Topic: Horses tail

[springbok]

HELP :(  My whole garden is springing up with them everywhere, including my vegetable garden.
How do I get rid of them, as they are not easy to pull up!!.

Any suggestions?  x

[betula]

Quite simple......you will not win with

 this baby.

Just keep doing the best you can  :(

[pigeonseed]

Quite simple......you will not win with this baby.

;D ;D

Yes it's been around since before the dinosaurs, so perhaps we're quite insignificant to it!

My neighbour at the allotment is outraged by it and bathes it in weedkiller, and it's still all over. So I just pull it up when I see it, in the hope it will keep it under control. What can you do?  ::)

[ipt8]

Sorry to hear that you have this weed. I have yet to hear of anyone getting rid of it.  >:(

Try bruising, crushing it and treating with a stump treatment strength application of Roundup (Glysophate). That is usually 20% Roundup mixed with water.

My daughter eventually used raised beds lined to try and keep it out.

[kt.]

Its a never ending task to keep on top of it.  Probably increases the workload on my plot by 25% if not more.  Anybody who can develop something to kill it off would be a millionaire over night.  (That would probably be a quicker task ;D ;D)

[OllieC]

There is a weedkiller for it but it's for commercial use & requires something like 1 year until you can use the ground again. Nice stuff! We just live with it, pulling out what we can when we can... Doesn't seem to do much harm.

[grawrc]

It has a protective coating which means it does not absorb weedkiller unless you break the surface as ipt8 suggests. It can then be killed by weedkiller but it does take a long time and several applications. The roots go down forever. You have to be persistent and very determined. It's one of the great survivors.

[Robert_Brenchley]

It survived the Great Permian Extinction and the extinction of the dinosaurs. That's two of the greatest environmental disasters in the Earth's history. What makes you think it's going to blink at the odd bit of weedkiller?

[sazhig]

Garden Organic have some info on it here:
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=10

They also have a factsheet on it which you can buy or have free access to here if you are a member:
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/wc1.php

[gaz2000]

i have mares tail but not much of it now,compared to other plots atleast

i dont use a rotavator so get to see whats in the soil,and i can spot mares tail roots very easy so remove any strand i find

its a green honeycomb structure inside the black root,and even if i find a piece that is dry and not active i remove as it can re-shoot very easy.

i still get it on my paths,even a few strands on the plot,but by removing the roots each year i have half won the battle

[cornykev]

As others have said pull it as you go, if its kept under control marestail doesn't bother my plants, but then if the plots covered with it that may be a different matter.  :'(     :-\       ;D ;D ;D

[Tee Gee]

I found regular hoeing eventually* gets rid of the problem.

* can equal many years.

There is another bit of info here;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Mares%20tail/Mares%20tail.htm

[ipt8]

Just to look on the bright side it is rumoured that miners often found the roots down mines so you kind of get the idea how deep its roots go......