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help a new gardener with beetroot problems?

Hi there, I'm a fairly new gardener whose only ever grown tomatoes before and have branched out into onions and beetrootimage I've had a good look on various gardening sites the past week and examined lots of photos but I just don't have the experience yet to diagnose my beetroot problem. All I know is the leaves are being destroyed fast and I'm afraid I'm going to lose the lot. Can anyone help from the photos I've posted?  Thank you in advance.

 

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  • forgot to mention, there are some tiny bright green spiders on them but I don't know if they are the cause of the problem or are helping!

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    Hi Greenmillie and welcome image

    The grubs of leaf mining beetles are doing that - they live between the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves - little blighters.

    I'd remove the affected leaves and burn them to stop them spreading.  In future you should find that growing beet under a fleece cloche will stop the attacks.

    I hope that helps.  Good luck. image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • WintersongWintersong Posts: 2,436

    Oops, Dove responded in the time it took me to investigate image

  • Thank you so much for all the help and the welcome! This does mean I will have to pull nearly all the laves off - is that ok? Wintersong - I will read your link as well to broaden my knowledge image

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    I would take all the badly affected ones off - any that have a small affected area I would tear out the affected bit so that there is still some leaf left to function.

    Give the beet a good watering if you're like us and have had a hot and dry few days image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • thanks again, have not found any caterpillars but maybe they're tiny. Hopefully some of my leaf removal will have helped anyway.

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