A Leeky Issue

I've developed a taste for leeks, those sweetly flavored members of the onion family.  Unfortunately, I am not so successful at growing them.  I planted out a dozen last summer, and by the end of the summer, I had thin weedy specimens.  Well, those that survived--I think, maybe three?  Sigh.  It reminded me very much of my early failures with growing onions from seeds.  Since I finally conquered that particular hurdle, I'm on a mission to do the same with my leek issue.

Thank goodness for great little videos from our gardening friends in the UK, where the leek is essential to a proper allotment garden.  After watching the above for a handing sowing and growing process, I watched this one on how to plant them:

See, that was the second thing I did wrong.  I planted them the way you plant, say, a tomato and tucked it into the dirt.  Even if my leeks had grown, they would have been terrible gritty things.  Good thing I have all this time in January to do a little research on the mysteries of growing leeks.  Maybe this year's planting will be successful.