Harvesting Leeks

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When to Harvest Leeks

Harvest: September to April

Tips for Harvesting

Leeks may be pulled anytime after they are as big around as your thumb. If you have good loose soils, leeks may be easily pulled by hand, grasping each one down near the base and tugging gently.
In a clay or heavy soil, try loosening the soil under them first with a garden fork or trowel to made the job easier.
As you dig or pull them, you may find a few that have started to grow a new leek inside or just beside the old one. That lateral growth is a means of multiplying and it is best to pull and discard those. They will likely be too small for this year and won’t get large enough to over-winter well in the ground.
Once your leeks are harvested, you may rinse off the dirt from the roots, but do not trim the roots.
Trim the tops to just where the leaves start to become tough. If you are going to refrigerate a few, you should trim the roots and tops; they will keep nicely for about a month.

Category: Recipes

Classic Rhubarb Crumble

Classic Rhubarb Crumble
Growing up this was my favourite dessert & seeing as only my dad and I liked it I always had a massive portion!

Fagiolini in Umido

This is a great dish to use some of the abundant Green Beans that should be available in the summer months Fagiolini in Umido is an Italian dside dish simply means Green Beans cooked in Tomato.

Pasta with Asparagus and Courgette

Asparagus and Courgette are made for each other in this dish!

Category: The Growing Season

Summer should be here!

Usually the risk of frost has passed by now, and with longer days there comes more sunshine and time to be in your allotment. If the weather is dry, then water your seed drills well before sowing any seeds – this way the young plants will develop a good root system.

Jobs to do in February

Time to do some groundwork

We get a glimpse of the early signs of the arrival of Spring this month. The soil begins to warm up around the middle of February and we can see for the first time this year the buds beginning to swell on fruit trees and bushes. Overwintering vegetables begin to look less sorry for themselves and they start to produce new growth.

The Growing Season

The Growing Season varies in different parts of the United Kingdom, but in Hatfield Peverel we are blessed with a milder climate and enjoy a longer season than many parts of the country.

In this section of the web site I have tried to separate the season out into monthly sections to help and guide you through the most popular tasks and crops regularly grown on the allotment site, but if you would like a feature made of a particular vegetable or task, please get in touch and I will do my best to add it to the web site for you.

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