Onion Problems

[AlittleSalt]

Solarizing may be an idea.

[AlittleSalt]

I found this http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/fruit...leaf-miner.php

[Jonnyhat]

was my thought, but my wife didnt want to lose that bed space so did a drench and planted soybeans, i am just worried that even with solarizing you wont get to 140-150f to the bottom of the 10" depth

[AlittleSalt]

I thought of that too. If in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada - it probably would work, and that's just if high temperature will kill it out.

Another thought would be to build a raised bed just for alliums. The raised bed would need netting above and around it to protect it from the adult ALM. That is the cheapest and safest way I can see to protect your alliums/onions. That is, unless you're going to grow thousands of onions. A 4'x8' raised bed will grow a lot of onions. It's easy to reach into a 4' wide raised bed.

[Jonnyhat]

we figured 200 to 300 would be perfect for a calendar year, but you would really have to use a sanitary growing medium (nothing local) in order to pull it off. I was thinking about Diatmacious Earth as it acts like millions of razor blades on anything with an exoskeleton

[AlittleSalt]

It is a lot to think about. Going by what I've read, ALM spreads like fireants. You read about them one day and they are in your yard the next.

[Worth1]

Kerosene AKA Coal Oil.

Worth

[brownrexx]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Kerosene AKA Coal Oil.

Worth

......will poison your soil and the flies will still come. They have a territory of 1 mile.

[Jonnyhat]

this is like the zombie onion apocalypse.... "Oniopocalypse" <<< patent pending

[brownrexx]

I know, it's really depressing. I was visiting my elderly neighbor last evening and he maintains a large garden. I asked how is onions were doing and he said "not well at all, they are all curly and stunted". He thought that it had been due to the cold spring but I gave him the bad news. He had not heard of the ALM.

[PhilaGardener]

I hadn't either until this thread. Particularly problematic that PA Ag and USDA seem absent from the scene. This has the potential to spread like a wildfire.

[Jonnyhat]

i had a dream they showed up in hazmat suits and took a flame thrower to my whole garden

[Jonnyhat]

so not only do I have this new foe, i also have beet leaf miner which is now attacking swiss chard; any organic suggestions? (or non organic that I can hit it with and save the day before the wife gets home on Friday "

[brownrexx]

Originally Posted by Jonnyhat

so not only do I have this new foe, i also have beet leaf miner which is now attacking swiss chard; any organic suggestions? (or non organic that I can hit it with and save the day before the wife gets home on Friday "

I get those too but not too many so I remove leaves that have the damage and throw them on the ground in the sun to kill the larvae and not let them complete their life cycle.

Some people squish the little white eggs that can be found on the backs of the leaves. I do this with my Colorado Potato Beetle eggs on potatoes because they are more numerous but I have never looked for leaf miner eggs, I just remove the damaged leaves and it seems to be enough.

[brownrexx]

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

I hadn't either until this thread. Particularly problematic that PA Ag and USDA seem absent from the scene. This has the potential to spread like a wildfire.

I think that they were only discovered in Lancaster county at the end of last year's gardening season. I read about it in 2 places over the winter.