Author Topic: Marestail in my Garden now! (Read 5257 times)

Emagggie · « **on:** July 03, 2011, 09:55:06 »

Well the worst has happened...we have a council plant nursery at the end of our garden, this area is used for storage of wood, stones etc. Now it is well and truly infested with the dreaded Marestail and it has spread to my back border, then under the shed and into the next border with great rapidity. I dread to think where it will pop up next. I can't see the point of killing (ha ha) it, as it will just come again.
I am seriously considering moving. I can't see how the council will be able to kill it, even if I ask them to. So depressing, just as we'd got the garden looking it's best ever.
Good job I haven't got hair at the mo, I'd have pulled it out by now!

Ellen K · « **Reply #1 on:** July 03, 2011, 12:01:28 »

I feel your pain - at home I finally lost the war and now have Japanese Knotweed from a neighbour who grew it up the side of her house for a decade.

Grrrr.

Emagggie · « **Reply #2 on:** July 03, 2011, 12:58:54 »

Bummer DV. >:( We had that too but I seem to have won that battle with Glyphosate applied neat and direct to each stem as it appeared. It took at least 5 years though.
The nursery has it too, but they just strim it down occasionally ::) I 'm sure they don't realise what it is! Thank goodness it's not near me. :o

redcoat · « **Reply #3 on:** July 03, 2011, 13:43:45 »

I have the dreaded marestail on the lottie and am really worried about bringing it home to the garden.

I have a separate set of tools and keep a pair of shoes in the lottie shed. This is my first year with this plot and have begun to wonder if there are any precautions I should take when begining to harvest; particularly roots, leeks etc that have been in the ground and possibly will come home with some soil. I understand that marestail spreads by spores as well as by roots, will these get onto the veg? Should I be careful about what goes into the compost bin at home?

Does this sound paranoid? I couldn't bear it if the marestail got home.

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #4 on:** July 03, 2011, 14:10:11 »

Spores can only germinate in damp conditions, so no need to get paranoid! However tough the stuff is once it gets started, it's pretty delicate as it begins to grow.

CDave · « **Reply #5 on:** July 03, 2011, 17:34:06 »

Well we all seem to get hot under the collar at the sight of marestail. It is invasive and really hard to eradicate. But it can be done. Dig, Dig, Dig at first sight of it. Bruise the stems (they seem to be waterproof - sure the have a form of silica in them), mix weedkiller with wallpaper paste and paint onto bruised stems. Bit of a pain but it does work. Hard work too but its not the end of the world. Think a sense of perspective helps too. My plot had loads of the stuff - mostly, but not completely gone now. I dug out 6 strands from a bed this morning. But hey-ho - better than the barrow loads that I dug out at first. PS - not sure it hurts and plants either?

redcoat · « **Reply #6 on:** July 03, 2011, 20:46:46 »

Having inherited the problem at my lottie, I am pretty pragmatic about it. Dug it all over once, and am spot digging with a trowel where stuff isn't too crowded. Will think about weedkiller next year.

I just don't want to create another problem by bringing it home.

Emagggie · « **Reply #7 on:** July 03, 2011, 21:35:46 »

As I look over the fence, their problem is massive compared to mine, but mine will be too if I let it continue. I can treat what has grown on my side, but however diligent I am it wont make an iota of difference. It can only continue to creep through. I have decided to pay the manager a visit tomorrow, taking the husband with me. (he has an issue with a monstrous conifer of theirs, but on the borders of our garden that needs attention) All in all, they are a pain in the anus. For supposed professionals they are sadly lacking.

lincsyokel2 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 03, 2011, 21:47:59 »

Quote from: Emagggie on July 03, 2011, 21:35:46

As I look over the fence, their problem is massive compared to mine, but mine will be too if I let it continue. I can treat what has grown on my side, but however diligent I am it wont make an iota of difference. It can only continue to creep through. I have decided to pay the manager a visit tomorrow, taking the husband with me. (he has an issue with a monstrous conifer of theirs, but on the borders of our garden that needs attention) All in all, they are a pain in the anus. For supposed professionals they are sadly lacking.

The quickest way to kill a conifer is to hammer a copper or brass bar/nail into the base into the heartwood. It inhibits the sap flow because the copper sets up an adverse electric potential and the tree dies fairly quickly. Its also fairly hard to detect................

cacran · « **Reply #9 on:** July 03, 2011, 23:00:05 »

My next door allotment has loads of marestail. Now it has started coming into my plot. I intent to pull every shoot up as and when it appears. Will this do the trick. I have bind weed coming into mine from both sides too. I have been battling with it for years. I will be sick if any of them take over my plot!

lincsyokel2 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 03, 2011, 23:59:24 »

Quote from: cacran on July 03, 2011, 23:00:05

My next door allotment has loads of marestail. Now it has started coming into my plot. I intent to pull every shoot up as and when it appears. Will this do the trick. I have bind weed coming into mine from both sides too. I have been battling with it for years. I will be sick if any of them take over my plot!

You coudl try digging a trench, that will keep couch grass at bay but marestails comes from deep down. Bind weed can reach 18 feet, no matter what you do.

brownowl23 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 04, 2011, 08:02:11 »

18ft for bindweed :o Ive got no hope of getting rif them, im not diggin down thta far!

Well adctually if MIL annoys me any more an 18ft hole could be useful ::)

lincsyokel2 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 04, 2011, 08:23:51 »

Quote from: brownowl23 on July 04, 2011, 08:02:11

18ft for bindweed :o Ive got no hope of getting rif them, im not diggin down thta far!

Well adctually if MIL annoys me any more an 18ft hole could be useful ::)

Thats a whole new topic - 'can you compost MIL's ' :P

redcoat · « **Reply #13 on:** July 04, 2011, 09:23:56 »

[/quote]

Thats a whole new topic - 'can you compost MIL's ' :P
[/quote]

Well, that's what I've asked for when I go. Paying for a half plot at the lottie has to be cheaper than the graveyard these days. Not sure how seriously my Christian daughter and husband are taking me though........

davyw1 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 04, 2011, 20:58:46 »

Mare Tail is just another one of them things you have live with you wont beat it, you will knock it back but it will return. I have been trying since errr well i know you could not get sliced bread then and no matter what method i have used it still shows it ugly tail.

busy_lizzie · « **Reply #15 on:** July 05, 2011, 00:54:41 »

We had quite a lot of marestails at our lottie when we got it eight years ago, but over the years have just dug it out and dug it out, and we have it under control now. It still crops up in places every year, but I dig it out as it comes and it isn't a problem with us now. I think that is all you can do just keep it under control. busy_lizzie

cambourne7 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 05, 2011, 19:51:34 »

We had it in the garden at the old house which is why i could not take any plants with me i did have it under control i bashed it with a hammer to break the outside shell and painted on roundup it did work :) But you had to do it regularly ;(

gwynnethmary · « **Reply #17 on:** July 14, 2011, 22:20:08 »

Quote from: cacran on July 03, 2011, 23:00:05

My next door allotment has loads of marestail. Now it has started coming into my plot. I intent to pull every shoot up as and when it appears. Will this do the trick. I have bind weed coming into mine from both sides too. I have been battling with it for years. I will be sick if any of them take over my plot!

I tackled bindweed by wearing normal gloves on top of rubber gloves, soaking my hands in weedkiller, then stroking the foliage , which I had tied to a tall cane, from top to bottom. It worked well!

Emagggie · « **Reply #18 on:** July 14, 2011, 22:38:57 »

An easier way is to gather a clutch of bindweed together, having put some weedkiller in a sandwich bag and a rubber band on your wrist, stuff the bindweed into the bag and fasten the band around the opening.Massage the weed killer into the bindweed from the outside of the bag. This stops any contact with pets etc.

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Author Topic: Marestail in my Garden now! (Read 5257 times)