horsetail

[Dianaalice]

Hi anyone, have gone on to the new allotment tonight after a day of rain and masses of horsetail is coming up. Is there anything I can do about it or will I just have to put up with it?
Thanks for any help or advise.

[RaptorUK]

Hi anyone, have gone on to the new allotment tonight after a day of rain and masses of horsetail is coming up. Is there anything I can do about it or will I just have to put up with it?
Thanks for any help or advise.

Keep ripping it out . . . "don't let it see a Sunday" and gradually you will weaken it, if you leave it above ground it will photosynthesize and store up energy. Get the spore heads as early as you can, ideally cover them with a plastic bag when you pull/dig them up to limit the release of the spores.

[Dianaalice]

Thanks for the reply. Some of it just snaps off and some of it comes out with a bit of a root. Is that how it operates ?

[RaptorUK]

Thanks for the reply. Some of it just snaps off and some of it comes out with a bit of a root. Is that how it operates ?

Yep it is quite brittle, use a trowel or a spade and get as much out as you can . . . unless you have plants growing in that area then just do the best you can . . . just keep at it and it will weaken.

[Dianaalice]

Cheers for that! will be going to war on it as soon as I can get back down on the plot.

[Vince G]

If you don't mind chemicals, use Kurtail, it virtually eradicates it, prevents it photosynthesising. If you don't like chemicals, what RaptorUK said.....

[Dianaalice]

Might give that a try if I really cant deal with it! but will persevere with pulling it out for the moment.
Thanks.

[Kristen]

I would not advise using Kurtail. Its only available for commercial use (notwithstanding that you can buy it on eBay !!) and requires use of full body suit (e.g. Tyvex) and breathing filters etc. Its not a pleasant chemical if used casually. An option would be to get a contractor in to treat it with Kurtail for you.

I have read of people saying that Horsetail returns the following year after being treated with Kurtail, I have not read of it being killed outright - but of course people for whom things have not worked are far more likely to post that fact than people who have cured their problem and moved on to something else ...

Ammonium sulphamate (sold as a compost heap accelerator) is effective against Horsetail. It will knock it back, and kill off all the tops, which will weaken it significantly - but it will probably be back next season. I used it here over 3 or 4 seasons and have pretty much eradicated it - however, if you ave it in, say, neighbouring allotment plots it will just grow back from them each year. Its a relatively innocuous chemical in the sense that it breaks down to Sulphate of Ammonia which is a Nitrogen fertiliser.

[avierose]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if you have missed some that matures you can dry it, boil it up with some water and it makes a really good fertiliser for most seedlings.

Never tried it though. Always try to pull it up as spores and dig out the roots when digging over the plot before and after growing season.


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[Kristen]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if you have missed some that matures you can dry it, boil it up with some water and it makes a really good fertiliser for most seedlings.

Just chucking it in a bucket of water to drown it for a couple of weeks will do - I personally think that goes for any deep rooted plant, including bindweed and the like. They are refined at hauling up nutrients from deep in the soil, so making them into a mash / tea and then putting that back on plants as a fertiliser works well.

Or just chuck the whole smelly bucket full of rotted roots onto the compost heap

[RaptorUK]

Or just chuck the whole smelly bucket full of rotted roots onto the compost heap

. . . after checking your Allotment Association rules, ours specifically mentions what should be done with pernicious weeds

[Two_Sheds]

. . . after checking your Allotment Association rules, ours specifically mentions what should be done with pernicious weeds

however, they tend to adopt an idiot's guide to most things, ie just put perennial weeds in the bin. Which is a waste of nutrients, and unnecessary use of landfill.

All perennials can be used on the compost heap if they're killed first, by:

- drowning in a covered bucket of water for a few months
- bagged up in black sacks like leafmould, for a year or two
- burnt on a dry sunny path for a few days in the sun

[Knight of Albion]

Horsetail is actually a very fascinating plant.
Equisetum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not something you want in your garden though! As, much like bindweed, once its made itself at home ...

As the others have said, lever out the plants with a trowel. You'll soon get on top of it.

[Mr Bones]

Horsetail thrives in poorly drained acidic ground so improve drainage and add garden lime. Someone on our site swears a tagetes border keeps it at bay, can't verify that but it's maybe worth an experiment (or was it French Marigolds...)

[Dianaalice]

Thanks all, can't bear the thought of trying to get rid of it and then putting it back on the soil even though it's in a different form.

But that just shows how green I am but not very green fingered, as they say.

Still, I've got lots to learn and where better to go than on here!