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Leeks

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:11 pm
by robo
Every plot on our allotment apart from one has lost their leeks over the last couple of weeks , the one that still has good looking leeks has had them covered with a fine mesh from the day he planted them ,the rest of us have been left with a rotting mess first blight now this

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:57 pm
by Primrose
Mine are looking ok so far this year. This time last year most of them were already going mushy from that leek bug infestation. Have made up my miNd to try and use them up earlier this year to prevent losing them. Leek and potato soup is a usual favourite but alas freezers are pretty much fully stocked. I freeze the soup in one pint plastic milk bottles which a convenient way of storing it but Im not sure if this mushy leek infestation is confined to summer months or whether colder weather is likely to kill them off?

Does anybody know ?

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:19 pm
by Monika
Its it leek moth, Robo, or are they just rotting like Primrose's? I tend to harvest my leeks about October/November (although Musselburgh should stand well over winter), mainly because I want the ground cleared to cover with manure for the next crop. As I only ever use leeks for soups, I just cut them up and freeze them for use over winter. This year, I have noticed quite a bit of rust on them, so they will probably be harvested earlier rather than later.

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:24 pm
by Westi
Leek miner. The leek moth from which it comes from remains active until quite late in the year I have been told. I cover mine with environmesh from the off and don't uncover until late October time as I've had it before. It has been a challenging year for sure, an awful lot of people online have lost all their potatoes & tomatoes to blight.

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 8:27 pm
by robo
Funny as it sounds I think I’ve saved my tomatoes from Blight ,it definitely was blight as I lost some in hanging baskets and three tubs of spuds I’ve four more hanging baskets just about holding their own , the poly tunnel was the worst affected but I caught it early removed every leaf stem and burnt them I also pulled off and discarded around 35 good tomatoes that had started showing signs of going bad ,I then sprayed the plants with jeyes fluid very lightly in case it killed them I sprayed the beds but a bit more heavily over four days after spraying I clipped a few leaves off and discarded a few tomatoes but today and yesterday all clear ,the three tubs of spuds I also caught early cut everything above the ground off and burnt it left them three weeks and harvested them

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 3:17 pm
by vivienz
A good save, Robo. I had leek moth some years ago when I had my allotment in Bournemouth and sadly hadn't discovered the miracle of enviromesh at that point and lost an awful lot to the pest. There's something particularly revolting about the mess that leek moth makes.
My leeks here seem to be so far unaffected by moth or rust. I did have them covered up until about a month ago but removed the mesh as it wasn't high enough and the leaves of the leeks were looking rather cramped and unhappy. The only major problems I've had this year have been the ubiquitous cabbage butterflies and cutworm in the imported topsoil that went into the raised beds, but I got some nematode treatment onto this. It didn't eradicate it completely and I will probably need to do it again next year. I will put mesh onto them again next year, mind you, as I'd hate to lose my leeks to moth.

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 4:39 pm
by Stephen
I had better check mine.

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 5:46 pm
by robo
This is the first time I’ve ever had problems with my leeks next year they will be covered from day one ,on a good note I planted two cob nut bushes around four years ago one died of but was replaced this year is our first year we have had nuts of them not a lot around 50 but I think there are more hiding from me but growing my own nuts I have never even dreamt it

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 7:14 pm
by sally wright
Dear All,
there are pheromone traps available to buy for the leek moth; but how effective they are I don't know. What I do know is that you would need to get at least 2 packs; one for the Spring flight and one for the August flight so they may work out expensive compared to fleece and enviromesh if you do not have very many leeks.

I would also point out that by using the pheromone traps you would be keeping everyone else's leeks safe at no cost to them.......

Regards Sally Wright.

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:07 pm
by Raspberry Pie
I get leek leaf miner but it's only active in March/April and October/November. The springtime isn't a problem but I cover them with enviromesh from now until the end of November. This works brilliantly except when we have a wet autumn, as we did last year, and I lost about half to rot sadly. Fingers crossed for this year being drier - covers going on tomorrow.

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2020 9:18 pm
by Chantal
We've suffered terribly from leaf miner in the past few years and now only grow Sprintan. They grow so fast they can be planted out and harvested between leek miner activity. I planted out at the end of April and harvested a crop of massive leeks two weeks ago, which are now safe and frozen.

I had previously covered leeks with enviromesh, but still had problems. Sprintan are the answer to my prayers and I've just received delivery of my seed for next year. :D

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:32 am
by robo
I found a small bottle of black fly spray and a host of other pests (I can’t remember the name of it ) I sprayed the leaks hoping it would bring some back to life there is about half a dozen looking like they might recover but most were well gone when I sprayed them ,you can still buy the spray in the pre diluted half litre spray bottles but it is an expensive way to go, the bottle was in my dads shed when we cleared it out after his passing

Re: Leeks

Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:06 pm
by Stephen
As last year my leeks have been severly affected. I'll have to see what I can do with some enviromesh.