[Blowin]

Kim - I regularly grow leeks, mainly because they over winter and provide useful off season veg, but have never considered saving seed. Any tips on how you do it, please?

[Kim]

Disclaimer....I am a garden cowboy, I have no horticultural education, I learn through the art of doing! so this is just what I do...

The usually seed saving rules apply.
Save seed from an open-pollinated variety (F1 hybrids don't come true to type). Save seed from healthy strong plants with characteristics you want. (If it bolts early you are propagating that trait).
Leeks will cross-pollinate with other leeks so best save seeds from one variety each year.
Leeks suffer from in breeding so they need to have lots of other leeks for bees to pollinate. One suggestion is that 30 flowering plants are needed to maintain vigour. I think I have about 15 left in the ground now (and some years less) so my leek seed does degenerate but I usually buy seed every few years (usually after a bad summer). With leeks I just keep seed so I don't have to buy it so much.

I leave in situ several good quality leeks. Flowering leeks benefit from support. I follow leeks with runner beans in my crop rotation so the leeks benefit from the support erected for the beans. Request a good summer from the weather Gods.

After flowering the seeds form, before they all fall out cut stems and place flower heads in a large paper bag to finish drying. Leave this in a warm airy place until the seeds fall out. Then store the seeds away somewhere dry and cool.

Leeks have wonderful flowers for the bees.

As I am new here, apologies if I have thread hijacked, not sure how much you all keep to topic.

[tagwex]

[Blowin]

Many thanks, Kim. I'll leave a few behind this year and let them flower - not something I've ever seen before.

Yes, Tagwex, it was me that did a Schumacher and went off piste - but with a far better outcome?

[Kim]

[spideog]

Does 'scrape' mean the garlic has bolted and produced a 'flower'. If yes are you all suggesting that you cut off the flower?
Is the 'rust' you are talking about the yellowing leaves? I presume you are saying these can be ignored.
Thanks for the advice.

[Kim]

Scape, yes the flowering top/stem. Yes remove the flowering tops as soon as you see them to help bulk up the bulb.

Yellowing is completely normal and indicates the energy from the green tops is going down to help swell the bulb.

Rust is really rusty looking, LOL! rich yellow spots, very distinctive.

[tagwex]

Is that yellowing applicable to onions too? I have a few varieties sown and one in particular has gone yellow, I think it is the sturon variety. All the others are green leaved.

[medieval knievel]

we started lifting our garlic a week or two back - a lot of the leaves had started to develop rust spots, but the bulb is fine.

[Kim]

[tagwex]

Just checked and it is the Sturon that have yellowed. The other variety is Stuttgarter which is twice the height and a healthy green. Both sown the same day and in the same bed.

[Kim]

I only have the one variety outdoors and I'm not even sure what they are. They are still green whereas the potatoe onions in the tunnel are starting to die down.

[Dirt Digger]

[Kim]

Our garlic is still perfectly good to eat despite the really bad rust last year. The cloves were a little smaller than usual, that's all. We are getting to the end of our big onions but still have loads of potatoe onions left.

[Greengage]

Garlic never does well for me always small cloves maybe its me or soil or wrong varieties, Still have onions from last season kept them inside rather than the shed, This year planting Stuttgarter giant from seed rather than setts. Also planting Sharpes express and Aran pilot both earlies, All spuds from last season gone, Grew Kestrel really nice potatoe and lovely colour also grew Sarpo mira very big potatoes and blight resistant. Also going to try Sweet potaotes anyone ever grew them maybe i should go to vegetable thread for this.