Radishes & Turnips

[TheEssexYorkshireman]

Can anyone help, please?

This year the leaves of both my radishes & baby turnips were full of very tiny holes (making the turnip ones inedible). I know it's not slugs or snails, or the like, as the holes are much too small but I've no idea what could have caused them.

Any advice on what the cause could be and how to avoid it next year would be greatly appreciated.

TEYman.

[TheEssexYorkshireman]

[Bugloss2009]

if it's in the leaves, it's probably flea beetle. You could try covering them with enviromesh. It's mostly a problem early on in the season I think

it is a pain that you can't get turnip tops as early greens because they're full of holes

[saddad]

sounds like wireworm... are they on ground recently turned over from grass? If so the problem will decrease over the next few years..  :-\

[1066]

My late batches of radish have been affected by the same thing - lots of small holes. They are interplanted with carrots, lettuce and spring onions. And this bit of ground isn't recently reclaimed. So I presume I should have netted them. Will they still grow ok? Was rather looking forward to the winter radishes

1066

[Bugloss2009]

they aren't really a problem. It's just if you like eating the leafy tops of the turnips that they're a real pain

[1066]

ah, thanks for that Bugloss - and yes I like to eat the tops of most things - radish, turips, kohl rabi, and on the list goes  :)

thanks again  :)

[Bugloss2009]

I think turnip tops are actually more nutritious than turnips, and rather more tasty, but a waste of time me trying