Leeks are members of the onion family. They are easy vegetables to grow in your garden and will tolerate most types of soil. Sow seeds of leeks now and you’ll have a bumper crop ready for winter soups and casseroles.

Step-by-step guide to growing your own leeks

• Leeks are the perfect vegetable for smaller bare patches in your garden as they are compact vegetables which grow upright.
• Sow leeks in a sunny, sheltered site with well-draining soil. Dig the soil up well and add plenty of manure and fertiliser a week prior to sowing.
• Sow seeds in rows, 30cm apart. Seeds should be sown in shallow trenches about 1cm deep. Cover with soil and water well.
• When the seedlings have a few leaves each (about four weeks later) thin them out to leave one plant every 15cm. The seedlings you have removed can be replanted elsewhere.
• Your leeks will be ready for harvesting in 10-12 weeks, just in time for winter soups. Lift them carefully out of the soil, using a fork, to avoid damaging the neighbouring plants.

Did you know? The leek was the favourite vegetable of the Roman Emperor Nero, who consumed it in soup or in oil, believing it beneficial to the quality of his voice