Topic: Grass clippings & horse tail

[Stripeybea]

Hi all

Just wondering.......we have horse tail in the garden, if I take the grass clippings up to the allotment to put on the compost heap, do I run the risk of taking the pesky stuff up as well and it taking root?  ???

Bea

[calendula]

I would say only when it is seeding but people get maniacal about this stuff, heaven knows why but if you compost well shouldn't be a problem

[lincsyokel2]

I would say only when it is seeding but people get maniacal about this stuff, heaven knows why but if you compost well shouldn't be a problem

Cos its such a  b****r to kill. Legend has it the roots of Mares Tails hang out of the roof of Hell. The only sure way to kill it is bruise it with a hammer and then spray it with neat Roundup.

[Borlotti]

I wouldn't risk it, have been digging it up today at the allotment, and I am sure you would not be popular if you introduced it to your allotment site.  I used to dream about it but have learnt to live with it, it does seem a bit better this year, but don't think it has really got started yet.

[Tonythegardener]

That's a good one lincsyokel2.  I always said they found roots of mare's tail in coal mines. 

While I would not Knowingly put any on my compost heap, I have never seen it grow whenever I have inadvertently put it on my heap.  I don't think you need to worry.  If your compost heap is maintained properly then it should rot down with the lawn mowings. 

[cornykev]

Personly I wouldn't put marestail on the compost, I have a fair bit on site normaly it doesn't stop me gardening, I actually saw my first bit for the season yesterday when I was looking under my brassica netting and thought here it comes.   :-\

[tomatoada]

I just would not risk it.

[wetandcold]

If you really wanted to compot it I suppose you could leave it to dry out inthe sun for a week or two before putting it on the heap. I expect that the risk of contamination then would be very minimal indeed. May as well try and get some benefit from the stuff!

[pumkinlover]

I have no experience with horsetail but i have composted other nasties like Japanese knotweed because it is illegal to move it off site.
The way I did it was by putting into black bags for several years, and if you smaller amounts put in a bucket to make a feed tea when its totally broken down.
If you think the black bags will be too bulky to store the contents soon become so much smaller.

[calendula]

the trouble is humans want to kill everything and anything they don't like - it does have its uses and there are worse things in life - if it likes your plot it will grow anyway  :D but you will choose what you feel is best no doubt

[antipodes]

The black bin bag method works very well. But it is a bit unsightly. I bin up the weeds, close them tightly in a black bag then leave them in full sun for at least a fortnight, after that you can safely put the bag in a corner of the shed and forget about it. I did that and recently cleared out my shed (yes it was that bad) and found some black bags, lo and behold in side them was just a whole lot of crumbly black composty type stuff. It's impossible for anything to be alive in there. I dug it into the carrot bed and nothing strange has come up (but i do have carrot seedlings for the first time ever! hooray!).  Or you can chuck it into the compost again and let it mingle into the rest for a few months more.

[Stripeybea]

Thanks folks!

Think I'll err on the side of caution and not compost it. 

Am sure the stuff is an alien life form and will continue it's plan for world dominance, the allotment being next on its list.

Its my first compost bin/heap so probably better if I stick to novice rotting stuff  ;D

Bea