At Last, the Leeks

Early and small (with a red onion thrown in just for confusion) leeks.
Photo taken 11/17/13

Some people claim that the Bay Area's climate is ideally suited to growing leeks. Perhaps, but leeks sure do take their time, even under prime conditions. And yes, I know that most members of the onion family (allium) are leisurely growers, but these guys should perhaps be known as allium slowpokeyum.

I started my leek seeds indoors in January, 2013 and transplanted them out in March. By November, they were long, tall and stalwart (and probably thrifty, trustworthy, reverent and brave as well), but pretty puny in girth. And this is after ten long months of taking up garden space.

Full-sized leek. Photo taken 1/13/14
(hand clippers for scale)

But oh, what a difference two months makes. By the time the remaining leeks (sure, we ate 'em, even though they were a bit undersized. They may have been small, but they were tasty.) were around a year old, they had sized up considerably. They were at least 1 1/2" in diameter and put the ones at the market to shame.

I don't think that my personality is suited to the leeks' lifestyle, and my gardening space is extremely limited. So that should have been the end of it, right?  But I did have some leftover seeds….and I just wanted to see if they would sprout…and now I am committed to a row of leeks again this year. At this point, I wonder just why it is so hard to throw away a handful of tiny sprouts. But come next winter, it should all become quite clear.