Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi all,
Just to add to the pests flying around with the Cabbage Whites just thought I would add that my neighbour on the plot has lost all her leeks to what looks like Leek Moth. It appears that there are no insecticides to combat it. So back to the enviromesh which will soon cover my plot at this rate! If it does strike cutting all the foliage off sometimes works and the leaves apparently re grow. Only a problem in the south east and southern counties but appears to be spreading. Anyone else had any attacks?
Hilary

I'm in Weston Super Mare and just about everyone on our site is suffering i've cut most of mine back and will see what happens,if not it will be enviromesh next year

Hi macmac,
My neighbour perhaps a bit hastily has dug all hers up and destroyed which will at least prevent any overwintering. THe caterpillars had got right down below leaves and into the actual 'shaft' of the leeks. Do you have to enviromesh from transplanting the leeks or is there a particular time the moth strikes? Since I rely on the leeks for the main winter crop it would be dreadful to lose them next year.
Hilary

Hi Hilary,when we grew them a couple of years ago under mesh we covered them immediately,it protected them beautifully though it was a bit of a faff getting on and off but the OH says he'll make me a sort of frame next year.I understand your neighbours view I'm reluctant to keep affected plants going obviously giving the little blighters food and shelter to thrive so I'm keeping a close eye and if the cut down ones even sneeze they'll be out

I must be lucky. Have been growing leeks for about 30 years in my vegetable patch and have never suffered from this. I don't think I'd even know what a leek moth looked like. I wonder if that's because I'm probably the only person around here who seems to be interested in growing vegetables so the problem doesn't spread like it would do on an allotment. Apart from slugs & snails which everybody gets, I rarely seem to suffer any of the common vegetable diseases. Had a tiny bit of tomato blight that spraying seems to have halted in its tracks without the loss of a single tomato.

Hi Primrose,
You are lucky - this Leek moth is a new one for me and is apparently spreading up from the south so it looks like more folks will be getting to know about it in the future. It is strange where the bugs come from though, since I am the only one in our village to grow gooseberries and from the first year of planting they have been attacked by the sawfly.
Guess there must be another host out there in the natural vegetation.
Hilary

Hi Hilary,
We have imported the Leek Moth from the continent thought to come in on imported Organic produce although only a thought mind with no actual proof. I think that last time the subject came up John reported that they had reached Gloucestershire. It is amazing what the port inspections reveal such things as Colorado Beetle on imported Organic Parsley, a proven fact.
With regards to Gooseberry Saw Fly you would be amazed at the amount of 'Wild Gooseberries' there are dotted about. Hereabouts we have them growing in the hedgerows which are no doubt spread by Blackbirds who are more than partial to a nice fat Gooseberry. They all seem to get Saw Fly and any fruit that forms is eaten by the Blackbirds almost immediately.
JB.

Yes JB I can report that the leek moth is still alive and well round here.
It hasn't been too bad this year. I'm very careful with onion and leek trimmings and never compost it - it all goes straight in the bin. I think this helps a lot in keeping it under control.

John

This post got me interested especially about them being in the South.
I have never been bothered before but lo & behold they have struck.

Can you advise - I have big leeks 2" or more in circumfrence and much
smaller ones still only pencil thickness. Should I leave the big ones
fend for themselves (or vice versa) or do I attack them both?

I read the RHS thing about nicotine being the only treatment but
only for commercial use. How many fag ends do I need to put in
a bucket to make my own

Serious though would like advice.

Westi

I too need advice on this. I have something nasty on the leeks which I've never seen before, and so it could be this very bug.

My leeks are much the same size as Westis by the sound of it.

Isn't this a pain. My leeks were looking quite perky a few weeks back.

Last week when I checked they suddenly started looking ragged, with lots of white streaks on them. Most of my neighbours plots have identical problems.

For those that haven't already found advice, a quick google came up with the following:
http://www.allotments.fsnet.co.uk/leekmoth.html
http://www.growsonyou.com/Sid/blog/2316-leek-moth-and-allium-leaf-mining-fly-the-sequel
For anyone who thinks they may have other problems with their leeks, see here:
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/leeks_3.asp

Finally, there may be some much better sources of info than these, but since so many of us seem to be suffering from this, I thought it might help keep the ball rolling.

Would it be better to dig leeks now and freeze them, before too much damage to edible bits?

pongeroon wrote:Would it be better to dig leeks now and freeze them, before too much damage to edible bits?

a couple of weeks ago i cut mine down almost to the ground and they are thriving,I disposed of the tops no doubt disposing of the offending grub simples

Thanks Macmac, I'll try that. I prefer to leave crops in situ when possible, mainly because I'm too idle to bother with all that blanching nonsense.

It says the leek moth is small - how small - would it squeeze through insect netting?