[sawnee]

My garlic plants are going rusty, will this affect the keeping/flavour of them?
Or am I fussing too much?

[Trillium]

I suspect more people will notice garlic rust this year. It's actually a fungus that overwinters on dead plant material and becomes seed born (because cloves were planted in fall). It pops up occasionally when there's been a year of excessive rain and cool temps as the UK had last year. So far there's no rust-resistant garlic, and soil type isn't a factor.
Only organic choice is to not plant in that spot for the next 3 years, destroy all volunteers and infected weeds (burn) and use clean seed. It's important to keep moisture even on garlic (mulch helps) and don't overdo the nitrogen (manure and high first letter fertilizers).  If it's a wet year, you might even put small polytunnels over your patch.
If you're into chemicals, ask your garden centre what they recommend.
Hard to say what your garlic will taste like, but it won't grow large and will definitely increase the amount of fungus that can be spread if you don't destroy it. Some people will still let their's grow, so its a personal choice what to do. Definitely keep an eye on it and whether it becomes very infected. Handle with latex gloves which you dispose of afterwards.

[sawnee]

Thanks Trillium,
Dont sound very good to me  :cry:

[agapanthus]

When I was in Suffolk I had rust every year on my garlic:( Had a 4 year rotation plan too, but did'nt seem to help. I just harvested it as normal and it did'nt seem to affect the taste.

[sawnee]

HORRAY  
Thanks Agapanthus you have cheered me up  
All that loving care only to end up on the bonfire didnt seem a fitting end to all that garlic, would much prefer to sling them over a free range chicken  
I will keep my fingers crossed and watch them closely