How far apart should I plant leek?

15 cm apart in the row, with rows 30 cm apart. In a square foot garden, that's 9 per square.

What grows well with leek?

Carrot, Celeriac. Keep it away from broad bean, pea, runner bean, french bean.

Leek

Allium ampeloprasum

In a typical UK garden, sow indoors late January to early March, sow outside early March to mid-April, plant out early April to late June, and harvest early September to early April.

When to sow, plant and harvest

Frost dates

Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.

Sow indoors: late January to early March
Sow outdoors: early March to mid-April
Plant out: early April to late June
Harvest: early September to early April

Spacing: 15 cm apart, rows 30 cm apart
Square foot: 9 per square (30 cm squares)
Sowing depth: 1 cm
Ready in: 80 to 120 days from planting out
Grows to: 60 cm
Hardiness: Hardy to about -15 °C
Sun: Full sun
Crops for: About 20 weeks

Growing tip

Drop seedlings into deep dibber holes and water them in without backfilling for long white stems.

Neighbours

Grows well with

Keep apart from

Alliums are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works

Guides

When to plant

Leeks are sown in spring, planted deep by June and dug all winter

Sow leeks indoors from late January to early March, or outdoors in a seedbed from early March to mid-April. Plant the young leeks into their final spot from early April to late June, once they're about pencil thick.

More alliums

Where these figures come from

Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For leek, we used:

Grow leek with VegLog

Add leek to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.