Collaring leeks
Do this job early to get a good length for the shows
My new ‘Tryfan’ leek is growing well for both the Chelsea Flower Show and for the September shows, all of course at different stages of development. Because of this, I have to be on the ball so that I don’t get mixed up with sowing dates for the different ones. I do now use a notes app on my mobile phone, which is a great help as I’ll know when I sowed or planted things the previous years.
This is the first year I’ve sent the ‘Tryfan’ leek out to customers, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows for other people and in different regions of the country.
I’ve always collared my leeks when they’re quite young, about the diameter of a pencil, and I start off with 23cm (9in) collars. I do this because I like to pull the leek upwards early on to make sure I get the desired length later.
‘Llanedwen’ is another good leek introduced a few years ago by Ivor Mace, though some growers have trouble extending it to ensure it ends up at over 36cm (1¼ft) to the button. I had this problem two years ago when I had some very good leeks measuring around 25cm (10in) in circumference but struggled to get them up to 36cm (1¼ft). On the other hand, John Branham staged a set of three on his collection that had pulled well and were around 46cm (1½ft) to the button.
I’m a little later than usual with my shallots this year as I normally pot up anytime between Christmas and New Year. I grow ‘Aristocrat’, which I have for many years, and these will be potted up into 9cm (3½in) pots using Humax multipurpose compost, which has added Nutrimate in it. They’ll be grown on a bench in the polytunnel and I hope to end up with around 200 pots.
■ Why not follow me on Twitter throughout the season as I grow vegetables for my show displays – @medwynsofangles.
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Start at the base of the shrub Where it’s difficult to get the and using strong pruners cut blades of pruners into the out around one third of the middle of the shrub, a small oldest, woody branches as close pruning saw is perfect for ge ing to ground level as possible. between crowded branches.