Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, well it's bad news for me, but another crop failure.
I can't grow leaks. It's as simple as that. Well, maybe not. I plant them when I'm supposed too, in pots, and let then grow on until they are about the same thickness as a pencil.
At this point they are to be planted out, so to the allotment with my 3 pots, one for each variety, and my favourite allotment tool, the dibber. If you don't know what that is, here is one,
It's a tool for making holes in the ground. It's a spike. You use it to create the holes to slip the leaklets into and then firm the soil in around them. Job's a good 'un.
And that's what I do. Every year. For a little while they grow quite well. They are watered regularly and the weeds are kept down.
Then, at about this time of year, they start to die.
The really annoying thing is that I don't know why. I have a bit of an idea. There seems to be some sort of flying beasty that lays it eggs in the top of the leaks and then little maggots are born. They bury down into the leak, eat the middle and then the leak dies. You are then presented with a bed of leaks that looks a bit like this,
You have to admit they are a little sad looking.
Pathetic.
The same every year and every year I say “that's it. No more leaks” and then the next year I try again. I blame the leaks for being so very tasty.
