Hello Everyone! I've just started here and it's nice to have a forum hosted by a local group :o) I read over the Beginners Guide and I like that April is the recommended month for sowing Swiss Chard. I have found almost by accident that if you delay planting of chard and beets until the lilacs are in bloom (which I believe happens around April) you will be less bothered by the pesky leaf miner. My guess is that the females are more active in the months leading up to April. There are few things I hate worse than infested swiss chard leaves (and beets - I love steamed beet greens!) Anne
Anne--one other thought, since starting to use row covers on most of my earliest plantings, I've pretty well eliminated the leaf miners...as well as such other common buggers as root maggots on cabbage family, rust fly on carrots, cabbage worms... I usually start to remove the covers sometime in June to make it easier to weed and water, but it gives stuff a fast, pest reduced, start. The lighter weight stuff can apparently stay on all summer without burning things, haven't gone that far yet...
since starting to use row covers on most of my earliest plantings, I've pretty well eliminated the leaf miners...Question: (dumb, but a question nevertheless) lol ... Can you explain 'what' row covers are? TIA
My understanding of a row cover is its a very light cloth that is layed over a row that has been seeded or has plants growing in it. The row cover protects the seeds and plants from pests but doesn't interfere with light or water. The material that the cloth is made from is light enough that the plants can push it up and it will not interfere with their growth. It is sometimes call a floating row cover also. Anne
