LEEKS AND LETTUCES

Leeks

This week Dirty Nails has been planting his baby autumn leeks (Carentan 2), which were sown indoors during February, outside into a nursery bed. For this, soil has been raked to a fine tilth, and then made moist. Use a rose-ended watering can or sprinkler hose if the soil is dry. Rows are then marked out with canes and string, to a desired length, 6 inches (15 cm) apart. Dirty Nails makes holes along each row with a pencil, bamboo cane or straight twig, at 3 inch (8 cm) intervals and 2 inches (5 cm) deep.

The leeks, which each look like a thin strand of grass, will have a couple or three long, trailing roots. They need to be eased gently out of their seed tray and carefully teased apart. Extra-long roots can be trimmed by a half with no ill effects. They are placed individually into the holes, making sure the roots are as nestled down as possible and not poking out of the top. They are then ‘puddled in’, which means that they are watered directly in their holes. Soil will fall naturally over the roots and should be nicely bedded in after a few such puddlings. When they have grown to pencil thickness after midsummer, they will be ready to go into the leek bed proper, or eaten as they are, young and sweet.

Lettuces

Greenhouse-grown lettuces such as Lobjoits Green Cos, Talia and Buttercrunch, which were sown in the latter part of February, are ready to be planted outside now. Dirty Nails places plastic bells over his transplanted lettuces to keep them growing fast when the weather can still be a bit nippy. Lettuces need about 8 inches (20 cm) between plants, and like to be kept sunny and moist. Salad days will soon be here, especially if the odd juicy leaf is taken early.

NATURAL HISTORY IN THE GARDEN
Badgers in April

VEGETABLE SNIPPETS
LETTUCE CHAT

Lettuces are the food plant for numerous species of moth whose grub-like larvae are collectively known as cutworms. They are considered by some to be damaging, although Dirty Nails is not of this opinion. He prefers to view cutworms as a valuable part of the garden ecology. As adults, the moths are lovely. Those for whom lettuces are enjoyed in early life include the large yellow underwing, the garden dart, the common swift and the angle shades. The latter is common throughout Britain and, despite the fact that it over-winters as a chrysalis just below the soil surface, adults may be seen on the wing during any month of the year.

Cos lettuces form crisp heads of elongated leaves, and are also known as Romaine lettuces.

Iceberg lettuces are also called crisphead lettuces. Their dense, round heads do not look unlike a cabbage. Home-grown icebergs are a pleasure and treat to eat with their wonderful crunchy texture and distinctive, cooling flavour.