[lucywil]

my garlic plants have been in since october ans have grown fine and are still fine except for orange spots on some of the leaves which i think is called rust, the onions close by don't have it. what do i need to do or is it terminal?

[agapanthus]

It is the dreaded rust. I get it every year Lots of folk say destroy the lot.....I say it's still good to eat and keeps well

[lucywil]

that's what i wanted to hear, thanks!

[agapanthus]

No probs !

[milkman]

Yup I got a bit of rust on mine too, as aggypants says it happens every year.  

My plants are strong and sturdy enough so I'm going to do absolutely nothing about it and just harvest and store the garlic later in the year as normal.

Roy-the-weather-expert on our site said his garlic was looking very yellow and poorly and he was going to spray it with something - possibly a fungicide?

[lucywil]

i try to avoid spraying things so i will just leave it, i am trying to be organic but keep reaching for the slug pellets

[WG.]

It is the dreaded rust. I get it every year Lots of folk say destroy the lot.....I say it's still good to eat and keeps well

My suggestion would be to keep all foliage, straw and even peelings out of your compost heap.  Also to obtain fresh cloves to replant, rather than replant any of your own.

[Gwiz]

It is the dreaded rust. I get it every year Lots of folk say destroy the lot.....I say it's still good to eat and keeps well

My suggestion would be to keep all foliage, straw and even peelings out of your compost heap.  Also to obtain fresh cloves to replant, rather than replant any of your own.

i use shop bought cloves every year, plant in rotation, cross me fingers and toes, and STILL get it every year.
and as Agapanthus says, it tastes great, and stores well. so i dont worry too much about it. you could spray with a fungicide if you wanted, i didn't last year and twas ok.

[WG.]

Mmm - good to know - although why does Aggy call it dreaded rust then?  Never had rust on garlic thank goodness.

[Annie]

Since it is a fungus it thrives inmild,wet weather.I don`t find it a problem on garlic as the foliage isn`t eaten and with leeks a colder winter usually slows it down though we seem to get fewer of them. Anyway According to hydra(that was)rotate crops and compost any disease plant debris.Most of us get some rust most years and after a while you begin to relax about it.