Spinach pest or disease

ommthree

Hello all,

My spinach has just started coming into its own, but it now has a sticky white substance on the underside of the younger leaves, which is also causing it to go all crinkly it seems. Looking at it closely, it could be almost microscopic white insects.

Any idea what it is, or how to treat it?

Thanks so much!

Owen.

ommthree

Thanks for that Mike. Seems plausible, though I don't see any of the greenfly themselves.

Dovefromabove

I think we may see early infestations of aphids of all types after such a mild winter - it could possibly be woolly aphid, although not the usual type of plant to get this.  I would pick off the affected leaves  and this should prevent the problem spreading.

If it's only a mild infestation I wouldn't worry about cooking them either - you can soak them in salted water to kill off the aphids and the leaves will be fine to use then. 

ommthree

Thanks Dovefromabove.

I've had aphid issues before, but these are a different sort, if they are aphids. Either way I'll see what I can do with just cutting off the affected growth and giving it a wash. If that fails then I'll try garlic water, as that has served me well in the past.