You Can Regrow Leek Also

Intro: You Can Regrow Leek Also

It's easy, simple and rewarding to regrow leek from its basal parts.  A couple of experiments show the importance of the length of the basal part cut off for a swift regrowth.  It is recommended to start the regrowth with basal parts of at least 4" (10 cm).

Comments

[Dominic Bender]

Interresting experiment, I think we will try it this summer. Another idea would be to use the curled growth of the cut basal part as a "stylish" plant, then surprise your guests that it is actually leek.

Out of curiosity, cutting off the regrown leek at about 10cm will allow the plant to regrow anew, right? So leek could be "harvested" from the same plant about every month?

Also, did you use any kind of fertiliser?

[wvan cotthem]

I did this experiment indoors and in our Belgian winter time. The regrown parts were not as firm as the one grown outdoors. My visiting friends are astonished indeed !

I intend to repeat the experiment in my garden to see if repetition of the regrowth is possible. I used only our local soil mixed with some compost.

[shibby]

The photo I posted is of a leek planted in potting soil and organic fertilizer.

Temperatures outside are between 15c° at night and 32c° during the day. Right now it's getting about 12 hours of direct sunlight a day.

[diy_bloke]

As I eat most of the white part and leeks here in the netherlands dont have that much white to begin with, it seemed a bit of a waste to do this method.
However, I started using the bottom say 1-1.5 cm of every leek (Yes, Frugal-Dutch) I used (even before i read yr article) and had some success as well.
From the perhaps 8 leek bottoms I put in the garden, 1 started to grow and has now developed a sprout of about 20 cm length and recently even a sidesprout popped out. Not sure what the plant looks like, as I started covering it up with soil and see if i can get a decent edible leek out of it.
My low succesrate 1/8 may well have to do with the random method of planting. I basically just put the bottomhalf in/on soil, sometimes not even covered.
Now I know the process works. I will probably do it in a more careful manner with next leeks.
Tried the same with onions, but little success (an entire onion works, no doubt about that). The top of a carrot works great as well. It does develop a lot of green, but, eventually various carrots start growing from the stump. They wont win a beauty prize but taste good

[shibby]

Same leek 13 days old.

[wvan cotthem]

Fantastic. Congratulations.

[shibby]

Works beautifully. 4 day old leek.

[diy_bloke]

sadly most leeks available here (Netherlands) have a white part that may only be 10 cm. Regrowing it might therefore be kinda defeating the purpose: sacrificing a leek to get a new one