Planting leeks on the seedlings. Leeks: growing on the site

A leek is a universal product. Due to the ability to quickly adapt to different climatic conditions, it is widely distributed throughout the world. It is used fresh, used in cooking, it is fried, boiled, steamed, dried, marinated, and from this it becomes only tastier. Leeks are used as a separate product, as a seasoning and as an addition when harvesting vegetables for the winter. In this article, you will learn that planting leeks on a plot is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. A little care for him, and in the fall on your table will be a storehouse of vitamins.

Biological features

Let's consider a leek, the general characteristic of a variety is presented below. This is a two-year-old plant that does not form the usual bulbs. In the first year a leek stalk is tied to a leek. It has a cylindrical shape and wide leaves, which are fan-shaped around the stem. The most productive part of the plant is the false stem mentioned above. Its thickness can exceed 7 cm, and the height reaches 30 cm in height.

In the second year, the plant develops a victorious shoot, at the end of which a spherical inflorescence is formed. With it at the end of the growing season, it is possible to collect seeds, through which the leeks are planted on seedlings.

It is necessary to observe a strict temperature regime of 2 ° C, seeds will germinate in such conditions and the leek will rise. Growing seedlings - a painstaking process. Young shoots do not tolerate frost, but when the plant takes root, small frosts are more harmless for him.

There are two ways to grow a leek: planting seedlings or direct sowing into the soil. Below we will discuss in more detail both methods.

The best place for planting onion seedlings

In order for the leek to yield a plentiful harvest, it must be grown by seedlings on well-cultivated fertile soils. For this type of plant is perfectly suitable weakly acid and neutral soil. Leeks are very fond of moisture, so it can be grown on moist loamy soils. In heavy clay soils, the plant develops poorly and sometimes dies. As a fertilizer, urea, compost, superphosphate or potassium salt is used.

Leek. Growing seedlings from seeds

To quickly grow seeds and get strong seedlings, you need to resort to the following procedure. It is necessary to place seeds for 20 minutes in hot water, then in cold water. After the hardening procedure and to accelerate germination, the seeds are soaked for three days in warm water. After the seeds are poured out, they are dried on the gauze, and then the leeks are planted on the seedlings.

Sowing seeds

In order to grow a healthy leek, the procedure should be carried out at a certain time. To do this, the gardener will need boxes for growing seedlings, which should fit on the window. February is the best time to be fertile growing leeks of leeks from seeds. Care of the plant during this period requires minimal effort. Timely irrigation and regular spraying will do their job. If you plan to grow seedlings in a greenhouse, planting is carried out in mid-April. And at the end of this month - the seeds can be planted on the beds. Do not forget to cover them with a film.

Boxes are filled with prepared soil, but not up to the top. Then the seeds are planted in a row with an interval of about 5 cm. The depth of such a groove is not more than 15 mm. After the boxes are covered with a film and put in a warm and dry place. Inside the resulting hotbed, the air temperature should be about 25 ° C. When the first shoots appear, we remove the film and for the whole week we maintain the temperature regime - at night 12 ° C, and in the daytime - 17 ° C. After a week's exposure, we observe 20 ° C during the day and 14 ° C at night. And so throughout the whole stage of growing seedlings.

We care for seedlings

After the first sprouts appeared from seeds, careful care of the seedlings begins, on which the final result will depend.

A leek is a cultivated plant that loves water very much. Therefore, the soil must always be slightly moist. Do not overdo it with watering, otherwise the roots can rot. Take care that the soil does not dry out, but you do not need to excessively moisten it.

Watering is carried out by warm water with a small head. The entire procedure is done carefully, so as not to damage the stems of the bunches. If you want to get a healthy and rich harvest, do not just limit yourself to watering. In this case, top dressing plays an important role. It is carried out once or twice.

In order for the root system to become more powerful and the stalk thick, cut the leaves. After this procedure, the length of the leaves should not exceed 10 cm.

Planting of seedlings of onion leeks is carried out after the plant is hardened. Within six weeks it is taken to the street and gradually reduces watering. And then the seedlings are planted in the open ground.

We plant the seedlings of leek onions correctly

When the seedlings got stronger, it's time to plant it in the open ground. Most often, this procedure is carried out in late April or early May. The site must be pre-prepared. Seedlings are planted in rows in previously prepared grooves. The depth of planting is slightly larger than in the boxes. The roots and leaves of onions are cut slightly.

Rows are made at a distance of 50 cm from each other, and onion seedlings are planted, observing the interval of 10 cm. This provides good growth for the plant and makes the hilling procedure more convenient.

Grow a leek

Planting leek on a seedling is just the beginning. The most difficult thing is caring for a stronger plant. The basis of successful cultivation of onions is two factors: nursing and feeding. For a young plant, timely loosening of the soil and weeding are very important. Watering and top dressing of leeks are carried out as needed. Most often, these procedures are performed during the growing season. For leek leeks an excellent fertilizer is the droppings of birds, it is bred with water in a proportion of 1:20.

After the young plant is well rooted, fertile soil is poured into the bed. After a couple of months, the first hilling is carried out, then, as necessary, the procedure is repeated until harvesting. For a plant it is very good to add wood ash to the soil before hilling. The leek does not tolerate weeds around us, so it needs regular weeding.

On the protection of the crop

Like any plant, the leek is susceptible to pest attack and various diseases. But its main advantage remains that, in comparison with onions, it is still more resistant and not so often attacked by pests or some kind of disease. Adhering to the above recommendations (the correct planting of leeks on the seedlings and adherence to the cultivation of agricultural techniques), and giving the plant proper attention, it is not so difficult to grow it healthy.

However, there are dangerous insects for this culture. For example, onion fly. Despite its name, this pest damages many plants. But still there is a plant that this insect does not tolerate the spirit - carrots. If you plant these two crops next to each other, the problem with the onion fly will be solved. Tobacco thrips are another pest. To combat it, special chemicals are used. But nature had time to take care and create a natural thrush for tobacco thrips - a predatory mite.

One of the most famous ailments of leeks is powdery mildew. To get rid of it, use an effective tool called Bordeaux fluid. And if white shoots appeared on the shoots and leaves, it's time to use the calcareous soil.

Harvesting and storing it correctly

Depending on the variety of onions, the harvest begins with the onset of the first frost, when the plant has already formed 3-4 of this leaf. The plant is gently digged and pulled from the ground, holding the shoots. The roots are removed with a pruner, leaving no more than 2 cm of the basal lobe, and the leaves are cut into 2/3 of the length. The leek has excellent long-term storage properties. At the same time, the content of vitamin C in the stem does not decrease. It can be stored in the basement all winter, it is enough to maintain 80% moisture at a temperature of 1-3 ° C, and stems in a vertical position to dig in slightly moist sand. If the sand is excessively wet - the air regime will be violated, which means that the plant can begin to rot.

In addition, leeks can be stored in a non-traditional way. It is frozen, salted, marinated, dried, etc. In dried form, onion is an excellent addition to other seasonings. You can also pack onions in packages of 5-7 pieces and store in the refrigerator for about 5 months.

Useful properties of leek

The leek contains a lot of vitamins, as well as a lot of protein. High content of ascorbic acid, potassium, carotene and so on. Allows using this product to improve metabolism, increase appetite, improve immunity and to treat a whole list of diseases. For example, in the treatment of rheumatism, kidney stones, obesity, salt deposits, gout, atherosclerosis.

Many useful substances contain leek. Cultivation, care, seedling on the windows and germination of seeds are worth the effort.

Summarizing, we can say that the leek is worthy to be at least once in the garden of your garden.