Has anyone any idea how to get rid of horsetail it is rampant in this garden where we have moved to :o driving us mad its an everyday job so time consuming, it has taken over in the greenhouse :o :o.
We thought we would put the old carpets we are replacing in the greenouse to smother it would it be any good?.
Any help would be much appreciated.
It was rampant on our plot last year especially under the raspberries. I just kept getting the hoe under them & then in early late March this year we put a thick layer of manure over the plot & we haven't seen anywhere near as much so far. I don't think it likes the dark.
Someone on daughters plot had a bed of it & I noticed this week he has sprayed & it seems to have gone brown. I could ask him what he's used, I don't know how you feel about spraying?
It's all over our site with some areas worse than others.
I pull it up but you never get the whole root and any bit that's left will grow again.
Grannyjanny - I'd be interested to know what spray was used please.
not carpets rosebud,youre only storing up trouble for years to come,once stuff grows through them,they are a right pain to lift,and banned by our council for that reason,good luck with the mares tail/horsetail...im guessing these are both the same thing?
The plot we took over had been covered with black plastic and carpet for 4 years. We were told there had been a problem with mare's tail, and so we knew what to look out for. When we dug it over we tried to remove every tiny bit of root, but we still have it popping up in the beds, although we are determined to pull every bit out! I think it's one of those weeds that is almost impossible to completely eradicate, but it can be kept under control with attention to detail and patience! I have to say that we are very tidy- we only have a third of a plot and so it's fairly easy for us to keep on top of things- not so easy for people with a full plot that is weedy when taken over- ours just looked like virgin earth in January when everything was uncovered and we started to dig the beds.
I think it's one of those plants you just have to keep pulling bits up of, whenever you can, and slowly little by little it will weaken and be less of a problem. But you might never get rid of all of it.
From what I've seen of others' plots, applying weedkiller looks more trouble than pulling it up - it needs many applications and still keeps coming back.
As long as it's down to manageable proportions then it's... manageable!
A hoe!
As soon as it appears don't let it get above 1" high hoe it and it will eventually weaken and die!
Covering it doesn't seem to do the trick apparently it has been seen growing in coal mines so if this is true then covering is indeed a waste of time.
Thank you all for your input . It seems we are stuck with pulling it out every day :o :o. Goodness me. Yes Tee Gee i shall hoe it each time i see it which is evry 2 mins ;D ;D ::) ::).
The only consolation is that if its root is way way down then it isn't taking any nutrients from the top soil
I thought I got rid of ours. Later it popped up again and I realized it had also grown into the lawn then shoved its way back
into the flower bed.
I thought I got rid of it a second time and jubilated about my persistence. Two years later found it had gone around the corner of the house and into another bed. I've quit being bothered and accept coexistence.
Quoteaccept coexistence
A sensible philosophy!
The allotment Keepers NIGHTMARE if its there its there 4 good. Just Hoe as soon as visable and you can keep it under control. Not easy and will take up alot of your time but be persistsant and it can be kept under control.
As mentioned if you cover it will just wait for you 2 remove cover and pop up within in days.
Good Luck
It's not there for good now. SBK does the job although it doesn't say that on the container but can assure you it works.
Two plot holders have used it on our site and fingers crossed no sign of it coming back for the past two years now.
Does lime discourage it? I remember that it used to grow on the sandstone layer under the chalk of the north downs.
Quote from: Sinbad7 on July 16, 2010, 18:52:57
It's not there for good now. SBK does the job although it doesn't say that on the container but can assure you it works.
Two plot holders have used it on our site and fingers crossed no sign of it coming back for the past two years now.
If this works i am forever in your debt lol
i will try this over the weekend....
palmski, I promise it will work.
Hi
Two really thick questions What is SBK and where can you buy it?
X Chas
Quote from: luckycharlie on July 16, 2010, 19:48:43
Hi
Two really thick questions What is SBK and where can you buy it?
X Chas
SBK is a Killer for tree stumps or bramble like pests very useful in small amounts for other unwanted weeds.
Most good gardening stores or the trusty internet.
Not sure if this is consolation or not. But according to folklore/country medicine then horsetail or marestail infusion/teas are good for the treatment of urinary tract problems such as cystitis, incontinence and prostate problems, it is also rich in silica (which is the bit that makes it resistant to most weedkillers) so also good for brittle nails, thinning hair and allergies. Applied as a poultice it is good for rhuematism, chilblains and other skin problems.
So if you are incontinent, balding with bad skin you really shold be thanking the heavens that your plot is blessed with it................ :-\
I heard that the roots go down 5 feet. It was on the plots that were one side of the centre road at our lotties and was gradually moving further south all the time, fortunately not on our side of the road. Some plots had been abandoned to it.XX Jeannine
Quote from: Jeannine on July 16, 2010, 20:22:40
I heard that the roots go down 5 feet.
That is a baby plant. When we were looking for the sewerage pipe in our previous garden we followed a root down over 3 metres and it was still going down when we stopped. (Never did find the sewer either). There are roots in a limestone quarry in Derbyshire which go down over 30 feet!
Quote from: Jeannine on July 16, 2010, 20:22:40
I heard that the roots go down 5 feet. It was on the plots that were one side of the centre road at our lotties and was gradually moving further south all the time, fortunately not on our side of the road. Some plots had been abandoned to it.XX Jeannine
5 Feet we wish i have heard stories of our little friend some 5 meters below our pride of joy....
Thankyou palmski,
X Chas
We had a friend that worked on the road works and he said that they had to make a tunnel through a hill and it was even down there at that level
must be awful to be hated that much ;D does have its uses, is a natural fungicide - often comes in with manure but then so does a lot of unwanted items - I just snap it off all the time and I get loads of it
It probably depends on where the water table is. I've seen dandelion roots that were still going strong at eight feet, but that was a few years from the edge of a quarry. On my plot, I can dig them out easily. I've heard some tales of horsetail roots though! They've been around since long before the dinosaurs, survived ecological disasters which make global warming look like a joke, and you can expect them to be tough!