Medwyn Williams on growing leeks from bulbils
Planting is now well underway, and I’m trying a promising new variety
There’s always great expectancy when you’re growing a new vegetable for the first time and this will be the first year I’m properly trying Ivor Mace’s new blanch leek. I grew just a few myself this past year and was really impressed. Ivor was the first grower to really move forward the quality and size of blanch leeks when he introduced ‘Welsh Seedling’ many years ago. That same ‘Welsh Seedling’ is the basis of the new cross ‘Pendle Improved’.
Ivor gave me the heads of his new leek in mid-October and I planted the bulbils (also known as pips) a week later in 60-cell trays. The heads were certainly a joy – they were fresh and green – and as soon as the head was split open to reveal the bulbils’ base plate, I knew each one would root quite quickly.
The one thing you don’t want is a leek head rotting at the core where all the bulbils root from – once that gets brown, the bulbils will eventually rot away.
I now grow four varieties of leeks – all from bulbils and all from top stock material – with the original ‘Welsh Seedling’ being the first one I grew. ‘Pendle’ is another blanch variety that has very often beaten the ‘Welsh Seedling’ on the show bench. This was bred by David Metcalfe and has stood the test of time, but didn’t have such good results this year with sideshoots forming. I think it was the extremely hot weather for days on end in June. This hot weather would almost certainly have stressed out the plants, initiating the base plate to kick-start the sideshoots.
I also grow ‘Cumbrian Sammy Cross’ (CSC), which is a pot leek of excellent quality. I staged two of these, measuring 38cm (15in) in circumference, on my Malvern display in September. ‘Llanedwen’ is another blanch leek which I now grow instead of ‘Llanberis’.
I’ve now pricked all the leeks out and I’m growing them on at 13C (55F), with the artificial lights having been switched on around two weeks ago.