Leeks for St David's Day, History and Growing Tips

Leeks for St Davids Day – along with daffodils (Narcissus) leeks are one of the national emblems of Wales. And March 1st is the day when the patron saint of Wales is remembered as St David’s Day, or Dydd Dewi Sant.

Leeks (Allium porrum) are part of the onion (Allium) family; although they look different to ‘ordinary’ onions and garlic, as the bulb is much less developed. In a leek, the stalk is the edible part; both white and green parts are edible but the white section of the stalk has a milder, pleasanter taste.

A Bit of History about Leeks

The leek we eat today is most probably a descendant of the wild leek, Allium ampeloprasum. This is native to the British Isles and most of Europe including the Mediterranean. The earliest records of leek cultivation we have found date from more than 3000 BCE and are Egyptian. And in the first century BCE, the famous Roman gardener, Pliny, thought that the best leeks were grown in Egypt. Apicius, De Re Coquinaria, is a Roman cookery book of the 5^th century CE with six recipes for cooking leeks.

And whilst it may have been the Romans who introduced leeks to Britain, there is also evidence that it was Phoenician traders who introduced the leek to Wales when they were trading for tin.

Leeks for St Davids Day and Shakespeare

But how did leeks become one of the national emblems of Wales? Well, one of the legends brings in Saint David himself. On the eve of a battle against the Saxons in the late fifth century, Dewi Sant (Saint David) advised the Welsh to wear leeks in their caps and helmets so they could distinguish their friend from the enemy Saxons during the battle.

Leeks and the Welsh in battle appear together again, this time in a literary context. In his play Henry V Shakespeare describes the Welsh as wearing leeks in their caps at the Battle of Agincourt. And it is an historical fact that many of the best archers, who helped win the battle, were Welsh.

One of the humorous scenes in the play involves the Welsh Captain Llewelyn (himself named after a famous Welsh Prince and defeater of the English) Captain Gower and Pistol. This is where Llewelyn has been wearing a leek in his bonnet on St David’s Day and forces Pistol to eat the raw leek for mocking the tradition.

Whether that was fact or fiction, a leek is worn in the caps of today’s Welsh soldiers every year on St David’s Day. And, in the prestigious Welsh Guards Regiment, a raw leek has to be eaten by the youngest recruits.

Growing Leeks for St Davids Day and beyond

The types of leeks are roughly classified into groups according to when they are harvested –

early – late summer & autumn
mid – winter
late – late winter & early spring

Leeks are generally grown from seed which is sown from February to June, initially indoors and then outside in a seed bed. Sowing begins with the early season cultivars and ensures a longer harvesting period.

When growing indoors, eg greenhouse, cold frame, polytunnel, windowsill, leeks are best sown in individual modules. Inner tubes of toilet rolls and paper towels are quite useful for this, as, if you plant the seed about halfway done, you encourage a straight stem as the seedling grows. You can tape a second loo roll inner to the first when planting out to give you a longer tube. This helps keep the stem that pale creamy white (this is known as blanching) as the longer the white part of a leek stem, the sweeter the overall taste.

Once planted in a deep hole and earthed around leeks will stand in the ground not only until mature but, for mid and late cultivars, until you’re ready to harvest them. Another technique is to plant the leek seedlings on their side in a V shaped hole or trench and gradually fill it up with earth as the leek grows to cover the stem.

Tubes of cardboard or newspaper around each individual plant reduces the amount of earthing up you‘ll need to do. But be aware that if your garden is slug heaven they may sneak inside. A bit of nibbling can be tolerated as the outer leaves can be stripped off before use.

NB Too much damp can also lead to rust, a fungal disease, so be sure to leave enough room between the plants for air to circulate.

Garden Teacher Tip

Leeks are one of those vegetables that grow will grow well in a clay soil. However, if your garden is prone to wet soil over winter, adding some organic matter and grit to the trench or planting hole to improve drainage is advised. However, if you have soil very prone to being wet in the winter, you may find you have a better crop of leeks by growing them in slightly raised beds, so that you can ensure better soil drainage.

They can be harvested from late summer through to late March of the following year and can be left outside in the vegetable plot as they are frost hardy. ‘Toledo’ is one of the later varieties that has been successful for me on a heavier clay soil. A useful winter crop, they prefer a slightly damper climate than onions.

Leeks are one of those hardy vegetables that will stand in the ground over the winter months in the UK, providing you with fresh food. NB, if a heavy frost is forecast, pull up what you need beforehand – trying to pull leeks out of frosted earth is not going to be a successful task!

Garden Teacher Tip

Like most vegetables that we leave in the ground over winter, your leeks it’s a good idea to will cover them with netting to keep off hungry pigeons. And it’s worth spending an extra couple of minutes checking for rips in the netting when you’re harvesting the day’s vegetables.

Companion Planting

Winter Savory, Satureja montana, makes a good companion plant for leeks. It was probably brought here by the Romans and has pest repellent qualities, which is always useful when growing organically. If you grow it near your leeks, it makes it easy to grab a sprig when pulling a dinner’s worth of vegetable. Both Winter Savory and Thyme, another good companion plant, make a tasty addition to any dish containing leeks.

So whether you eat your leeks raw on St David’s day or cook them in a creamy thyme sauce (this latter is probably preferable!) they are a useful addition to the winter vegetable garden.

Leeks for St Davids Day and finally

For further gardening advice and inspiration, ideas for edible gardens and more, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet . You could come and find us on Instagram – @plewsgd Pinterest and Facebook too.

And on that note, you can have a peek at my new garden in the (new) Instagram account @spitfiresandslowworms

If you’d like some personal help, we offer a mix of practical sessions and theory in our bespoke Gardening Lessons and Courses. There’s a blog link below plus a pdf download with more info