Hello, I am relatively new to GW and usually lurk around the Gulf Coast and Vegetable forums but I can't seem to get information about growing leeks on the Texas Gulf Coast from those forums. Did a search of this one and also came up empty handed, and the web is vague when it comes to my specific questions. I want to try my hand at leeks this Fall. The only seeds I've found thus far are American Flag. I understand that one is a long to maturity variety. I'd like to be able to harvest starting around Christmas. Do I start seedlings indoors right now and transplant in September? Can I direct sow now (Zone 9a) and provide shade cloth protection (it's pretty hot down here at the moment) until September? Is the idea of growing leeks here just a bad one? I wondered about that since I was having so much trouble getting information. I've also visited several local nurseries and asked if they carry leek sets in late summer or early Fall and all of them told me no, which added to my uncertainty about whether I'm trying to do something that can't be done. Temps here begin to moderate in mid to late September (going down into the 80's and then the 70's in October, moving cooler as Fall proceeds) and rarely does it freeze before December. In addition, any freezes last only a few hours. Maybe Fall here is just too tropical for leeks? The County ag site seems to focus on generic "onions" as an early Spring crop so even they were not helpful. Please pardon my elementary questions, still learning about this particular group of veggies.