Grrr garlic rust

When looking closely at my garlic today as I was weeding around it I noticed they were infected with rust 

I cut all the infected leaves off which tended to be all the outer ones but now I'm not that convinced I will get a crop worth keeping? Annoyingly they also share a bed with the onions which are just popping up so I'm going to have to keep a very close eye they don't get infected either now!!

You're pretty unlucky to have got it so early in the season, although as Nobbie has pointed out this winter will have done little to reduce the numbers of all sorts of pests and diseases.

According to the RHS the infections are worse on high nitrogen, low potassium soils, but your onions should be less vulnerable. Keep doing what you're doing and hope for the best.

RHS LINK

I've had bad rust on my garlic in past years and never felt that it had any effect on the crop. Am I wrong - might the bulbs have been bigger if they hadn't had rust? They've mostly been of good size.

From what I've read rust later in the season isn't a problem but it can reduce bulb size if there is rust early In the season. This is my first year growing garlic though so hard for me to say!

I so would have it, if it's severe, it is not related to time. Have you any over-wintering leeks? Are they healthy?


What you can do - if can be bothered, since not often that it does serious damage - cover rust postules with vaseline to stop it from spreading further.

I looked at my garlic yesterday after reading this and mine are covered too. 

The overwintered ones are the worst. My plot was flooded too over winter and is still very sticky. The newly emerging stuff seems to be pretty clear.

I think I have rust on my last years leeks.  I will pull them up but can I put them on the compost or should I burn the leaves?  I will eat the white bits