Hi all, well this allotment I have taken on is smothered with mares tail, we have dug the area by hand and also put in all raised beds, but we cannot stop this stuff coming back, one person said don't let it see two Sundays, but have not found that working, there must be something out there that we can control this evasive weed, please your help would be gratefully received.
Go to 'SEARCH',
Lot's of info. there.
Hi Roy
We have a problem with Mares Tail on one half of our plot
the only thing that seems to work for us is Deep Root
turns it to dust.
but it would cost a fortune to keep using it also cant use
it where crops are growing.
So our approach is as soon as you see it coming up pull it
up, read somewhere that this will weaken it and it will give
up in the end, but i think ill be welll in my grave befor that happens
Bill............
I reckon it is one of those things that once you have it all you can do is tug it up as you see it... one good thing is how easy it pulls out... I find it quite therapeutic really.
We had a new guy come on and take over a plot absolutely stuffed full of the stuff a few years ago. He dug down about 5 feet and absolutely took every piece of root out that he could find... spent weeks doing it.
Sadly he died the following year (nothing to do with the mares tail, although digging it up won't have helped!)
Plot stayed empty for 9 months or so and the next person to take it on, had mares tail exactly as thick as before, so forget about trying to destroy it. Anyway my "knower of all things green" Arthur says it is one of the oldest weeds and has a veeeerrry deep root system, so we have to live side by side with it and admire it for its strength! Not sure about that but I will continue to get my exercise by yanking it up!
Lin
It's a pest on my plot too. Strangely it doesn't seem to have spread to the plots in front, but all I do is yank up what is obvious. Nothing seems to kill it. Indeed, I understand it is prehistoric, so if it has survived this long there is no hope. ::)
I did see it advertised in the Telegraph some months ago as a garden plant..... someone was having a joke I think. :o
I had an allotment with this weed and because my time is limited I moved to another site. The man who took over is managing to control it but it does take a lot of extra work. Sorry to sound so pessimistic.
It's not the end of the world, though. Crops still seem to grow ok. ;D
The oldies on my lottie told me its impossible to get rid of, :( but at the same time it does no harm :-\ like other weeds that have loads of roots. I've dug down and pulled out foot long mt but they are snapping off then, old Sid my next plot neighbour says it doesn't go straight down it zig zags everywhere thats why you can't get rid of it. I fill an old compost bag with them and burn on bonfire night, someone on here said keep hoeing the tops off and it will give up but I'm not sure about that, I think the needles might come off and regrow but what do I know. ;D ;D ;D
Found this on the web - not sure if it helps...I have mare's tail too apparently, poop!
Horsetail or Marestail
( Equisetum arvense )
This is one of the most difficult weeds to eradicate in the garden situation. Once spotted to is important to go to work immediately to eradicate it. A perennial weed which grows in a wide variety of places from, boggy ground to sand dunes. It has two types of growth, in spring brown asparagus-like shoots appear with cones at the tips and these produce spores. Later the more familiar thin green, branched stems appear and these remain until the winter. Both are produced from creeping underground rhizomes, which go down about 1.5 metres.
It is resistant to most weedkillers, but Glyphosate may have some success after repeated treatment. The GardenAdvice team has had some success by crushing the stems to break the waxy surface and then applying Glyphosate in the form of round up with a small paintbrush. Glyphosate has the advantage of keeping the plant alive whilst the chemical travels from one cell to another in the plant before killing it. Persistent applications will kill it after 5 months.
I inherited a plot with mares tail on it, initialy I dug out every piece I could find when it started to reappear I had a five litre spray of deep root ready and spot treated it every time it showed its face, if any appeared next to growing veg I put my foot on it and bent it away then sprayed it, keep harassing the weed and eventually you will get rid of it, spray it,burn it, pull it it is not invincible.
I went to the lottie today and pulled up lots more, I will be keeping a close eye on the dreaded mare. :( :'( :'( ;D ;D ;D
Thanks to all, I will continue to attack it as soon as I see it coming through, as you say it does not harm the crops.