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| Leeks | |
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I had no idea that leeks had flowers, it
came as a bit of a surprise. Last year I planted some leek seeds, the
results were pitiful to say the least, we ate them of course, tiny as they
were. Two leeks remained from last years crop, sadly neglected and ignored,
in fact, I only discovered them tucked behind last years garden rubbish,
enthusiastic gardener that I am. They had survived winter to grow to a height of 30 inches and had a strange bulbous growth on the very tip, surely they weren't about to flower were they? Now if you were to stop and think about it, it takes a leek to make a leek, and that means seeds (they don't grow on trees you know) and seeds mean flowers. And so, I shall record here the progress of these survivors and the wonder of new life, and free seeds. |
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Leek
Trauma: One broke, well, more folded over in half and a hasty repair was
done, I wired both to a bamboo cane and let natures healing properties do
the rest, tempted as I was to strap a spilt to it! I didn't realise that leeks were hollow, the leaves if you can call them that are no more that tubes and so quite fragile, I assume the main stem is too with it's curious bulge near the base. The head has burst open the reveal around a hundred little pods that themselves burst open in to tiny flowers. |
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July 1st: It's been a while since I last reviewed the progress of the leek flower head and I'm pleased to say it's still going and in full bloom. Click the pics for a more detailed view. |
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| Anatomy of a leek | |||||
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July 10th:
And now . . . the end is near, or so the song goes. I could see this leek was on its last legs, the flowers were turning brown and it must be going to seed. Not knowing quite what to do I had a feeling that I needed to dry the head out and capture the seeds, fortunately (or not) the stalk broke whilst I was inspecting it. It was an old injury. |
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What had always fascinated me was the bulge near the base of the stalk, I half knew it was hollow but curiosity has now got the better of me and this was the opportunity I needed for a closer examination. Carefully removing the head at the break point I placed it on a sheet of paper to see if there were any possible seeds, there were. | ||
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So, what purpose did this bulge serve, it was hollow as suspected, I can only assume that somehow it provided some sort of strength to the stalk above, it was around 3 feet tall. | ||
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The smell emanating was a very strong onion smell, they are related by the way. The base itself was solid until about 3 inches from the ground then it became hollow with ridges around the inside for more strength. I have one other stalk remaining in the garden, I shall let this one run its natural course. | ||
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The end is neigh. This is the business end of a leek, just like an onion but less defined and apparently not really edible but the smell wafting from it was wonderful, I wish I had tried it now. | ||
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