This year's garlic got infected with garlic rust. The bulb's are actually decent size (60-80g), but I have a feeling that the garlic didn't mature due to being heavily infected. The leaves are completely dry, but the stem and cloves look like they might need some more time.
Garlic was planted in October, 10 weeks before the first frost due to unusually warm weather we had and harvested today.
Is it okay to plant garlic cloves that were harvested too early? Will such garlic develop normally?
If you have garlic rust, this fungus stays in the soil for up to 6 years and replanting ‘clean’ garlic (unaffected cloves) will do not good as the fungus will attack the new cloves.
If you’re talking about replanting some of your harvest back into the soil for future crops, I am afraid that will be the same as rust affects all plant parts, including the seeds.
The best way to grow garlic, onions, shallots.... is in deep containers, potato bags... or any bags really.
When the plant is affected, it also affects the soil. If infection is present, soil can easily be changed.
