With a sharp shovel, dig
out the nursery row, carefully retaining 5 or 6 inches of soil below
the seedlings. With a strong jet of water, blast away the soil and,
while doing this, gently separate the tangled roots so that as
little damage is done as possible. Make sure the roots don't dry out
before transplanting. After separation, I temporarily wrap bundled
seedlings in wet newspaper.

Dig out a foot-deep trench the width of an ordinary shovel and
carefully place this earth next to the trench. Sprinkle in a heavy
dose of organic fertilizer or strong compost, and spade that in so
the soil is fluffy and fertile 2 feet down. Do not immediately
refill the trench with the soil that was dug out. With a shovel
handle, poke a row of 6-inch-deep holes along the bottom of the
trench. If the nursery bed has grown well there should be about 4
inches of stem on each seedling before the first leaf attaches. If
the weather is hot and sunny, snip off about one-third to one-half
the leaf area to reduce transplanting shock. Drop one leek seedling
into each hole up to the point that the first leaf attaches to the
stalk, and mud it in with a cup or two of liquid fertilizer. As the
leeks grow, gradually refill the trench and even hill up soil around
the growing plants. This makes the better-tasting white part of the
stem get as long as possible. Avoid getting soil into the center of
the leek where new leaves emerge, or you'll not get them clean after
harvest.

Spacing of the seedlings depends on the amount of irrigation. If
absolutely none at all, set them 12 inches apart in the center of a
row 4 feet wide. If unlimited water is available, give them 2 inches
of separation. Or adjust spacing to the water available. The plants
grow slowly through summer, but in autumn growth will accelerate,
especially if they are side-dressed at this time.

_Varieties:_ For dry gardening use the hardier, more vigorous winter
leeks. Durabel (TSC) has an especially mild, sweet flavor. Other
useful varieties include Giant Carentian (ABL), Alaska (STK), and
Winter Giant (PEA).

Lettuce

Spring-sown lettuce will go to large sizes, remaining sweet and
tender without irrigation if spaced 1 foot apart in a single row
with 2 feet of elbow room on each side. Lettuce cut after mid-June
usually gets bitter without regular, heavy irrigation. I reserve my
well-watered raised bed for this summer salad crop. Those very short
of water can start fall/winter lettuce