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Horsetail can survive flooding & burning! It is also fairly resistant to weedkiller, as you have discovered.
Horsetail (Equisetum Arvensis) is difficult to control because new plants regenerate from fragments of stem and tubers. (cutting it up & leaving it on the soil simply produces 100s of potential new plants).
Black plastic sheeting has been found to kill or suppress horsetail in the upper layers of soil. However emerging stems can penetrate some woven polypropylene sheeting.
Control measures on arable land include ... improvements in soil texture and persistent cutting. In grass, regular mowing over a period of years may eliminate horsetail.
The good newsHorsetail is not very competitive in tall crops. The lack of functional leaves may make it intolerant of shading. If I were you I would hoe off what you have, and drown the bits in a bucket of water (when stinky you can pour this nutritious mix on the garden as a feed). Then cover the soil with a thick mulch of sodden cardboard, several inches thick, leaving no gaps. This should kill off a lot of your horsetail ~ you should cut off any that still appear.
Until you've controlled it, grow your crops in containers, or else the horsetail will come up amongst your plants and be a nightmare (mare, get it?
)
Field horsetail - Weed information - Organic Weed Management
Horsetail (Equisetum Arvensis) is difficult to control because new plants regenerate from fragments of stem and tubers. (cutting it up & leaving it on the soil simply produces 100s of potential new plants).
Black plastic sheeting has been found to kill or suppress horsetail in the upper layers of soil. However emerging stems can penetrate some woven polypropylene sheeting.
Control measures on arable land include ... improvements in soil texture and persistent cutting. In grass, regular mowing over a period of years may eliminate horsetail.
The good newsHorsetail is not very competitive in tall crops. The lack of functional leaves may make it intolerant of shading. If I were you I would hoe off what you have, and drown the bits in a bucket of water (when stinky you can pour this nutritious mix on the garden as a feed). Then cover the soil with a thick mulch of sodden cardboard, several inches thick, leaving no gaps. This should kill off a lot of your horsetail ~ you should cut off any that still appear.
Until you've controlled it, grow your crops in containers, or else the horsetail will come up amongst your plants and be a nightmare (mare, get it?
)Field horsetail - Weed information - Organic Weed Management
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