When rust first appeared on my garlic at the start of June, little did I realise how severe it would become.  In the photo above, by 20th July the foliage was more or less destroyed.

And yet wisdom has it that the bulbs below ground will usually survive a rust attack.  When I lifted the plants that same day the bulbs were indeed absolutely fine.  Below, they’ve been drying for a few days and will just need a bit of a clean before I store them.

The caveat is that one shouldn’t grow garlic again for three years where there has previously been rust.  Then again I always rotate so would be using a different bed next year anyway.