TEE GEE

[rosebud]

 Can you help please , do you know of a weedkiller that would kill off  MARES TAIL the garden we moved to last year has so much we would like to treat it before we plant up the veggie plot .
Thank you. ;D

[rosebud]

[landimad]

Try this from a while back.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=555.0

[Tee Gee]

I think before I mentioned SBK but that remains in the ground for around 6 months so I would go for a glyphosate based fertiliser.


If you do a google search you will find all sorts of scaremongering going on about it .

In my book who do you believe  ???

I think like most things if used properly and  in moderation it is a means to an end and thats good enough for me.

I don't want to appear to be complacent but when you think my parents and grandparents used paraquat and DDT and the fact that I am still here, suggests it can't be all bad!





Extract from my revised website;

Mare's Tail or Pipeweed - equisetum arvense

This particular weed has been around since pre-historic times and according to fossilised remains it is a constituent part of coal

It is formed from an underground rhizome, and can be found most anywhere, and in all types of soil.

The creeping rhizomes can reach 2m (6ft) or more into the soil.

Once established,these roots are usually too deep to dig out, thus making it difficult to control.

If when digging these roots out the stems breaks off, the part remaining, will readily regrow in the same way as most rhizomous plants do e.g. couch grass.


In late spring light brown stems appear, which later are covered in green needle like leaves these are topped off with a cone-like head, it is this head that produces the reproductive spores.


Chemical control;

Branded chemical controls containing; Dichlobenil,Glyphosate, Glufosinate, and / or Ammonium sulphamate will help to eradicate the weed.



A few do's and don'ts;

Apply with care as these herbicides are non-selective and may kill off adjacent plants.

Always use according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Apply dichlobenil based products in early spring, this hopefully, will kill off new growth.

Apply glyphosate, glufosinate or ammonium sulphamate based products in late summer when weed growth is rampant.

Prior to application of all herbicides, trample on plants to bruise the cuticle, this will help with herbicide penetration.

Further applications may be required later in the season or the following year.



Non-chemical control;

Digging it out is virtually impossible, as mentioned above any pieces left will regrow.

Having said that reasonable results can be achieved over two or three years if the young shoots are hoed off as they appear.

This tends to weaken the plant and it eventually dies off.

Growing demanding plants can sometimes help.

They have insignificant leaves and do not compete well in shade produced by vigorously growing crops, e.g.potatoes.

Although they can be found in most types of soil they succeed less in very rich fertile soils so improving the soil and constant hoeing may kill it off.

[rosebud]

 Tee Gee, thank you very much for your reply, a lot of information there. much appreciated.

[daitheplant]

TEE GEE, in my opinion Glyphosate is another tool in the gardeners armoury. ;D

[sunloving]

Trampling the mares tail before the weedkiller goes on seems to help.
But you cant beat a good dig over and removal of all the roots every year until its diminished and covering any ground that isnt under cultivation with weedproof fabric.

good luck
x sunloving

[daitheplant]

People say, bruise the weed before applying weedkiller, but if the tissue is damaged how does it ABSORB the chemical? I think not.