Growing leeks from seeds

Leeks, like similar herbs, for example: dill or parsley, often appear on the menu of many summer residents. Caring for it does not require special measures - it is protected from most pests by default, like other bulbous crops. Nevertheless, there is no need to launch it after landing and waiting for the young "shooters".

For different regions, these periods differ markedly. In order for the planting material to finally prepare for the main period, seeds are planted at home to obtain high-quality seedlings. Finished seedlings should not be more than two months old. This means that leek seeds are sown in special mini-containers (cell containers, sour cream packaging, etc.) in the same two months. Planting, depending on the region, is made from late April to early June. This means that sowing seeds for seedlings is required in early March or late February. So, in the Moscow region, the grown bushes in greenhouse conditions are planted in mid-March, in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, the Ural and Siberian districts - in late March or early April.

Planting seedlings at home involves a strict selection of both the biomaterial to be grown and the containers, as well as the soil where it will germinate. Significant violations will lead to the fact that the greens may germinate, but you will not wait for the child bulbs, you will not be able to restart this cycle as many times as you need. Growing a crop that is unable to produce new seeds or leeks will not be pleasant to many - not everyone is ready to buy its seeds every year.

Sowing leeks will require a meticulous, highly calculated planting decision. If the roots lack vital space, then the seedlings may be too weak and small. If the roots have been injured, then they will take root after transplantation for a long time, and precious time for obtaining a high-quality harvest and seed (bulbous) material will be lost. Picks are not allowed. Decide in advance what size container is suitable for this type of onion. If it turns out to be of insufficient volume, then a forced pick can destroy your planting biomaterial. So, sowing in plastic cups will be useful (you can take disposable ones).

A special place in the list of possible utensils is occupied by peat cells, in which tablets from similar raw materials are placed. The volume of the cell or glass must be at least 100 ml - for each of the seeds. The depth of the glass or cell is at least 10 cm.

There should be at least one or more drainage holes at the bottom of the glass or cell. This will prevent the roots from suffocating due to waterlogging of the soil, the lack of free oxygen in it due to the displacement of air by water. Peat tablets are excellent moisture permeability and are initially a highly porous organic material: they do not need moisture drain from the container - it evaporates equally well from above.

If ordinary black soil is used, without peat - or with its minimum amount, then it must be heated in an oven at 100 degrees to kill pests (spores, fungi, microbes). It is not recommended to ignite it at a higher temperature: organic matter will burn and turn into mineral fertilizers. The soil mixture should be light, nutritious, loose - leeks cannot grow in a tamped mixture. Fertilized sand or humus-saturated clay will also not work - too dense, as well as too light, the soil environment is unsuitable for growing onions. The soil should not be over-acidified - if the analysis for acidity (pH) showed an exorbitant pH value (this is done using an electronic analyzer), you should "alkalize" the soil, adding, for example, a little urea or slaked lime. This is one of the many ways to feed him. The best soil composition is peat, humus, soil from the site and sand (ratio 3: 1: 1: 1). If peat is not found, then use biomaterial from the compost heap of three years old.

Sift out empty seeds beforehand - they float in water, while "full", viable ones drown. It is not recommended to use seeds overexposed during storage - their aging period should be no more than three years. After this period, most of them die. Do not buy seeds even at a very large discount: this often hides a large number of "defective" seeds - you will not receive any benefits. Fresh leek seeds can be sown without pretreatment. Some summer residents disinfect them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (no more than 1%).

The scheme of actions for planting leek seeds is as follows.

1. Spread a small drainage layer on the bottom of the container, for example: perlite, fine expanded clay (but not the clay from which expanded clay granules are made), no more than 1.5 cm high.
2. Pour soil or soil mixture into each of the mini-containers. You cannot fill them to the top - the level difference between the side of the glass (or cell) and the surface of the soil is at least 1 cm.
3. Water the filled soil. For this purpose, either a nebulizer or a capillary is used, connected to a container in which settled (not boiled) water is collected.
4. Dig in a small hole no more than a centimeter deep with a match, toothpick, end of a teaspoon, or other similar object. Place one seed in the hole - and carefully bury it. Water this place again so that the soil settles where the seed is planted - this will displace the remaining air that would prevent the sprouts from sprouting. Repeat these steps for all cups (or wells) with other seeds.
5. Place your "battery" in a warm and well-lit place. You can close the cells, for example, with glass or transparent plastic: this will prevent the water from evaporating from the soil the next day, since it should remain damp. If you plant leeks in a common container, for example: a pot with holes or in a box, then the distance between the seeds is about 2.5 cm in any of the four sides. It doesn't matter how the seeds are planted: in a "snail", in a checkerboard pattern (zigzag), the distance between them should not be less than 2.5 cm.

Having coped with the planting, after a few days you will notice that the onion has given its first shoots. Having discovered that a sprout has hatched from the seed, you can remove the glass or plastic, which covered all the planted seeds - this obstacle will prevent them from growing further. If it is important for you to retain moisture without resorting to the need for frequent watering of the seeds, then you can use, for example, an aquarium turned upside down, installed on a sheet of rubber. On this sheet, in turn, there is a container with seedlings. The disadvantage of this method is that before each watering, the aquarium (or other sealed transparent box) must be removed to gain access to your seedlings. It is recommended to pour water not under the root, but on the edge of the cell or glass - this will help prevent the roots from being washed away.

But in addition to timely watering, fertilizing is performed to accelerate the germination of seedlings. You can use approximately the same fertilizers as for feeding adult seedlings: poorly diluted compost and urea, potassium, phosphate and nitrogen salts. The dosage is ten times less than for adult plants. Do not overdo it - "overfeeding" is not good for leeks. Due to the fact that the dissolved fertilizer is used in a concentration of no more than 1–2%, top dressing is combined with one irrigation session. Once a day, in order to avoid the formation of mold (its spores are always in the air, even in small quantities) or fungus, ventilate your mini-greenhouse for 20 minutes: relative humidity, close to 100%, is no less harmful than drying out the soil.

On cloudy, gray days, when there is little sunlight, and the day is reduced by more than an hour, and the illumination drops by 3 or more times, use LED backlighting. Sunlight can be fully simulated by the glow of warm white LED panels with a small number of other LEDs emitting soft (low frequency) ultraviolet light. Do not skimp on the brightness of the backlight. A powerful LED floodlight, in addition to bright light, emits a small amount of heat - this is useful when the temperature on the loggia is below +18 at night, in this case it simulates solar heat. Leek seedlings rarely grow longer than 60 days.

If the capacity of the container allows, then as the seedlings grow, a little earth is poured into it. This hilling allows the bulb to form properly. If the soil initially did not correspond to the parameters of a full-fledged nutrient medium for germinating seedlings, then the number and intensity of feeding sessions slightly increase. Particular attention is paid to potassium-, nitrogen- and phosphorus-containing salts.

Two weeks before the start of planting, so that the seedlings do not die in the open ground (or in a greenhouse), use the so-called. hardening of young plants. In the morning and in the evening they open the window - for a couple of hours. As the average daily temperature rises, the seedlings spend more and more time with the window open.

There are several rules for planting leek seedlings in "full-fledged" soil.

1. Wait until young seedlings have 3-4 full leaves. This phase in time corresponds to the 60-day age of the plants ready for transplantation.
2. Planting time is chosen based on the local climate, which has its own temperature regime. In the Urals, for example, leeks are planted at the beginning of the calendar summer.
3. Prepare your future bed. The soil must be loosened, weeded. The acidity of the soil is chosen to be neutral (pH = 7). In addition to lime, dolomite chips and chalk are suitable for deoxidation.
4. It is desirable that in previous years, legumes, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, celery grew in this place. Siderates will give good protection against pests. Beets, strawberries and carrots are good neighbors for leeks.
5. Planting depth - along the lower edge of the roots - about 12 cm.The distance between the seedlings is approximately 18 cm. The row spacing is 35 cm. Wood shavings and overexposed compost are placed on the bottom of the furrow or holes.
6. After planting and watering, the leaves are trimmed no more than a quarter of their length. If you remember to trim them right away, this allows the plants to take root faster. You do not need to trim the leaves a second time - until the harvest itself.
7. If necessary, add more soil - after watering, it settles and compresses by itself. If the plant is watered abundantly and the soil immediately subsides, then there is no need to trample it.

By following these instructions, you will get a bountiful harvest of leeks. When the year is, despite forecasters' predictions, abnormally cold, it is recommended to build a full-fledged greenhouse, the soil in which can be insulated with a heating cable - on days when the temperature is below +16 during the day, and at night it can drop to zero. Although leeks and bulbous crops are less demanding on heating the soil, they grow already at + 8 ... +10 (and not at +16, as, for example, pumpkin), an excessive temperature drop in the morning can ruin all your bulbous plantings in the bud.

Caring for mature plants is not much different from caring for seedlings.

1. It is necessary to feed the beds with inorganic fertilizers and mulch (chopped grass, chopped peelings), use diluted mullein or dung. It is not forbidden to use human waste, previously processed and overexposed (for example, urine). Before use, any compost is diluted to a state of slurry, the strength of which does not exceed 2-3%, otherwise onion roots can be burned. The number of dressings is no more than 3 per growing season.
2. Hilling leeks is done up to 4 times - like potatoes. If this is not done, the bulbs will remain small.
3. The soil around the plants is loosened every 10–12 days.
4. Water consumption for each square meter of leek plantings is no more than 10 liters.

The agrotechnology of growing leeks is no more difficult than similar actions for growing onions. Despite its bitterness and phytoncides, which are contained in the sap of plants, there are also plenty of pests in leeks. Mosaic aphids affect the vegetable crop in question mainly in the summer months. The indicator of defeat is oblong yellow spots. Rusty disease (yellow-orange spots) and powdery mildew (oval grayish spots growing in size) make onion leaves inedible.

Of the chemicals used are copper oxychloride, copper and ferrous sulfate. As anticipatory measures - seed treatment before sowing, relocation of various crops, they will not allow pests to start in a permanent place.

Onion fly hatches larvae in the middle of the main stem - hatched from eggs, they penetrate into it from the surface. The affected stem looks rotten after a few days. Ash and tobacco dust allow gardeners to get rid of this pest. An alternative way is to use ground black pepper. Spray a teaspoon of it on a square meter of the plot, and this fly will hatch before it has time to reproduce the larvae. Also, tobacco is bred in 10 liters of water, the mixture is boiled and insisted - then the area is sprayed. Planting celery between the rows of leeks will block many pests from entering.