Mammoth Pot Leek
Leek in the UK

You'll want to get your leek seeds started indoors, say from February right through to April, to give them a real head start, especially up here in the North East. Just sow them thinly in a tray or small pots, about 1 cm deep, in some decent seed compost. Keep them somewhere warm, like on a windowsill or in a heated propagator, around 15-20°C. Once they're up, thin them out a bit so they've got room to grow, and don't be tempted to plant them out too early; wait till after the last frost, usually mid to late May for us.

Once those seedlings are a decent size, about pencil thick, you'll need to prick them out and give them a bit more space. Harden them off gradually for a couple of weeks, you know, getting them used to the outdoors before they go in the ground proper. Plant them out deeply on the plot, making a hole maybe 15 cm deep with a dibber, then just drop the leek in and water it in, letting the water fill the hole. Space them about 15 cm apart in rows, with 30 cm between rows, to give them room to grow those long white shanks we're after.