![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/IMG_3874.jpg\" "\\"Pungent,")
<\/a>Freshly harvested leeks in February<\/p><\/div>\n
What an aromatic ride home accompanied by newly\u00a0harvested leeks!\u00a0 I love their distinct and gentle aroma\u00a0that filled\u00a0the van with earthy, oniony smells.\u00a0 I’m surprised they lasted so long in the soil.\u00a0 I planted the seeds early\u00a0last March and they grew slowly and gradually all season.\u00a0 In November, I mounded extra soil around their stalks to protect them from freezing.\u00a0 As it turned out, my precaution was hardly necessary.\u00a0 Actually, had I been the hotshot gardener I\u00a0like to\u00a0think I am, I would have\u00a0piled soil around the leeks last summer to encourage the stems to blanch (get pale or white) and grow longer since the stem is what gets used.<\/p>\n
Was it ever fun harvesting a crop in early February!\u00a0 Even more than that,\u00a0these leeks\u00a0became\u00a0an intersection of my garden and literary interests since\u00a0my wife\u00a0used them (the leeks, not the literary interests)\u00a0in the Cock-a-leekie soup we served at the Burns Supper<\/a> on Saturday.\u00a0 Next year maybe, I will be able to harvest homegrown turnips or potatoes\u00a0to make into\u00a0tatties and neeps<\/a>.\u00a0 For now, it is\u00a0time to start seeds indoors for spring plantings, the new growing cycle beginning even as\u00a0the former one\u00a0ends.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I harvested the final 2011-planted garden crop\u00a0on the first weekend of February, 2012.\u00a0 Even without a homestead of\u00a0our own, without a root cellar where I would store the potatoes, carrots, squash and turnips I would\u00a0have\u00a0grown to sustain us during the … Continue reading