Blog

Hi All

Happy New Year!

I am still in the process of posting leeks but I now know demand has overtaken supply and I am afraid I cannot take any more orders to post.

There is still some availability for collection so please contact me on 07739647166 for an update or to arrange collection.

Thanks
John

Please note there are small price increases due to our current climate.
All fertilizer’s, compost and plastics are up in price, as well as Gas & Electric.

• Onion seed as previous years, £5 per packet plus stamped addressed envelope. Approx seed count 70/80.
• Onion Plants, posted bare root when about 5/6” tall December to February. 20 plants £20 including post & package.
• Onion Plants in 7cm pots, collection only. £20 per 12 plants.
• Onion Plants in 1 litre pots collection only. £30 per 12 plants.
PLEASE NOTE THE ONLY PLANTS THAT CAN BE POSTED ARE FROM CELLS AND WILL BE POSTED BARE ROOT IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY.
All Leek Plant Prices are the same cost regardless of variety.
• From cells £20 plus £5 p&p for 15 plants.
ALL PLANTS IN ANY SIZE POT MUST BE COLLECTED FROM KIBBLESWORTH.
• 7cm pot size £25 per 12 plants.
• 11cm pot size £40 per 12 plants.
• 2 litre pot size £5 per plant.
• 3 litre pot size £6 per plant.
BLANCH LEEK VARIETIES: Blanch, Pendle Improved, RMG, Berwick and Welsh Seedling.
POT LEEK VARIETIES: Cumbrian, CSC (Cumbrian Sammy cross), JSN, Betty, Mick Woods.
THANK YOU.

£5 per packet plus stamped addressed envelope.
Onions for posting – £15 for 20 plants plus £3 post and package.

Collection only:
7cm pots – £15 per dozen
1Ltr pots – £25 per dozen
2Ltr pots – £3 each
3Ltr pots – £4 each

The only leeks posted will be from cells. Normal posting from January until the end of February. Prices for all leeks by post – 20 plants for £20.00 plus £5 Post+Packaging.

**SPECIAL OFFER – COLLECTION ONLY**
Leeks collected from my greenhouse in October and November will be half price – only £10 a dozen. Collection only.

Normal Price List
7cm pots – £20 per dozen
11cm pots – £36 per dozen
2Ltr pots – £48 per dozen
3Ltr pots – £5 each
5Ltr pots – £6 each
ALL POTS ARE COLLECTION ONLY

Leek availability for 2022:
Original Cumbrian
Cumbrian Sammy Cross
Betty Black
Giant
JSN
Amelia
Mick Woods

Blanch Leeks:
Welsh Seedling
Berwick
RMG

Virus free Cumbrian 7cm pots

Hi Everyone

Just a quick update to let you all know that my plants direct from cell are now out of stock so I can no longer post anything. I have updated this on each product.

Please make sure if you are placing an order for anything remaining in stock that you are able to collect as they cannot be posted once in pot.

Thanks
John

Hi All

I hope everyone has remained safe during these uncertain times. We have not seen many shows this year due to the pandemic but hopefully next year we will have plenty more.

Stock for 2021:
All stock is looking very good and plentiful. I am starting to set leeks away and will have a full range, the same as last year. Orders are now being taken via the website. All prices have been held at the same rate as last year.

PLEASE NOTE: THE ONLY PLANTS THAT CAN BE POSTED ARE FROM CELLS. ONCE POTTED THEY CANNOT BE POSTED, THESE ARE COLLECTION ONLY.

Hopefully this year I will be able to keep you updated with more regular blogs.

Stay safe and well, look forward to hearing from you,
Thanks
John

Please do not proceed with any orders for leeks on the website as I have no stock left unfortunately.

The website will allow an order to be placed as I have not yet been able to update the stock list online however any orders placed from this date will not be met and therefore will have to be refunded.

Thanks
John Soulsby

The JSN, (John Soulsby New).
Bred by myself this is the latest leek to make its mark, winning the NPLS championship in both 2017 and 2018. This leek has been described by many as the perfect leek. It has a very smooth, straight barrel with great solidity and is perfectly round. The foliage is a nice dark green colour which emphasises the pure white barrel. The parents of this hybrid where a Giant mother plant and a very good Cumbrian providing the pollen. The seedling was grown in a trench with no fertiliser or manure added. After careful selection I chose this plant which was 17” around and 5” to button.
Now this all sounds good but there are a few problems when growing this breed. The foliage is very brittle and will crack if damaged. I also found a few of my leeks bent above ground level. Another fault was splitting on the barrel, but I think this is the fault of the grower. This leek needs no fertiliser to grow as it is very vigorous and has no virus .
The JSN is definitely a leek of the future once we learn how to grow it properly. Maybe not a banker as yet.
That concludes my description of the 5 top pot leeks. I apologise for any breed I may have missed. I look forward to seeing new leeks over the next year or two. Here are some to watch out for.
Keith Forsters, Amelia. Derek Richardson’s leek we got a glimpse of this year. John Lawsons new leek we seen on Facebook. And two or three new Hybrid leeks grown by Peter Kerry.

The CSC or McKenzie as some people call this leek, was bred by Joe Calvert.
It first came to the showbench at the Jennings World Championship in Maryport where Joe Calvert came second. The main fault was evident from the first time I handled this leek. It had and still has a crease running up the side of the leek from the base upwards , which causes a soft spot on the side of the leek and when stripped shows up and makes the barrel very coarse.
The leek has had success in lots of shows and is widely grown because it is easy to achieve very big cubic measurements. It is still a nice leek up to about 16” as seen above, but loses quality when overgrown. Apart from being a coarse leek it sometimes carries heavy suckers and also gets a hole in the rootplate.
Not a leek I grow to show but is still a popular choice as it’s easy to grow and wins the biggest for best shows.

The Cumbrian is a top class leek winning shows for two decades. This is another breeding from Joe Calvert.
The Cumbrian has probably been the most successful leek in the history of the NPLS , taking top honours for almost 20 years. A lovely shaped leek that strips very well to retain good quality. A fault appears on the base if over stripped causing an uneven base known as a saddle. As the leek reaches 20 years old there are flaws appearing mostly due to poor stock selection.
New growers to this leek may struggle to achieve a good size but learn to grow the leek and success will follow.
Although this is a fine leek it still has faults. The worst in my opinion is the virus it carries. This is most evident in the months of December and January when light levels are at there lowest. As light drops the plants stop growing but the virus continues to grow and I have seen plants turn almost silver with virus.
Artificial lighting will help prevent this from happening but beware not to give too much light as suckers may appear at a later date.
I prefer not to produce too large a plant in the greenhouse as this keeps plants very short later in the season. It’s all about balance.
After 20 years this is still one of the most reliable and best quality leeks to grow. Select only the best plants for stock and take your time to learn how to grow this plant and I am sure success will follow.