How To Prevent + Deal with Garlic Rust

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rusty garlic

Rust is an airborne, parasitic fungi that makes your plants look, well – rusty! The raised, orangey spots cover the foliage quickly when conditions are ideal and in a severe case, the leaves yellow, shrivel and die. With the foliage unable to convert energy in its usual efficient style, bulbs are small, but still edible. And, by the way, all good for seed the year following.

Rust is an environmental happening – a coinciding of perfect temperature and moisture, so dont feel bad that your plants are rusty. Its not your fault!

Wet foliage and mild temps create the perfect environment for spores to multiply, making spring a rust prone zone. If the weather is on your side and heats up and dries out the fungi will slow right down, if not… bad luck!

It’s an environmental thing, you see, exacerbated when nutrition isn’t met, soils are overfed or poorly drained or weakened with artificial fertilisers.

Prevention

ramial chips
Garlic growing beautifully in aged ramial chips

Airborne fungi, like rust are impossible to manage, so its smart to get out ahead of it and put your best prevention foot forward. These are my current tried and true ways.

Plant early. March or April plantings give you the best shot, by ensuring bulbs are developed and sized up when rust hits in spring.

Free draining, nourishing soil is key. Heavy clay (wet feet) and likewise poor sand (too dry) are the most susceptible. No surprises there, as mineral uptake is poor in both situations. Sound nutrition will always put you ahead of the game no matter what problem you are dealing with. Over doing nitrogen in your bed preps feeds rust like crazy, so stick to good old homemade compost.

Mix up your plantings. Plant alliums (chives, leeks, onions etc) away from each other as is practical. Plant garlic in little groups about the place rather than in one block. It fascinates me to watch some little plots go rusty while others remain rust free – a small victory for diversity!

Space well. Studies that show rust is minimised with good air movement, seem to be on the money. There is a trade off though – bigger spaces = more room for weeds and mean less crop. Its something to bear in mind and experiment with.

Milk or Herb Teas. Milk is a wonderful fungal prevention spray. Dilute it 1:10 and pour on once a week. Or just rinse out milk bottles and pour those on, as and when. Fermented stinging nettle or horsetail tea make for robust cells and strong leaf cuticle – just what the doctor ordered.

Biological Fungicides. Botryzen sprayed on emerging shoots saves the day! Way too late once rust is in – perhaps order your bottle now in preparation for next season.

Crop Rotation. Leave as long of a gap as you can before growing alliums on the same bit of ground again.

Regular EM and seaweed foliar sprays. Rather than vainly trying to ‘kill’ off the fungal spores (they’re everywhere!) – outcompete them by filling the space with ‘good’ guys.

Mulch. No matter what the question, mulch is always the answer. Prevent fungal splash back and nourish the soil.

What to do when rust hits

rust on wheat

Trimming off infected leaves seems to help slow the spread, but really those fungal spores are everywhere! Dose the crop in EM + nettle after foliage removal.

Crop removal. Hardcore I know, but if your crop is absolutely covered in rust and the bulbs are still undeveloped – there really is no point, they wont be growing fatter so may as well get them up. In this instance, remove the rusty leaves and mince everything up tops and all. Dehydrate or freeze for an awesome stash of ready to use garlic.

Garlic alternatives

Sometimes its good to take a break from a crop if its been a struggle. How about supporting an organic, local grower and buying garlic in next year while you give your garden a rest from it. Practice making epic compost instead – it really will save the day!

  • Garlic chives provide a mild garlicky hit if tossed in at the end of cooking.
  • Elephant garlic (being a leek and all) wont come down with rust like true garlic does, so this is an option as a roasted vege. The flavour is barely garlic but it looks just like one and your friends will be impressed at the size.