Growing Leeks + An Easy Potato Leak Crock Pot Recipe

Growing leeks is a fairly easy task and one of the favorites on our farm. My husband is generally in charge of growing produce as I focus more on flowers. Here are his tips for cultivating beautiful leeks.

You can purchase leek seedlings at your local nursery or home and garden store.

  1. Plant them in early summer using nutrient rich well drained soil. Generally a mix of garden soil and compost will do the trick.

  2. The seedlings should be planted 4”-6” apart in deep holes or trenches. You can build soil up around them to offer support and encourage long white stalks. Leeks will need depth to develop properly so if you use raised beds make sure they are not too shallow.

  3. Leeks will need 6-8 hours of sunlight and regular watering (they will not tolerate drying out).

  4. You can harvest the leeks whenever the white stalks reach a depth of 1 inch. The white stalk is the portion that will be used when cooking. However, leeks are versatile and can be harvested slightly earlier or later. Sometimes a light frost can encourage flavor. This flexibility makes harvesting easy and low stress

Easy Crock Pot Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

1.5-2lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 Large White Onion

A handful of fresh thyme, tied with twine or 1 tablespoon of dried thyme

4-5 Leeks

64oz (two 32oz boxes) of Vegetable or Chicken Broth

Salt + Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Chop potatoes, garlic, leeks and onions. Add to crock pot.

  2. Tie a generous handful of fresh thyme with twine. Add to crock pot.

  3. Add 64oz of broth.

  4. Salt and Pepper (your choice how much. You can further salt/pepper it to choice before eating).

  5. Cook on low in crock pot for 8 hrs or on high for 6 hrs. Crock pots often cook differently depending on size and brand so keep that in mind when choosing your cooking time.

  6. When all the vegetables and potatoes are tender, you have a choice. You can serve in the hearty style retaining the chopped texture of the soup. Another option is to puree the soup with a hand held mixer directly in the crock pot. Salt and Pepper to taste before serving.

  7. Optional, if you choose to blend, adding a 1/4 cup of heavy cream can add a creamy texture. If you choose to serve the soup chopped and hearty, adding a dollop of sour cream to each bowl can add more flavor.

I like to serve the soup with bakery sour dough bread and a simple salad. Enjoy!