Garden leek "Carentan 3" (winter porro) (100 g)

European leek "Carentan 3".
The variety is late ripening (period from germination to harvesting 125-175 days), cold-resistant. The plant is 30-50 cm high.
The leaves are dark green, wide. The false stem is cylindrical, low - 10-25 cm, but thick - up to 5-6 cm in diameter.
The mass of one plant is 200-325 g. Grown to obtain a bleached stem - "legs".
The shape of the "leg" is cylindrical, diameter 3-4 cm, weight 200-300 g, height 15-20 cm.
For food use a thickened, white part of the stem (false stem) with a delicate weak taste and young leaves (during storage - and colorless leaves).
Leek has a pleasant, slightly spicy taste. They are used fresh and stewed for preparing salads and other dishes.

* How to grow leeks?
Leeks are grown by sowing seeds in the ground and seedlings.
To get thick and juicy “legs” of leeks, it is better to grow them in seedlings, sowing in the second half of February - early March.
The optimal age of seedlings is 60-70 days. A nutrient mixture for sowing is prepared from equal parts of turf soil, humus and peat.
For 10 kg of moistened mixture add 100 g of dolomite flour, 20 g of urea, 20 g of double superphosphate, 20 g of potassium sulfate.
Sowing is carried out in shallow grooves located at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other.
The box is covered with glass or film and kept in a warm place (+22..+24°C) until germination. Then transferred to a cooler place.
The optimal temperature for growing leeks is +15..+17°C, with good lighting and regular but moderate watering.
Picking is carried out 30-40 days after germination in cubes or peat humus pots measuring 6x6 cm or 8x8x8 cm.
For seedlings in pots, when transplanted into the ground, the root system is less damaged. They take root faster and grow better.
Leeks are very picky about soil fertility and responsive to fertilization. On soils poor in humus, leek yields are low.
This onion reacts poorly to increased acidity (optimal acidity pH 6.5-7.5).
Manure or compost is applied under previous crops, the best of which are cucumbers, cabbage, and early potatoes.
When digging the soil, organic fertilizers are also applied - humus, compost at the rate of 10-15 kg per 1 m2.
Seedlings are planted in the first half of May: in moistened grooves to a depth of 10-12 cm.
Leeks tolerate frosts down to -5°C, but unhardened, unrooted seedlings may suffer from them (in case of frost, provide shelter for the plantings).
When planting in spring, the distance between rows is 40 cm, between plants - 30 cm.
Leeks are a relatively unpretentious plant; caring for them consists of weeding, loosening the soil, hilling, watering and fertilizing.
Hilling up during the summer is carried out 2-3 times to the height of the false stem.
Leeks respond well to fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers, which are applied along with watering in the middle of the rows.
For feeding, use a solution of slurry (1:10).
Onions do not tolerate high concentrations of soil solution, so the amount of mineral fertilizers should be 30 g per 10 liters of water.
Leeks are sensitive to lack of moisture in the soil. During drought, plant growth stops, but quickly recovers with abundant watering (at least 20 l/m2).
Leeks keep very well. In the fall, they dig it up with a shovel or pitchfork, shake off the soil, place it in boxes in an upright position,
having previously cut the roots to 1 cm and shortened the leaves by 1/3, and covered the lower part of the plants with sand.
The optimal storage temperature is from -2° to +2°C. It is advisable to maintain it at a constant level.
Sowing: grown through seedlings with picking.
Sow in the first ten days of March to a depth of 1 cm in well-moistened soil.
45-50-day-old seedlings are planted in open ground in fertile, non-acidic soil according to a 10x25 cm pattern, cutting the roots by 1/3.
Care: 2-3 hillings to a height of up to 20 cm to obtain large bleached stems.
Weeding, watering, loosening, and fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizers every 10 days are also necessary.
Harvest: late September - October. Leeks are perfectly stored until spring in a dark place at t = 0+1 °C.
The vitamin C content increases during storage.