[Anton]

This quote from John's latest newsletter:'..and in the ground we’ve plenty of winter veggies. Leeks, ...'

I would like to know what type of leeks these are, were they grown from seeds or whether they were bought and transplanted?

My five rows of leeks are being blighted by the dreaded moth this year.
For years and years I have bought my leeks and transplanted them, giving them a couple of sprays just before the winter and I have had no problems but this year I grew them from seeds, transplanted them and they were doing fine until November when the dreaded lurgy struck.

So would I be safer going back to transplanting next year or is there a more resistant variety that can be grown from seeds (my seeds were a winter variety I ordered from a French firm)?

Anton

[mumofstig]

Leek Moth or Allium Leaf Miner, are very similar.
The only way to stop either of them, is to cover them carefully, with eviromesh, before the moths arrive to start laying. Some years are worse than others, because of weather patterns.

Do not grow leeks in the same place as they can over-winter in the soil.

Advice and info here, for both  https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/leek-moth

[Anton]

Thanks for your reply. I did cover it with mesh the one year but they still got infected, probably because as I had to weed from time to time, in the gloaming.
I suppose I can put the roots in the compost as the pests don't appear to do down that far. They are not in the green tops either but seem to be confined to the white sections above the root.

I am eager to hear what John does (seeds, what type, transplant!)
Anton

[Anton]

Back with my obsession about leek moths, I was reading an article at some Canadian government website, which said:

"The adults are nocturnal with flights and mating restricted to the hours of darkness, flights rarely occurs during the day".. "Row covers can be easily removed during the day for weeding or scaping. As long as they are reassembled prior to dusk, there is little risk of leek moth entering the enclosures."

There is also a reference to spraying the  crop with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), ..."which is a natural bacteria found in soil.  It's an organically approved and effective killer of moth larvae.  It hurts no other insects or humans.  Only moth larvae."

Anton