Planting leeks, beets, & chard: Everyone Can Grow a Garden (2022) #13 

Hello Susan. Thank you. Yes beet leaves and the stems are delicious 🤤. I use them when I make me delicious borscht so good. I learnt this from my grandma. So yummy.

That kneeling stool is awesome!!!!!

I've been following Charles Dowding for a couple of years. What an eye opener he has been to my gardening. For beets, he multi sows 4 or 5 seeds in each cell, starting them indoors and plants the seedlings that are growing as a cluster into the garden as this group, leaving them together 'with their friends'. As they mature in the garden, and become ready to pick, the larger beets are pushed out away from the other beets, so he twists out a beet, leaving the rest of the bunch together, and continues to harvest a beet at a time. I'm going to try that method. Wondering if you might also experiment with a row? There are so many great gardeners in the UK to watch. I like Jessie at Plot 37, too. She is just outside of London, and began vlogging during lockdown there, when Covid began. She is so much fun to watch. This is my first time growing leeks, and I started them in a store bought rotisserie chicken container. I broadcasted the seeds on top and put some soil over the top. It's a great container to use because it has the clear, plastic dome over the top that acts like a greenhouse. I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. I'll be planting them soon, using this method. I saw that Charles Dowding do it the way you are, but he is a lot less gentle! lol Happy growing, and thank you for the nice video.

I’m here in Oregon and have been growing in a similar fashion as the UK gardeners I follow. I start mine doing Winter Sowing then pull the entire hunk out of the milk jug and drop in a pail of water. I then use the handle of a large wooden spoon to poke holes in the dirt about 4” deep. After being in the water while I dibble my holes, the seedlings come apart easily and I just drop one at a time into the holes. Easy peasey and very large white stalks at harvest.

Finally, someone in the US understands how to grow Leeks! It's so easy....good to see you're showing how to do it, maybe finally people will adopt this method. Next year just seed all into one container...at time of transplanting just wet the soil down thoroughly and each Leek plant can be separated easily....no problem, same with growing Onion sets.

"I tend to get my hand in the way". Now I feel better, I'm left handed as well and it bothers me that I often get my hand in the way!

thank you! great and thorough!

Those Bulgarian Giant Leeks are already giant as babies... 😄 New haircut is great. 🤗 Finally nice weather for you over there. Greetings, Judit 🙋

Susan, the haircut looks lovely. Who are some of the allotmenteers from the U.K. you've been watching? I have my favorites too! I watch Steve's seaside allotment and muddybootz. I find Steve and Nigel especially knowledgeable. There's always something to learn from them.

Great video Susan, thank you. Love, love beet greens!

Soak the roots in water to loosen the soil before pulling them apart

We love Eliot Coleman's "Dibble and Drop Method" of a 9 inch deep dibble hole. We get stronger shanks and longer blanching since we started planting deeper. We also use "Puddling In" to water the dibbler holes. When the Leeks reach 6 inches tall, we add a toilet paper tube and add some old straw mulch between the Leeks. We have never grown better Leeks before using this method.

I loved watching your film Susan. I live in Auckland NZ. In our climate leeks are a winter vegetable but we plant in summer, which is pretty hard and involves using cloches and covers keeping the leeks from baking in the ground. I let some go to seed a couple of years ago and around the base, lots of babies grew, just like bunching onions. We have an allotment plot and plan to have a perennial leek area and watch what happens! I also multi sow leeks and they seem to love that also.

Haircut looks great. I Just cut my hair short too, feels so good doesn't it😊 Thanks for ALL the wonderful tips. This is my second year gardening and your channel is a garden life line for me🥰

Great video, transplanted my garlic the other day

I started winter sowing this year. Arugula already sprouted. Beet greens, LOVE THEM. saute with oil ax ND garlic, then parm cheese. Or warm on salami sandwich.

I love your pea trellis! I have sugar snap peas that should grow 4' tall, and I have apple tree prunings too, now I know how to use them. Not a fan of Swiss chard, but absolutely love beet greens, just added to a mixed greens salad & topped with raspberry vinaigrette - heaven!

THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!

Beets one of my favorite. I also eat the small leaves in salad. Leeks are a staple in my freezer all year for Potato Leek Soup. Yum. Good video. Thanks Susan

Have you watched Charles Dowding and his method of clump sowing leeks, beets, etc?

I plant mine bare root into the holes

I planted my leeks the same way. My Ist time planting leeks, so I have nothing to compare to. Can't wait to see how yours compare to your harvest last year. I am sure they will do great! Thanks for all the wonderful content!

Happy Spring Susan! I use a bulb planter to make the holes for leeks, works great and no need to fill them, just water over the plants. You would enjoy Malcolm Kingswell I think, and also Steve Randall (Green Side Up). So many great British channels... I only bother with yours and Gardener Scott here in the US 😉.

Garden looks great, you guys have been busy. I let my leeks grow in cells pretty much on their own too with only 1 snip when they all have germinated and reach 4 or 5 inches, some are even 6 or 7, just to get them to all one size and so they're not all different heights. Just works better under lights to have them all the same heights, but only the once and then they all seem to grow at the same rate after that.

Thanks so much! PS-I always thought it was a DIBBLER….?

Would love to know which British gardener's allotments you are following, if you could share some links. I too love to watch the Brits for ideas and inspiration.

to grow leeks with a longer white stem put a paper towel roll tube over the leek allowing the top part to grow out of the top.

Another wonderful video. I was wondering if you harden off your leeks and onions.. thank you!

Love watching you plant. I live in 6b. Can I plant beets now? Thanks for your great videos.

Susan, tried emailing you but it didn’t go through. Wanted to tell you I tried your gutter peas method for my snow and sugar snap and I am sold. A true game changer. I’m starting a 2nd sowing for later crop. A freeze here tonight in N. KY but they are covered with remay cloth.

Very nice hair cut. Interesting about eating the beet tops. I like spinach in the same way: steamed and then vinegar and pepper. This is the first year I have put in garlic (planted last Fall - we get real winter in south/west Ontario/Canada). I believe you said I pull them up when the lowest 4 or 5 leaves turn brown. I've heard people mention the "scapes" - can you explain about these maybe in next video -- do I have to cut them off or how best used etc. Thanks Susan and I hope Bill won't notice you used more than 1/2 of the bed :)

👍👍

Do you fertilize your beets during growth, if so with what?

Hi Susan... wondering what you make with the leeks? I'm growing them this year. Thanks

Great video. I sow my leeks all in one container and separate them when I plant them into the garden. I'm wondering whether you hardened off the leeks before planting them into the garden?

Hi Susan, I absolutely enjoy all information you presented regarding gardening... my bokchoy seedlings are slightly yellow...what can I do to resolve that problem?

What are you using for a liquid nitrogen fertilizer?

Hi Susan! I am curious - I tried your method…sort of :) yesterday. The only problem is, the 6” deep holes ended up filling to the top with soil. I’m wondering if I am going to kill my baby leeks? Do you think I should dig them up and start over? Thank you!

Hi Ms Susan. Good prsentation. My name is Mersha from Ethiopia, Bahir dar city. Currently, in Ethiopia there is high food commodity price inflation. I have 2m by 5m small house garden to be used for vegetsble planting. But, the soil has termite. So, I can't do planting. Could you help me to solve the problem with any thong you have. Thanks in advance!

Thankyou for this video 👍 I will sew my beets and chard as well this week 🎉 Maybe you already discovered the "no dig" channel of Charles Dowding? When you are interested in easier ways of gardening, he came up with very stirdy seedtrays that were shaped like the end of a dibbre. (Written correctly? 🤔) It makes it even easier to plant little seedlings. They pop right in the hole 🙂 Also he (pre) sews his beetroots in clumps. He noticed they like growing together and just push each other away during their growing period. When it is harvest time he pulls away the biggest beetroot just by turning the beet and leaves the smaller ones to grow some more. You get a bigger harvest in the same area this way. When you are interested you may want to check out his video's. 🙂 Have a great day and thankyou for the detailed way of telling and showing how to garden. This is my first year and you make me feel I can do it. You are a great teacher. Warm greetings from the Netherlands 🤗