rust and fava beans

[zufParticipant]

Hello all, i’m looking for tips about fava beans and rust that appeared a week or two ago. They are now completely brown, not dry, but with brown powder all over the plants. Pods still look healthy with a bit of powder coming from leaves. I would like to save some seeds. We already freeze most of it. Now we are waiting for the rest (still a lot) to ripe completely so we can store them dry and also to have them for seeds. Do you think it can work or should i go and harvest now so i will have more benefit from the plants? Thank you so much for any tip you can give me!

[charlesModerator]

Hello Zuf, I wonder of your weather has been dry in Slovenia because I have found that this rust is more common when plants are low in moisture. Its too late to change anything now and I think that if the leaves are all brown, no more growth is happening and you may as well harvest the pods.

[bluebellParticipant]

Interestingly this year has been quite dry and having heard you mention the theory that rust is linked to low moisture levels I have been watering my garlic, every year to date I have had rust on it – this year nothing.

[StringfellowParticipant]

Hi Bluebell, good to hear that your garlic has grown rust free for once. Despite watering during dry patches, in an attempt to limit rust, mine suffered badly this year and I pulled them out about three weeks ago. Still obtained a good yield, just not quite as good as it may have been. Perhaps next year here in Yorkshire….

[bluebellParticipant]

Sorry to hear that Stringfellow. I now have the happy problem of not knowing when to lift my elephant garlic as previously it has always been dictated by the rust!

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