Growing micro leek for profit in the UK
Micro Leek is one of my favourite microgreens crops to grow at my farm! They’re a reliable grower, they sell well and they look and taste amazing. Leek is part of the allium vegetable family and at micro stage is very similar to onion and garlic chives. Chefs and the public are much more familiar with garlic chives as a micro herb than they are leek, so that’s why leek’s always been my preference for an allium crop. I like to be able to offer a lesser well known and available option.
The 4 main benefits of growing and supplying micro leek at your microgreens farm:
Chefs love it! When I have a regular leek crop available, it always sells out to my chef customers every week. They're difficult to get hold of from the bigger microgreens suppliers, so they're nice and different to use in the kitchen.
Leek microgreens massively lift a mixed micro salad punnet! It has a fresh, subtle sweet onion flavour and you only need a tiny sprinkle for the flavour to come through.
In my experience, they're easy and very reliable to grow. You get a consistently decent yield from them (much more so than garlic chives, for me).
…And most importantly…They're amazing on cheese on toast!! The reason this is my mum’s favourite of all the microgreens!
How to grow an excellent micro leek crop to sell - The Lowdown:
PREFERRED SEEDS FROM A UK SUPPLIER - ‘Sprouting Leek’ from Moles Seeds
PREFERRED GROWING MEDIUM - Peat free compost. They also grow well in coco coir.
SOAKING - No need to soak. Just sprinkle dry.
SEEDING PER UK MICROGREENS TRAY (56cm x 28cm) - 25g dry seed (alter the seed weight depending on your tray size)
GERMINATION - Stack and weight for 6 - 7 days. Take out of germination when all the seed have germinated, then upturn a tray without holes on top to ‘blackout’ for 1 - 2 days. When 2 - 3cm tall, put under lights and bottom water.
SOW TO CUT TIME TOTAL - 21 days (at bout 7cm tall). May take longer in colder grow rooms.
WATERING - Leek are small, skinny crops so don’t need much water to thrive. Bottom water when they first go out under lights, then water every 2 - 3 days or when they’ve completely dried out in the bottom tray. Over watering leek can cause water logging and mould problems on the growing medium.
EXPECTED HARVEST PER TRAY - 150g
QUANTITIES TO SELL IN - 25g punnets
SUGGESTED PRICE - £2.50 - £3 / punnet
APPROXIMATE SEED COST PER TRAY - £1.25 / tray (if seed bought at £50/kg)
PROFIT ON THESE FIGURES - £13.75 / TRAY
2 Very Useful Top Tips
Definitely leave the little black seed on the tops of the shoots. They're a big bonus in terms of appearance and they add nice extra texture.
If you don’t sell a full tray’s worth one week, you can leave it until the following week or your next harvest day. The shoots won’t taste bitter, like with some varieties that grow on for longer. However, make sure to harvest before the end of the stem at the top starts to die off and go brown.
2 days after ‘blackout’. Blackout is used to stretch your leek crop taller.
Happy micro leek growing!
And a quick word of warning - your eyes might water during harvesting!
If you’ve now caught the microgreens growing bug, then my UK Microgreens Business Starter Guide will show you exactly how to grow an additional 2, highly saleable microgreens crops in the UK - Pea shoots and Radish shoots, including recommended seed suppliers, profit margins and how to sell them.
Download now to get it sent straight to your inbox!
In your guide, you’ll get:
5 great reasons for starting a microgreens business in the UK right now
A basic equipment list
A step-by-step guide to growing and harvesting radish shoots and pea shoots, including UK pricing suggestions and profit margins.
A how-to guide to selling your microgreens to chefs, restaurants and your local community.