About a month ago i planted out mu leek plants, mostly Musselbugh and a few Jolant. Some were homegrown (in a seed tray) but i also bought a pot from a garden centre. They werent very big and were a bit rootbound but otherwise fine. Planted in ground previously growing potatoes, in the traditional method. Have had problem with leek moth in the past so were covered with environmesh directly after planting.
Almost straight after planting we had that very hot few days in July, but i kept them well watered throughout. Unfortunately while weeds grew, the leeks didnt! When i uncovered them about 10 days ago to weed them, almost nothing was left, all had gone bar one solitary plant and a few withered remains (and lots of weeds).
Cant really work out what went wrong (this time). I cant beleive it was leek moth, the plants were covered and probably hadnt got big enough anyway. They were well watered following planting so i doubt they dried out, but may have had too much water (beds are free draining and can never get waterlogged though). I did have a problem with potatoes in this particular bed this year; they grew poorly due to a suspected cultivation pan which might have affected the leeks too?
The only other thing i can think of is white rot. I have had cases of onions and garlic rotting off at random which might be due to white rot. Its not everywhere in the garden so might not be true white rot. How can i tell? How does white rot affect leeks?
Any advice welcome. Thanks.
