Last edited on November 02, 2026. View history
Lyon Leek
A variety of leek
How to sow Lyon leek: Direct seed or transplant seedlings
Sun requirement for Lyon leek: Plant in Full Sun
An heirloom leek said to have come to New Zealand with English settlers and to originate around Lyon in Staffordshire. It has long, pure white stems and a mild flavour, is easy to grow and suits winter cooking. The dark green leaves are worth eating too, as they hold most of the nutrients. Sow in trays from August to October for autumn and winter eating, and transplant at 10 cm diagonal spacing once seedlings reach 10 cm.
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Lyon leek facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For Lyon leek, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 6°C and a shortest growing cycle of 120 days at its best temperature, about 1800 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your Lyon leek will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing Lyon leeks
- Sow seeds in trays 10 weeks before planting out
- Dig compost into the bed 1 week before planting out
- Water regularly at planting out every week
- Feed with a nitrogen fertiliser 4 weeks after planting out every month
- Earth up the stems 8 weeks after planting out every 2 weeks
- Lift the leeks at first harvest
Plant Lyon leeks with
apricot
spinach
mulberry
spring onion
purple carrot
yellow onion
white onion
pusa asita carrot
Video
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 120 to 150 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Allium ampeloprasum L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Liliopsida Liliidae Asparagales Alliaceae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: -5 °C, rest: -5 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual, biennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | long day (>14 hours) |
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