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HILL UP - It sounds like an old fashion term but means to pull the soil around the stem of a plant for support.
To blanch leeks in a wide row, spread several inches of compost, leaves or dirt on the row. Hill up the mulch a few inches around each stem. It may sound like some work, but it's worth it.
Use a planting mix of equal parts potting soil and peat moss, and remember to hill up the sprouts twice as they grow. Container-grown potatoes require more frequent watering, and liquid fertilizer applications should be diluted to half-strength.
Make sure to pick them before they begin to send up a flowering stalk, or else they'll be much too tough to eat. Keep leeks well weeded, watered and fertilized, and hill up the soil around the base for a longer, blanched white shaft, ...
A common garden hoe, for instance, is designed to cultivate the soil and remove weeds, but it can also form rows and furrows, pull soil over seeds, tamp soil, build mounds and beds, create ditches, hill up plants, clobber clods, and dig holes.
This little "secret" has helped many adult gardeners and it can make you the star kid gardener. All you need to do is just mound up the garden area about 8-12 inches. You can just hill up the whole area or use some rocks or boards to keep the soil ...
 See also: Soil, Growing, Grow, Water, Compost
  
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