Anchorage Daily News

When I was growing up, I helped my parents grow lots of things in the vegetable gardens. Some of the vegetables I liked to eat. Other things they just made me eat whether I liked them or not. One or two veggies, however, I just simply refused to put into my mouth no matter how long I was forced to sit at the dinner table. Any sort of onions and stewed tomatoes comprised that list.

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Gardening calendar (2/26/09)

SEED RACKS: They are here and it is time to start buying from them. Don’t get carried away. You don’t have room for all those plants. Just a few packets done right is the way to go.

SEEDS TO START: Leeks, brussels sprouts and, if you have room, celery

ANCHORAGE GARDEN CLUB Flower Show: “Transitions” A Small Standard Flower Show — Pioneer Schoolhouse, 6:30-9 p.m. on March 5. To enter (free) go to alaskagardenclubs.org/anchoragegardenclub.

VERNA PRATT SPEAKS: Pratt will be speaking at 7 p.m. on March 5 in the Pioneer Schoolhouse basement on “Rock Gardens: Staging, Fertilizing and Plant Choices.” It is free. Don’t miss this, as Verna is THE world’s expert on the subject. Really!

THE ALASKA BOTANICAL GARDEN presents a Botanical Illustration Lecture and Workshop at the Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Office at Lake Otis Parkway and East Northern Lights Boulevard. The event opens with a free public lecture and reception at 6:30 p.m. on Friday . The workshop, $125 per person, will take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday . Register with the Botanical Garden.

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I eventually got away with not eating the cooked tomatoes because I pointed out Mom wouldn't eat cooked carrots. Eventually I was excused from the leeks too, a member of the onion family I detested. I now suspect this happened because my parents liked them so much they couldn't see wasting them on some silly kid who didn't know better.

Anyhow, just in the past six months leeks have become a huge favorite. Though I note the irony from my days as a kid, I look forward to growing them again. As I recall, they were pretty easy to grow, though it takes a lot of time for a leek to grow into a harvestable stalk and time is something we don't really have much of when it comes to gardening in Southcentral Alaska.

Leeks are considered a cool but long season crop, so there are two ways to get a homegrown harvest of leeks up here. You can grow them in containers, albeit large ones, or you can grow them directly in the garden. Sometimes you can get leek "sets," but they are next to impossible to find, so you probably need to grow your own from seed. Anytime during the next month is a good time to start leek seeds.

Leeks are, as noted, part of the onion family. Sow seeds one-quarter inch deep in a flat or other similar container. Keep the flat at 70 degrees until germination and then down to 55 to 60 degrees at night. Leek seeds take two or three weeks to germinate and normally do so with ease. Once a seed has germinated, a grass-thin stalk will grow and begin to develop a tiny "bulb" or onion at its base. These take a relatively long time to get big enough to handle and transplant, so you should give seedlings the maximum room in which to grow. Scatter the seed so that you end up with as many plants as possible growing without seedlings touching each other. You could plant one seed per cell in a plastic cell pack. In any case, by the time you transplant them outdoors, each plant should be at least as thick as a plastic coffee stirrer, with a good set of roots. This won't happen if they are started too close to each other.

By now I shouldn't need to point out that you should use soil full of organics, like compost, that drains well. It goes without saying and should be the standard for all of your seed planting chores. You can make your own mix if you want or buy a commercial one. Look for organic composts, not sterilized and without added chemical fertilizers. You can mix in some sand, perlite or diatomaceous earth to increase drainage.

Check the flat's soil twice a day until all the seeds germinate. Slightly moist is the rule. You may want to stretch Saran Wrap or a plastic bag over the top of the pot or flat to hold in moisture and make the job a bit easier. When the seedlings are four or five inches tall, you can use scissors to cut them back by half.

When it is time to transplant outdoors in mid-May, use a dibble or a dowel and make four- or five-inch-deep holes a few inches apart down a row. Then put one plant in each hole and fill each hole with warm water. This will wash in just enough soil to cover the roots. Over a period of two or three weeks, the rest of each hole will fill in, This, plus hilling as the stem grows above ground, will result in blanching the leek's stem, which will result in a nice, sweet leek at the end of the season. Mulch and hill with fresh compost or straw.

While you are at it, few foods mix as well with leeks as do mushrooms. Give me a leek and a King Bolete or even a store-bought portobello and I can cook a meal to feed to a queen. If you are a bit concerned about collecting from your yard or the wilds -- and even if you do collect -- it makes sense to grow some 'shrooms from a kit so you have some to go with your leeks.

There is only one place to go when it comes to mushroom kits and that is to Fungi Perfecti (www.fungi.com). You can buy several different types of mushroom growing kits, including some you plant outdoors just like you would seeds in your garden. Mushroom kits will do great in your furnace room and kitchen. Kids love them and the mushrooms are absolutely delicious.

Fungi Perfecti was started by Paul Stamets, friend and author of one of my favorite books, "Mycelium Running," which describes the world of fungi in the most captivating way. It's a must read for all serious gardeners.

As you may have heard, Paul Stamets will be coming to Anchorage the first weekend of April and will speak twice at the Alaska Botanical Garden's Spring Garden Conference. You do not want to miss this. Trust me; I have heard Paul speak. Contact the garden and reserve a place.

And, in the meantime, just for the leeks, why not try growing a few mushrooms to increase your appreciation of his talks in April.

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. You can reach him at home.gci.net/~jeff/gardener or by joining the "Garden Party" radio show from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays on KBYR AM-700.

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