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What could be wrong here?

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posted 6 years ago

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Hi everyone! I am wondering what could be wrong with my broccoli leaves? They have brown spots, and where the spots are the leaf is paper thin. Also, my many Swiss Chard plants have really suffered with a lot of holes ( probably slugs though I couldn't catch them), But they also look shriveled though I kept it moist. I thank you so much. I am a beginner and have been slowly learning....not giving up, though I have experienced failure after failure...lol.

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Lauren Ritz

pollinator

Posts: 875

Location: Kansas

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posted 6 years ago

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Leaf borer of some kind. They lay their eggs inside the leaf and the larvae eats the inside of the leaf, creating those hollow spaces. If you press in the hollow spaces you can probably find the borer and squish it, but that's a temporary solution at best (particularly if you have a lot of brassicas).

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
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M. Phelps

Posts: 308

posted 6 years ago

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i do the same with my swiss chard
if it is bad i remove affected leaves
place in a pile on stone/concrete/asphalt
then grind into mush with my heels
for smaller amounts i pinch out damaged areas and squish any leaf miners i come across
it needs to be repeated several times to be effective

Marco Banks

gardener

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Location: Los Angeles, CA

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posted 6 years ago

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Whatever the problem, the chickens will be part of the solution. My girls love swiss chard. They'll convert inedible leaves into eggs and manure for fertility in no time flat.

So to hijack your thread title: what could be right here? Chicken food!

"The rule of no realm is mine. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task if anything that passes through this night can still grow fairer or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I too am a steward. Did you not know?" Gandolf

Clare Morgan

Posts: 11

posted 6 years ago

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Unless you have no chickens....lol. Maybe next year. Thank you everyone for the responses. I don't see any leaf borers. I am wondering if it is sun damage after spraying soapy homemade insecticide. We still have temps in the 90s. Could be leaf borers though, and I just don't see them.

Lauren Ritz

pollinator

Posts: 875

Location: Kansas

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posted 6 years ago

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Clare Morgan wrote:Unless you have no chickens....lol. Maybe next year. Thank you everyone for the responses. I don't see any leaf borers. I am wondering if it is sun damage after spraying soapy homemade insecticide. We still have temps in the 90s. Could be leaf borers though, and I just don't see them.

You won't see them. Feel the leaf gently where it's colorless, feel around and if something is squishy under your fingers you've found it. You can pull the leaf apart and take a look at your nemesis, but simpler just to squish and ask questions later.

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
https://growingmodernlandraces.thinkific.com/?ref=b1de16
Growingmodernlandraces.com affiliate

Clare Morgan

Posts: 11

posted 6 years ago

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Thank you Lauren!

Acetylsalicylic acid is aspirin. This could be handy too:

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