Pulling Leeks and Onions

The tops of the onions were starting to brown. They all bent over some time ago. And the leeks looked to be about as big as they were going to get. Some of the leaves were starting to yellow a bit. So I decided it was time to pull them to see what I had.

The leeks grown in a bucket on the floor of the balcony didn't get very thick but the lack of sunlight meant they grew taller. The one leek I grew in a container in the sun was much thicker and better looking but wasn't very tall. Next time I'm going to grow them in a sunny spot with proper support and some kind of sleeve around them or something to block the sun so they get longer and whiter. I guess I could also pile up soil around them, or maybe plant them in deep holes that I can fill in once they start to grow.

The onions turned out ok with the largest being tennis ball size. I kind of wish they had been bigger. Not enough sunlight perhaps. Maybe the soil could have been better. They look nice but I have no idea how they taste.

Onions and Leek

I seeded some Kale today in the space I had left in the onion container. The Spanish onions I planted in that container are doing well. A couple have stopped growing and don't look like they'll get any bigger. But the others are doing well and expanding their bulbs. We've had a few days of really strong wind so I positioned some sticks in the container to prop up the tops of some of the onions. A couple of leaves bending over is ok, but I don't want the tops to fold over entirely. Not yet anyway.

In that container I also planted a single leek. Most of the leeks I transplanted I'm growing in a bucket. But for some reason I decided to try growing just one plant in the onion container. It gets more sun than the others. I believe it was one of the weaker leek transplants I planted and after a month of thinking it wasn't growing it now appears to be doing quite well.

Leeks

I started these leeks inside in the spring and transplanted them out at the end of May. One month later and I don't see all that much growth. Maybe they need more light. Some were leaning too much so I created small collars with wire and duct tape to help hold them up in these early going days.  The duct tape is there to protect the leaves from getting damaged by the wire collar.