Page 13 - Issue 65 Online

MANEA MA TTERS
MANEA MATTERS
temperatures get warm enough for the
leeks to freely grow.
The earliest we can harvest a leek crop
established in open ground from drilling
seeds is in September. We precision
drill the seeds as soon as the soil
temperatures are warm enough for the
seeds to germinate which is normally
in early March and, six months later, we
have a mature leek crop. The rich fertile
Fen peats are ideal for early leek growing
as the black peat is quick to warm in the
spring sunshine.
Towards the end of our leek harvest season in
April and May we plan to have leeks ready to
harvest for our storage programme so we can
extend our UK season to the second half of May
and into June. The storage leeks are machine
lifted or hand-pulled in the field into boxes
and bins. The leeks are then blast-chilled
to remove field heat (leeks are at ambient
The rich fertile Fen peats are
ideal for early leek growing as
the black peat is quick to warm
in the spring sunshine

heat when harvested).
The blast-chilling process
enables us to store the leeks
as long as possible. Once
chilled they are placed in the
cold stores. The temperature
in the cold stores is dropped
as close to (but not below) zero
degrees Celsius as possible and
controlled to maintain the leeks
in a stable condition. Leeks can
remain in cold store for six to
eight weeks so we can supply
UK leeks into June.

Here’s praying for dry weather!
Photographs courtesy of
Emsephotography

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DEADLINE for Issue 66 – Friday 22 May 2020 PA G E 13
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