THE NOBLE LEEK: A VEGETABLE FOR ALL SEASONS

As Europeans already know, you can lengthen your harvest and pleasure your palate with . . .

by Mary Preus Hamilton

Tantalizing to the taste buds and easy to grow, the leek ( Allium porrum ) is all too frequently neglected by gardeners in North America. In fact, I'd never even tasted these onionlike morsels before I married an Englishman, but now that I've been introduced to them, neither my garden nor my kitchen is often without a goodly supply.

The leek has a rich history of admirers . . . dating back at least to the Roman emperor Nero, and including the English playwright Shakespeare . . . as well as a respectable portion of the population of Wales, the country which chose the vegetable as its national emblem (just as Ireland's is the shamrock and England's the rose). This internationally popular Allium is slightly milder in flavor than its cousin the common yellow onion (which makes it a welcome addition to any food from soup to salad) and is relatively easy to grow (thanks largely to its frost-hardy nature).

SEEDTIME . . .

Although it prefers rich, crumbly earth, "poor man's asparagus" (as the French, who are among the most avid leek-lovers, call it) can be grown in almost any soil and almost any part of the country. There are a number of varieties available, which tend to differ primarily in size. The large types are best for purees, stews, and soups (and can even be stuffed) . . . while the smaller specimens are delicious when served in salads or cooked whole. [EDITOR'S NOTE: A number of seed companies sell leeks, including Burpee, Park, and Stokes. See page 26 for the addresses of these and other firms.]

Leeks are very tolerant of frost and thus thrive in the colder parts of the country as well as in more temperate climes. In those areas where the winters are mild, they can even be "stored" in the garden all through the cold months and gathered as needed.

There are about as many ways to "rear" leeks as there are gardeners. The bare-bones method involves simply putting the seeds in the ground as soon as the soil is workable in early spring. If your aim is to grow jumbo leeks, though, you may want to start them indoors during the winter, and then about March (be sure the seedlings have developed second leaves) transplant them into your garden. A few months or so after the seeds are sown, your crop should have reached peak size for harvesting . . . but leeks are edible at every stage of their development, so do go ahead and pull a few whenever you have a yen for them.