Leeks are an underappreciated vegetable in our opinion. Leeks are frost tolerant, delicious, they make beautiful flowers, they have very few pests to deal with, and they're easy to grow. What's not to love? They're also the gift that keeps on giving because once you plant them, you'll have them forever. They will multiply from the base, self-seed, and the seed heads are easy to collect and save as well.
Leeks in the Garden Ecosystem
Whether you start seeds yourself or buy transplants from a nursery, you'll likely end up with a clump of little plants. Leeks, like all alliums, are very easy to divide out. Their root systems are strong and fibrous, so just gently pull them apart and they'll do fine. Split the leeks up before planting them, so each each little leek plant has room to grow. 6-8 inch spacing is a good rule of thumb, but there's no need to overthink it. You also want to plant them deeply because the long white neck of the leek is typically the favored part in cooking and this is achieved by keeping it underground and out of sunlight. You can also mound soil up around the base as they grow. We've been growing the American Flag variety so far and, from our experience, they overwinter just fine in Central Texas. We'll update this post as we try other types. We've planted our leeks in the spring as well as fall and into January. They're pretty low maintenance and make nice companion plants in the vegetable garden or fruit tree guild.
