marestail warfare

[petal]

I am actually serious about using manure! marestail thrives on neglected ground and over the past 3 years we have eradicated it from at least 3/4 of our plot by strimming, hoeing, mulching. I soak the marestail in a bucket til it smells awful then water my crops too. if you need to clean a bowl/cup whilst at the allotment, use marestail to scour it with!- its very effective. Every cloud.........!

[SarzWix]

It's true, badly drained, undisturbed and compacted land is it's friend. Cultivate the land, and you're taking away the ideal conditions.

I feel I should point out that it's 'horsetail' (Equisetum - 'equis' being horse) we're talking about, 'marestail' is a different thing altogether (Marestail being an aquatic plant).

Equisetum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

[Couperman]

It's true, badly drained, undisturbed and compacted land is it's friend. Cultivate the land, and you're taking away the ideal conditions.

I feel I should point out that it's 'horsetail' (Equisetum - 'equis' being horse) we're talking about, 'marestail' is a different thing altogether (Marestail being an aquatic plant).

Equisetum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

I always wondered why some called it horsetail and some called it marestail, now I know, thanks for that

[Incy]

marestail hates horsemanure - how funny is that?!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!
We currently have 10 bags of horse manure rotting down for autumn dressing and another 10 (not quite so well rotted) waiting for spring.
We have major marestail problems and I didn't want to use chemicals as they are in the raised beds, greenhouse etc..... If horsemanure works then maybe there is hope that we will have a few less to fight next year

And now I know it's horsetail too....What an informative day
I love this forum!
Thank you all!!!!!

[SarzWix]

Seriously folks, although I know it's really annoying when it pops up in your nicely weeded beds, it isn't worth getting really distressed about. Just hoe off what you can without disturbing your veg, and carry on. It doesn't take nutrition away from your veggies, and the roots are so deep that it probably doesn't take water from them either... My onion bed gets left with whatever pops up once the bulbs start swelling because trying to pull it out will disturb the onion roots. Then when the onions are harvested I take out as much as I can. Last years onion bed doesn't have that much popping up in it this year

[allotmentlady]

I just keep pulling the little blighters out whenever I see them, I always pull very slow as I can get a lot of the root out too, its everywhere lol, like Sarz says not worth getting distressed over at least its not Japanese Knotweed!

[Matt.]

I like the glyphosate with a sponge idea. Certainly just spraying it had negligible effect in my experince. I think it just one of those weeds you have to learn to live with and accept you'll never get rid of it completely. I find I have more sucess pulling out the roots if its been left to grow a few inches. Although I do wonder just how many extra roots its grown I can't see?!

[hmk]

About half the plots on my site have a problem with horsetail (not mine- yet...) and a friend read/heard that it doesn't like turnips. Not sure why, especially as the roots are so deep, but she's going to grow a row of turnips in front of the affected patch to see if it stops the spread.

HMK

[Two_Sheds]

Horsetail cannot stand shade (and nobody seems to have mentioned mulching it).
It can't compete with taller plants that shade it out ... so live with it, plant tall things around it and it will weaken. Don't grow short plants next to it, where it will outcompete them.

If you get the odd one pop up, cover it with a tin can or something to shade it out.

It prefers acidic, wet conditions (so does buttercup) which is probably why we don't get it over here.
here's a good article: Biology and Control of Field Horsetail - J Doll

[Two_Sheds]

My plot has a severe weed problem, but it's buttercup

It must be bad if you've given up growing for a whole year

You need to get your conditions sorted out ... buttercup likes damp acidic conditions (I get loads of it in my bark paths, but not so much of it on the cultivated beds).

Whatever you do, don't just cut the tops off and don't bury it, it can regrow from being buried. You need to cut the crown right off, and burn or drown it before adding to compost heap (waste not want not)

[Emmylou]

I have marestail. We have raised beds and have put black membrane covered in wood chips on the paths. I have noticed it rearing its ugly head through the membrane!! Its a tough cookie!

[Dynamo]

It prefers acidic, wet conditions (so does buttercup) which is probably why we don't get it over here.

If you lime your soil you should experience less problems with it then. Maybe thats why it doesn't like Turnip and probably every other type of Brassica cos they need a more alcaline soil.

[NOG]

Oh that could be why I have TONS of it and my Brassicas fail on one plot all the time....

[Two_Sheds]

If you lime your soil you should experience less problems with it then.

What, buttercup?
I don't get it in my beds, I get it on the bark paths - I'm not liming my paths, lol

[MrsC]

When I first bought my house that's all that grew in my garden. I keep pulling it out/hoeing it off and after 6 years the odd ones sprout up. My garden is fit to bursting and it doesn't compete with other plants (it doesn't like the shade) as Two Sheds says. Keep at it, you will get on top of it, well at at a manageable level anyway