One vegetable that is definitely worth growing these days is leeks. I have always grown them because they are easy and I love to see the flower heads in my vegetable plot because it means I will have more seeds to sow next season.

Last spring I had around 100 and have been steadily pulling these up as they matured. However, because of the really bad winter we had last year, instead of leaving the rest of them in the ground with a heavy straw mulch to protect them from the elements, I decided to dig most of the up and then store them.

Once I have dug them up I rinse of the dirt from around the roots and I trim the tops, but I do not trim the roots. If I intend on putting a few in the fridge for a month then I do trim the roots but the others that I store I place in a tub with about 3” of dampened peat in them. I stand my leeks on the dampened peat so the roots have contact with the peat, which means they keep growing at a very slow pace and don't go dormant.

I then place my tubs of leeks in our cellar which is cool, dark and rather humid which is the ideal conditions for storing leeks in. My leeks last for months this way and all I have to to every now and again is to check that the peat is still damp and that each of the leeks is okay and not rotting in anyway.

This is a wonderful way of storing leeks because it means I always have some to hand if I want to serve them up with a meal. I noticed that in the shops these days, leeks have become one of the most expensive vegetables to buy. With this said I would recommend anyone who wants to try to grow their own vegetables, to include the superb leek as one which is not only very easy to grow but wonderful to store for ages once they have been harvested.