Allotments 4 All

Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: rover75 on June 17, 2006, 08:55:29

Title: mares tail
Post by: rover75 on June 17, 2006, 08:55:29

hi any one got any advice on the best cure for getting rid of mares tail many thanks.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: supersprout on June 17, 2006, 09:48:50

Oh poor you rover :'(
But you're not alone :D
Try this: http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,57/topic,555.0

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: timf on June 17, 2006, 16:41:26

if you have a wilkinsons near you they have a weed killer gell called deep root it totally eradic\tes the plant and the roots if you tel it go down to the roots
and it only 2.99 for a bottle

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: MrsKP on June 17, 2006, 16:56:53

the beds i'm tending for the absent neighbour is full of the stuff.  i usually have a theraputic half hour pinching off new shoots as i see them, but i know this isn't going anywhere toward getting rid.

these beds border onto a the other neighbours and they suffer terribly too, but not so keen on weeding, so whatever i didn, it wouldn't taken two minutes before it came back again anyway.

it's good as a nail strengthener and hair conditioner apparently so maybe it would be easier going into business than trying to eradicate.

 ;D

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Emagggie on June 17, 2006, 20:58:51

SS that was a very amusing thread....... ;D ;D ;D
 

We have Marestail in abundance on our plots. Rover, but all any of us seem to do is moan about it !!!! I think Mrskp's idea is best  ;D

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: ann hunter on June 17, 2006, 21:13:44

>:( >:( >:( >:( >:( :o :-\ >:( >:( >:(

I hate the retched stuff. have got a forest of the stuff growing and encroaching on EVERYTHING at the lotty. I simply cant keep up with the amount of round up I have resorted to using (which very much goes against the grain - but needs must) Getting thoroughly p****d off with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ann-Louise

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Emagggie on June 17, 2006, 21:18:56

Have you got dry hair and splitting nails, Anne-Louise?

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: ann hunter on June 17, 2006, 21:22:18

off subject - FOR SURE its the sun doing damage to hair while putting round up on the  weed -nails splitting biting them to see if the last application of round up has worked!!

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: sarahr on June 18, 2006, 00:01:25

I've got mares tail as well. It's a bloomin menace. Nothing I've tried works. :'(
I did read this article yesterday that said Amicide works but this is a very, very strong weedkiller, well killer actually. It will kill all plants dead. You can't plant for three months afterwards. It is the same stuff that is in the tree stump killer.
The article is here http://www.allotment.org.uk/articles/Weeds_and_What_to_do.php
There is also mention of amicide here
http://www.allotments-uk.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=476

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Gordon on June 18, 2006, 08:33:00

Hi All

I had a plot full of this horrible stuff i tried round up etc nothing seemed to shift it so i am now going to try root out which contains Ammonium Sulphamate which is supposed to eradicate this stubborn prehistoric plant.

Gordon

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: grawrc on June 18, 2006, 10:40:10

I have it too on the new plot. Currently I'm hoeing, since Roundup failed miserably, even after several applications. I've heard that Root-out works too.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: rover75 on June 18, 2006, 21:58:02

thanks guys !!!!!!!! I think :-\

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: djbrenton on June 18, 2006, 23:21:22

Root Out/Deep Root use the same active ingredient and will kill Mare's Tail. The downside is that it works out pretty expensive as a spray and takes a bed out of use for 3 months.
If you can get it through an allotment shop you'll pay around £6 a kilo which is a fraction of the shop price. Offhand I think you need something like 100g per sq mt. The problem is the same as Roundup in that Mare's Tail has very waxy leaves so it's best to break the surface of them to allow the product to penetrate.
If you don't want to take beds out of use, the best way is labour intensive. Make a thickish mix of Deep Root and walk on all the Mare's Tail ( or otherwise crush it) to break it's surface. Then paint the liquid on. If you do this periodically through the year you should pretty well get rid of it although generally it takes a couple of seasons. You'll also need to stop it creeping back from neighbouring gardens.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: grawrc on June 18, 2006, 23:44:38

Thanks DJ! My plot is the one it's creeping back from. I now know that it has been untended for 12 years - not 8 as I thought previously ::) Pete and i took on the plot (our second one) in February.

At the moment we are using a variety of treatments: Roundup - works for lots but not mare's tail (although I take on board what you are saying about the impenetrable leaves). This plant is a real survivor!!

Hoeing - temporary but efficient and weakens the root system - although I understand mare's tail can go 2-3 metres down so might have more resources than me. ;)

Bonfires - lasts for a month to 6 weeks then mare's tail and dock reappear.

Sodium chlorate along the boundary with the railway (about a metre's width - just to give us breathing space.)

On the positive side we have now cleared properly about a quarter of the plot and have potatoes, courgettes, runner beans and spring onions growing. 8)

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Gordon on July 23, 2006, 08:57:40

Hi Everyone

Having used ROOT-OUT I can verify that it actually kills Marestail/Horsetail I put this brilliant stuff on two weeks ago and the Horsetail is now dying back and turning brown and going brittle.

My first attempt didn't do anything but on my second application I walked all over the Horsetail to break and crush it then applied the ROOT-OUT as directed for brambles and it actually worked for now.

Gordon

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: telboy on July 23, 2006, 19:33:48

I reckon that you will win in the end!

Always think about 'cause & effect'. Why do you have this problem?

Poor drainage is one/heavy clay/deep layered strata.

Worry it to death? Works!

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Old Central on July 24, 2006, 11:41:43

I also suffer from this dreadful weed. Fortunately we are in a slightly drier part of the site and seem to suffer less, those the wetter areas of the site appear far worse off.

I have a programme of using Roundup and a paint brush, I paint the plant in both directions to maximise surface coverage. It has the same effect that Gordon described and after two weeks the plants crumble.

However, it is an ongoing battle as it is rooted in the underlying clay which we can't hope to clear and is present on adjacent plots.

OC

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Digger_07 on July 24, 2006, 20:54:19

I heard from an old boy that it thrives in acid ground.  Would it be possible to stop it reinvading a cleared plot by digging in lime round the edge ???
I know this might affect some of the crops but Oh to be clear of the wretched Mares tail ;)

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: saddad on July 24, 2006, 23:52:16

It thrives on neglected plots / poor soil hoe it, feed it, work it... it won't go away... those deep roots but will be less prevalent. Horse tail (Mares tail is an aquatic!) but we all know what we are talking about...
 ???

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: SMP1704 on July 25, 2006, 09:15:30

My 06/07 masterplan to deal with the evil weed is this:-

As beds become vacant, allow the HT to grow then apply Root-out - I think at least two applications between now and September.

Dig the whole plot with a spade  :o- used a fork before and so missed half the roots - but now I know what I am looking for >:(

Cover the whole plot in black plastic/fabric and plant through it.

For root crops make a couple of extra raised beds and add top soil over the membrane.

I know that this won't make it go away, but it should put a dent in plans for world domination.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Curryandchips on July 25, 2006, 09:54:28

I am one to agree with the grawrc approach - ie weeding. The trick though is to hoe consistently, so as new shoots come through they are constantly hacked back. In view of the amount of effort required, it might be prudent to concentrate on a small area at a time. Once the bulk of the marestail is removed, it becomes easier to manage.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: grawrc on July 25, 2006, 10:14:54

Before we went on holiday for 2 weeks I had cleared both plots but came back to foot high thistles and rampant growth of everything except what I had planted. One positive was that the chickweed etc around the Frewnch beans had acted like a mulch and kept them from drying out.


Still weeding! Booho! :-[ :-[

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Emagggie on July 25, 2006, 22:21:02

Just purchased- at great expense-, a container of Round Up Industrial strength to treat yet another nasty case of Japanese Knotweed on my drive at home. It says in the destructions that it will not give an acceptable control of horsetail!and there was I thinking it would kill everything in sight. :(  Oh well, back to the drawing board (or hoe)

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Curryandchips on July 26, 2006, 09:01:01

My neighbour used roundup diluted to triple strength and applied using a small hand sprayer to the marestail in amongst his gooseberry bushes. The result was very impressive, his bushes are now free of marestail.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Emagggie on July 26, 2006, 09:25:35

There is hope then  ;D

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Old Central on July 26, 2006, 09:57:51

Double checked last night and my marestail resides in a slightly acid soil on a clay base, so Digger's old boy may be correct.

Are these conditions similar with others?

OC
PS Japanese knotweed (JKW) now appears to have an industrial strength solution judging by some railway embankments I saw recently. Emaggie it might be worth a check with a specialist.

Title: Re: mares tail
Post by: Curryandchips on July 26, 2006, 10:03:25

However you end up dealing with marestail, it is a slow and arduous journey ...