Allotments 4 All

This stuff is everywhere, I'm trying to get roots out but it snaps so easily it's giving me nightmares!!

It looks like horsetail to me.

G x

I agree, it does look like horsetail :(

One of the horsetails. This stuff is truly evil, but fortunately you can live with it; it won't swamp everything. You do need to keep it down as far as you can though.

I had a feeling it might be.  I've discovered that and bindweed this year, neither of which were apparent when I took it on last year  :'(  Oh well, more digging for me.....

I have suffered the dreaded Horsetail (it's deffo that) for 3 years now. I dig up what is in my way and more or less ignore the rest. Nowt else to be done really. Even if you dig it up more will appear. Have the plots either side of you got it ? If so all efforts you put into getting rid are pretty useless really. It's harmless enough, just ignore it. Dig up what annoys you if you must but don't worry about it. ;) (just don't use a cultivator)

It is worse on poor plots... it is a survivor from the Jurrasic age... but can't compete with flowering plants on better soil. Enrich the soil with as much muck and compost as you can and your plants will make it more or less dormant...
;D

It tolerates my other plants, dad! Once a week, I walk around & pick off all the bits I see... & keep them separate. It doesn't like hoeing, it loves weed suppressant membrane. Roundup doesn't kill it despite it's claims so don't bother with that. But you can work around it. Oh, and it doesn't spread too much after about now (although it still pops up where it's already made an appearance - and it'll have another burst next spring.

My plot (which I've only had 5 months) has one big bed which is totally covered in this too. I'd heard it was one of the most dreaded weeds (even grows down the mines according to one lotty neighbour!).

I've also read that weedkillers won't have much effect as its waxy leaves won't let the stuff penetrate it - but what about a flame gun - can it be burnt off??
???

Yep we have 2 plots full of it :(
We are hoeing it off, pulling it up and digging it out as much as possible, one thing that does work is a plant pot with the base cut out and a treatment of Root out !!! its the only weed killer that will kill it !
Im told it makes great pan scourers  ;D

It contains silica crystals so it was indeed used as a pot scourer. My father had it all over the wet end of his plot; he dug it once a year, and ignored the stuff otherwise. I don't remember that it did any harm.

could be called nightmares tail  ;D

but I don't know why people get so fussed about it - snaps off easily, harder to dig up, lots of silica as Robert says and a natural fungicide, will grow anywhere and apparently having a good year this year

I just snap mine off and forget about it

There are ways of lessening the effect of the weed , although I don't think it competes with your crop much, more untidy than anything.
I will have to swear in this sentence, sorry. But one of the best ways is to [spoiler]double dig[/spoiler] and take out all of the root you can find. Unfortunatley a lot of the 'something for nothing' brigade are taking on allotments to use the no dig method. After they fail to grow anything they give up and somebody else has the unenviable task of getting the allotment up to scratch again.

Even the peasant on his land in the third world countries know that you have to dig the soil to plant and get rid of all the nasties he doesn't want. But as we can just pop down the supermarket when it all goes tits up. The peasant would starve.

Anyway regular digging and hoeing will get rid of alot of it and sort the other weeds out as well

Glyphosate will eventually have an effect on marestail/horsetail but you will need to apply several times.

Crushing/bruising the plant will help to absorb the weedkiller.

Quote from: ACE on May 19, 2008, 08:57:09
There are ways of lessening the effect of the weed , although I don't think it competes with your crop much, more untidy than anything.
I will have to swear in this sentence, sorry. But one of the best ways is to [spoiler]double dig[/spoiler] and take out all of the root you can find. Unfortunatley a lot of the 'something for nothing' brigade are taking on allotments to use the no dig method. After they fail to grow anything they give up and somebody else has the unenviable task of getting the allotment up to scratch again.

Even the peasant on his land in the third world countries know that you have to dig the soil to plant and get rid of all the nasties he doesn't want. But as we can just pop down the supermarket when it all goes tits up. The peasant would starve.

Anyway regular digging and hoeing will get rid of alot of it and sort the other weeds out as well

Speaking as a 'Something from Nothing' brigade member :D. There are certain times when even I have to dig ;) Docks, Bindweed, Brambles and Horsetail. Anything tenaciously perennial is better out than fighting forever with it. Only certain perennials will succumb to excluding light-like couch or nettles.

Other no diggers may have a different view, we all have our little ways that work for us ;)

as another 'minimum cultivator' type gardener, I occasionally have to dig out dock,  thistles, dandelions, raspberries. Marestail I can tolerate, just collect and soak, then use as a fungicide (preventative). ;)

I dig weeds out all the time, and sometimes crops. I never dig without a specific reason though.

Yep - definitely Horsetail. When i took my plot on this year, that was previously just in a field i found a lot of thick black roots in the ground - thats Horsetail, as i found out from people on this site.  Every spadeful has some in. I have double dug my beds - ouch my back hurts - and none have sprouted in the beds, although i reckon its only a matter of time. it's highly toxic to cattle and horses i believe...

From what i've read, whatever you do, don't rotovate if you have horsetail - you'll just multiply it. Every 10cms along the roots there is a little star shaped bit - each bit will form a new plant!! The roots go a long way down - i found them about 2 foot down and have read that they can go several metres. Also, i believe it likes wet, clay and uncultivated land - digging weakens it.

Quote from: OllieC on May 18, 2008, 22:08:52It doesn't like hoeing, it loves weed suppressant membrane.

It likes the weed suppressent membrane!  Argghhh - that's my paths covered in woodchip.....

It's all been dug over so many times I've lost count lol - I think however that the council rotavating has probably done the damage.  I'm just clearing it as I go along and that'll have to do.  It's the couch grass I'm waging war on now!