Ann Hartley
I like home grown food, but since I travel a lot I am seldom in one place long enough to complete the growing season for an edible plant. That is just one of many reasons why I like hydroponic growing. Many plants capable of living in water can also be propagated from stem and leaf cuttings. Some sprout fast that if I am going on a 3-day trip I can soak them the night before leaving, take them with, and eat them at the end of the journey. This may or may not work with plants that regenerate from root cuttings such as the leek in my photo. My next trip is not for several weeks so that experiment will have to wait.
The little “rescue” leek in this collage has been growing at a rate of about 3/4″ a day. The new growth is very mild and tender. I saved this leek from soup on May 26, but ate some off the top yesterday.
Professor Willem Van Cotthem of the University of Ghent in Belgium produced a video called Regrowing Leek in which he experimented to see what effect cutting away half of the folded leaves from what he calls the basal part of a leek would have on its growth. He found that a new plant could be produced this way, but with dramatic changes to the shape of the leaves.
My experiment would determine whether snacking on the new growth will slow down or speed up its ability to provide free food. Instead of allowing the plant to reproduce, my goal is to get it to simply produce. I am also interested in knowing how long it can be made to continue to do this, and whether aside from being expedient this could be a cost-effective way to “farm” leeks.
Very interesting research… I hope you succeed
It has been working for half a year now and I love having the flavor and nutrients of organic leeks every day without the mess.
even though some plants need nutrients from the soil, it turns out you can grow many without it…
I don’t think there are any nutrients in the soil that cannot be given to plants in water just as effectively, but you are right, plants that grow quickly and are consumed as fast as they grow often do not need any nutrients. Of course leeks and such are winter crops and cannot survive this kind of weather.
interesting developments in alternative agriculture…
My favorite illustration of that is the guy who repurposed an old porcelain toilet into an aquaponics system, with fish in the bowl fertilizing veggies he grew in the tank in his back yard.
the fish don’t care, and neither does the garden
Thank you for your courageous research and I hope you work out a cost-effective way to do this. Keep us posted, please.
Lol, Donald, I will post on this ad nauseum, because it is a topic dear to my heart.
Your passion is your passion, right?
Thank you tasartcraft! Lately I’ve been eating leeks on almost everything.
I’ve not eaten many leeks. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I ate any. I think I made a soup decades ago. I will be interested in how your experiment turns out.
In truth, until recently I had only eaten them in soup as well, unaware of their health benefits and that the tender new growth was so versatile. I have much more to learn about them, but this one this is sure, I will never live without a leek again. They have the goodness of both chives and garlic but are easier to grow.
I guess I’ll have to give them another shot.
Just make sure the leeks you buy have roots attached, and then keep the scraps after you make your next batch of leek soup! And although the professor said to cut 4″ above the roots, I have found that for our purposes, it works better to cut them much shorter (and then you have more soup!). Some I cut less than an inch and they are growing as fast as any.
Good to know. I’ll get in touch if I run into problems. I probably won’t be making soup until after this heatwave is over.
Very interesting experiment and everything looks delicious!
Thank you for visiting Ellie, and I look forward to reading some of your posts.
What interesting post you share, thanks!
Hi Carol, I hoped that someone would like it. The leeks are my babies, except that I get to eat them.
That is great, we all need something we enjoy.
Elena, I think leeks are the best tasting of the prebiotic food sources. I will eat a green banana once in a while but I will eat leeks every day, and of course they are cheaper as it is hard to grow a banana in the desert.
It looks yummy and healthy to eat. c”,)
Yes, although I love the taste, the nutrition is why I grow them. The contain insulin, a prebiotic which is essential to our health.
I do agree on that. We also need to monitor the food intake. c”,)
This one looks very delicious! Excellent post!