Leaf Miner

Leaf miners were ruining our beet tops, chard, collards. They can't be washed off, since they get between the tissue layers. When we held up the leaf to the sun, we could see the worm larvae, about 1/16 inch thick and 1/4 inch or more long. White in color, they left black droppings inside the layers. The damage looked like light brown dry patches, and we thought the sun had burned the leaves at first. The larvae eat the tissues from the inside! Remedy was to remove all affected leaves. The next day, there were a few more affected leaves, and we harvested them, cut off the affected areas, and were ale to eat the remaining healthy leaf (these larvae are not harmful to ingest, but yuck). We removed the damp grass mulch (which was not necessary since we were watering daily) and raked the surro... read moreunding soil, which is supposed to expose the pupae to birds, who find them a delicacy. Third day, I didn't see any affected areas, but as soon as we do, we rip it out with our fingers and leave the rest of the plant intact. We have been throwing the affected leaves in the garbage, in plastic bags, not in our worm farm, not on the ground, and washing our hands, since the eggs of this fly are on the surface, and are bright white little dots. Daily harvesting of chard and collard leaves is helpful in breaking the cycle, removing the leaves with any unseen eggs, which are washed off in the kitchen...and besides, we get our vitamins from these leaves every day now.