Allotments 4 All

Its that time of year when the dreaded Mars-tail starts to appear, does anyone have any ideas on how to rid this pest from my plot ???

We have it on our plot, when I see it & get the hoe or trowel & take it out as far below ground as I can get. We don't use chemicals at all.

Thats what we have done for the last 6 or 7 years but it seems to get worse each year, just hoping there is some way we can reduce the amount of time we spend fighting with the mares-tail.

Perharps you need to 'give up' and learn to live with it.. ::)..it's not easily done, but maybe just keeping it down will do?..and if you still end up with plentiful crops..wouldn't that be enough?

Does anybody know how it spreads?
There is not on our site, but there is plenty coming up through the pavements nearby.

We have it on our site to, Its really not  to bad on on my plot when I see any bits spring up I just chop it off.But the plot holders that rotavate and oh boy do some of them rotavate bl@@dy stuff is everywhere.

our whole site is covered in it, it usually appears early May, but it was out in force the end of March this year, just thought if anyone had any ideas I could spend my time on more enjoyable things with at the allotment.

I think this weed spreads with its roots that run deep and they are black, a horrible weed to get rid off, witch I don't think you can,if there is a chemical out there that dose kill it I'd use it ,I wouldn't normaly but it's a monster :(

Someone on our site got rid of it but his chemical collection is huge. A sort of 'pill for every ill' type of person.

a couple of plot holders used kibosh last year, they used it on areas they were not cultivating, it did kill it but it seems to have come back just as strong this year.

Have been told kurtail/kobosh gets rid of it but haven't tried it.

We have it in a corner of our site.

Quote from: Chrispy on April 13, 2012, 07:45:42
Does anybody know how it spreads?
There is not on our site, but there is plenty coming up through the pavements nearby.

If your site has been "improved" over the years it will be lurking under the surface... it prefers poor soil/conditions as it can prosper without the competition from softer plants like grasses!  :-\

iv at war with it and use kurtail weed kill from www.progreen.com mix it with vinegar and washing up liquid..this is my 3 year and am getting less of it,,,keep a look out for the gray/wight stems coming up cover them and pull the up ,,,burn it all ...   

Ahh - Mares Tail.  I remember it well.  I got rid of it.....I moved house and allotment.

Seriously I battled with it on my last allotment for 20 years and lost.  I think you just have to live with it.  Hoeing off regularly kept it manageable. 

My last allotment was by the side of a cemetry and the grave diggers said they could still see the roots going down after 2 metres.   :(

the plant is waxy so bruis the plant, this lets in the weed killer-then paint with a mix of parafin and round up  = parts
i am told this works but not tried it as i dont av any to try it on....thank god!!

I have taken a new allotment and it has been coming up the last few weeks. The first signs were the spore heads. It lurks in an established raspberry bed and that is a task for the autumn: to lift the new suckers to a fresh bed and attempt to clear perennial weeds from the old bed.
I'm finding that if I loosen the area around a new stem with a spade one can extract a 6 to 8 inch root of it. I know it has plenty of reserves so more will come up but I am taking more than just the top growth for it to replace. I chuck the stems on an old dustbin lid to dry out and its filling up nicely. I expect I will keep you informed as my frustration level rises!

This must be the most discussed weed on the forum, i think its more popular than veg.
Mares tail is just one of those weeds you have to live with because you wont ever beat it you may knock it back but it will return.
As the roots have been found in shallow cast mines you wont ever dig them all out and no weedkiller will travel far enough down the root to totaly kill it.

Does anyone know if it is edible? It might taste of Samphire or asparagus.
What a bonus if it did. It could feed nations.

Gave up half my allotment 3 seasons ago.  New tenants thought it would be jolly to grow their own veg.  I think they have been down to it 5 times this year.  Now i have a miniture Sherwood forest of Mares tail next to me.  I make a fortune from guided forest walks, telling everybody to pick-their-own :D :D :D :D ;)

No experience with it just a bit of googling 

Horsetail rhizomes have been found several metres below the soil surface.  They thrive in poor soils but have no great preference for soil type.  The Horsetail family produce two types of stem; the first is a short (20 to 50cm), usually brown coloured 'Asparagus-like' stem that emerges early in the year and bears a cone structure at the tip containing large numbers of spores. 


These spores function very effectively to spread the weed to any remaining parts of your property that weren't previously blessed with it.  The second type of stem is taller (up to 60cm with Field Horsetail), dark green in colour, sterile and emerges when the first have died back
http://www.progreen.co.uk/Weed-Killers/Total-Weed-Killers/Kibosh-0-5LT/prod_2.html