of course, he loves loose soil, but where to get it? I plant it in sticky cold clay, which over 20 years of land use we have slightly diluted with compost and everything that I rake out of chickens over the winter. And nothing grows! Only it is necessary to plant in the furrow, like potatoes, only a little more often, and more often to huddle. The more you huddle, the longer the false stem will be, i.e. the same "white leg" that is tasty, juicy and healthy.

And what is so useful for leeks?

I answer. There are a lot of useful substances: salts of iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and there are also essential oils, carotene, ascorbic acid, which is slightly less than in currants, and other vitamins. But the main advantage of leek is sulfur.

Do you know why cats eat mice with skin? Yes, so that they themselves have a good skin, tk. there is a lot of sulfur in mouse wool. And advertising imposes on us, they say, buy shampoo, and the hair will be soft and silky. My grandmother used to say: "You shouldn't wash the mangy dog, but you need to feed it." How many people are caught on advertising snag! No, my dears, in order to have good hair in our northern conditions, as well as skin, nails, teeth, cartilage and generally a strong skeleton, you need to get plenty of sulfur, phosphorus, calcium and vitamins. Do not hope that you can go to the pharmacy for all this. Our body does not want synthetics, just plant the liver, it wants the substances it needs to be synthesized by food intestinal bacteria, and they love the "green stuff", which in winter is successfully replaced by leeks.

Our main problem is not even bad digestion, but in the elimination of digestive products, with which most people have some difficulties due to a sedentary lifestyle. So we poison ourselves with decay products in our own intestines. Do not believe me, but try to starve, for example, during Great Lent. And on the fortieth day you will be drawn to visit the "toilet fairy", and, I assure you, you will not do without "gifts".

You can't even imagine how many kilograms of ballast a person accumulates in a lifetime! Nature has determined for us to chew coarse fibers, fiber, bran, so that there is no stagnation in the intestines, and we prefer soft pastries and "snake" fast food. The fibrous structure of leeks is vital for the modern, lazy city dweller. In addition, leeks are successfully used in folk medicine in the treatment of rheumatism, gout and urolithiasis. The very rheumatic, believe me, I know what I am writing about.

So how do you eat leeks? And just like onions, i.e. added to the first and second courses, they can be sprinkled with herring and potatoes, even boiled or fried, it, cut into rings, can be served as an independent side dish for meat and fish or as an addition to any vegetable side dish. Leek is indispensable for decorating dishes before serving on the festive table. But it's best to use it fresh in a variety of salads. As an example, I would like to bring to your attention a salad that I make during the Christmas Fast. My family called it “Christmas Eve”.