Leeks, at long last

With an extended break between snow storms, the disappearing snow cover has allowed the bright days to warm the soil and reveal the last vegetable to harvest from under the deepest snowbanks in my garden; the little leeks.

I kept these transplanted leeks in the ground from spring through winter with the hopes that they would fatten through the late fall, and perhaps grow-out to full size early this spring. They've shown the incredible 'anti-freeze' properties of all alum (onion) family members, but I was still surprised at how healthy these plants did in their lightly mulched beds. However, as the soil warms and plans for this season's garden start to come together, it became clear that all but a few of the leeks (the lucky ones are interspersed with my perennial bed of young chard) are in beds I have different plans for this year and need to be harvested soon. They'll be a wonderful fresh vegetable addition to a number of early spring dishes/stews and yet I'm also excited to see how the few remaining leeks grow-out through this spring, and just maybe grow to a respectable size.