Topic: Garlic Rust

[Strawberrygirl]

First time back on the site for over a year, although i do look for hints and tips regularly!

My garlic that i planted last November has chronic garlic rust.  We stripped all the leaves off today and they are basically just stalks now and look rather sad. Will this affect the garlic? And when should we harvest?  It hasn't really affected the onions in same bed although we did strip off a couple of outer leaves that looked a bit spotty.  Help me pls? Thank you  :)

[pigeonseed]

Oh dear - I thought garlic just always had rust, I've never stripped its leaves. Hopefully they will regrow, but how much that will set the bulbs back, I don't know.  :-\

[Ninnyscrops.]

It shouldn't affect the bulbs so next year, if you have it again, just leave the leaves on.  :)

I'm just south of you in Sussex and I've yet to grow it without rust! Hopefully, I'll be harvesting them at the end of June, they've had a good watering today but no more until I dig them out.

Ninny

[goodlife]

I've had rust before..several times....and I've never resulted stripping leaves off as even with the rust, as long as the leaves are alive they will feed keep feeding the bulb and help it to bulk up. Rust only affects the above the soil parts and the bulb itself will be clear from rust.
Often the rust will appear when the weather conditions are favourable and particularly if the bulbs have made soft lush growth that is result of too much nitrogen rich feed (too early in the season).
After all this rain we've had recently my garlic should do fine now without any extra watering. If the soil is good enough condition to hold moisture down hardneck garlics that are ready earlier on should not need any extra attention from feeding and watering anymore.

[BarriedaleNick]

MY garlic looks terrible but I try to remember that it does every year.  I think we had a nice growth spurt in March with the early heat which left it susceptible to rust once the wet weather came and stayed for 6 weeks!
Still at least here in London they are ready quite early..Prolly take mine in 2 or 3 weeks.

[goodlife]

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Still at least here in London they are ready quite early..Prolly take mine in 2 or 3 weeksWow..yours early.. :o Have they started to dieback? Mine are still totally green and 'lush'. They are looking so good that I'm almost thinking I've planted whole bed of elephant garlic instead of just one row.  ;D
I suspect mine will be ready little yearlier this year too, usually I start lifting first ones in end of June. I must have a little look bellow the surface and see if they have started to bulb up...stems are looking so promising.

[BarriedaleNick]

I checked back a couple of years and first\second week in June was harvest time...
To be frank any longer and they get white rot!

Some are starting to die back a liitle but I test lifted one yesterday and they still need a few weeks yet.

[davyw1]

I have not grown garlic in a lot of years but i recall much the same happened to me, i cut back all the infected leaves and left the stems as it was near to harvesting time. I still managed to to get average size bulbs some three weeks later. I dont know if the scalping i gave them caused the bulbs to improve as the stems looked very healthy but the end result is what counts regardless how you got it.

I hope you did not compost the infected leaves but burnt or bagged them to be taken away

[Strawberrygirl]

Thank you all for your comments/advice. 

Seems i didn't need to strip the leaves off after all - I have even read that you should pull the whole plant and destroy the lot!  Anyway i have pulled a couple up today (I want to use if for making slug repellent) and they look good.     They are not dying back yet so still a bit of growth left and you never know stripping them back may even increase their size now.

I didn't compost the leaves, I was very careful and put them in  black sack in household rubbish.

Thanks all :)

[Strawberrygirl]

[(I want to use if for making slug repellent)]

I meant aphids, not slugs lol !

[Alex133]

Do rust spores survive in compost - afraid I've always just chucked them on???

[davyw1]

Do rust spores survive in compost - afraid I've always just chucked them on???

OH Yes and it regenerates and reinfests

[BarriedaleNick]

Well I spoke too soon - just tested a couple of garlic and they are rotten with white rot. 
I dug ten out and only three showed no signs of rot - of the remainder 5 were covered with it and two just had touch on the roots.

None of it is really ready and none of it will store anyway..booo!

What to do - leave it and it will get worse.  Take it all now and paste it/freezer it??

[pumkinlover]

Oh dear it is horrible. I would say take it as it is feeding the fungus :(

[goodlife]

Take all up or you don't nothing left at all.

I had look at mine..not ready yet. The 'stems' have just started swell up, no bulb yet so I have to wait some weeks yet.

[strawberry1]

right, two emergency preservation methods

1  whizz in a liquidiser with olive oil. Freeze immediately (to prevent botulism) in small containers. This is very useful as it cuts away for use in stir fries etc

2   slice and dehydrate  I just chuck some in any casserole, soup etc

ok, the bulbs won`t keep but they won`t be wasted

[Ninnyscrops.]

Well I spoke too soon - just tested a couple of garlic and they are rotten with white rot. 
I dug ten out and only three showed no signs of rot - of the remainder 5 were covered with it and two just had touch on the roots.

None of it is really ready and none of it will store anyway..booo!

What to do - leave it and it will get worse.  Take it all now and paste it/freezer it??

It's sad when a crop goes downside. Get the best bits off and freeze as strawberry1 says.

What happened to your crop rotation Nick or is white rot an inherent problem where you are growing? If so you need to have a little peek at your onions too.

Ninny

[BarriedaleNick]

It's an inherent problem across the entire site and I normally lose a few garlic and onions but this year it is rampant - prolly due to the wet weather
From now on it's going to be garlic in buckets I think..
I fear for my onions!

I am going to take em all tonight and paste/freeze them in ice cube trays - thanks for the advise.

[strawberry1]

drat, my garlics have it now grhh and no bulb yet. Everyone has it on the site.