Jan My organic garden plague is leaf miners! Suggestions?
I get this picture in my mind of a small creature with a miner’s hat and a pick. In reality, they are the larvae of a fly that burrow through leaves. Usually the damage is not aesthetically pleasing. However, if left unchecked, leaf miners can cause major damage.
Here are some solutions:
- Monitoring – kill leaf miner larvae in the leaf if possible.
- Nutrition – a healthy plant has thicker, healthier leaves. Plus, biochemically, the plant is not as appealing to the leaf miner.
- Floating Row Covers – creates a mechanical barrier that keeps the leaf miner fly away from the crop.
- Parasitic Wasp – Diglyphus isaea is a parasitic wasp that prey on the larvae of the leaf miner fly.
- Neem Oil – Neem Oil may break the life cycle of the leaf miner larvae to keep them from growing to maturity.
Getting rid of this pest takes diligence!
Papas Gardens 
I have great success defeating spinach leaf miners in my chard, orach, and amaranth by going on egg patrol every morning and evening. The eggs look like tiny white tic-tacs, are laid on the back of the leaves, and are lined up together in a row. If the eggs are fresh, I can scrape them off with my fingernail. If they are a day or two old, they may be dry, and I wipe them with a damp paper towel. If my garden were bigger, I would use row covers.
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