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How to remove Horsetail

steph.jarrettsteph.jarrett Posts: 43
in Problem solving
Hi I have recently taken over an allotment and it has a lot of horsetail, I am fully organic and have read that vinegar can be used?? Is this true?? Is there any other organic options I can use???

thanks
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Posts

  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Vinegar can be used as a weedkiller but I doubt it'll be very effective on horsetail. I'm not sure if it's allowed under organic rules.

    The usual advice on horse tail is you have to break the stems and directly apply the strongest weedkiller you can lay your hands on (injecting it right into the plant has been suggested on here - I've not tried that) to stand any chance and even then, it'll come back.

    Your best organic bet is to dig, cut and pull it out when you see it, hope to weaken it in time and accept that you will have to live with it. It's been here since the dinosaurs and it'll still be here when only ants and cockroaches are left.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Vinegar will harm beneficial micro-organisms and not kill your horsetail because it contains a lot of silica so sprays just fall off without being absorbed.

    Pull, strim or hoe off any stems above ground then strew it all out to dry in the sun till dead and then put it in the council waste bin and not on your compost heap.  Alternatively you can make a plant fungicide tea with the stems by soaking in a bucket of water for a few weeks - you'll need a lid for the smell - and then diluting it as a tonic against plant rusts and mildew.

    Whatever you do, don't rotavate it or it will multiply.  Go for no dig instead and gradually smother it in layers of cardboard and mulch.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • steph.jarrettsteph.jarrett Posts: 43
    Thanks thanks guys, i will smother it out 
  • Dave HumbyDave Humby Posts: 1,145
    In my experience pulling it is a waste of time and if anything just encourages new growth. I had some success bruising the plant(s) then applying Round Up Tree and Stump killer by brush in a solution of washing-up liquid which helped keep the chemical in contact with the plant longer. 

    You can try digging it out but the roots go roots go down forever. At least that’s what it felt like for me. 
  • Dave HumbyDave Humby Posts: 1,145
    steph.jarrett said:
    Thanks thanks guys, i will smother it out 
    It bursts through pavements and concrete so I don’t expect much success unfortunately. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    This earlier thread may, or may not, be of help
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/997122/mares-tail

    Good luck 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • SmudgeriiSmudgerii Posts: 185
    steph.jarrett said:
    Hi I have recently taken over an allotment and it has a lot of horsetail, I am fully organic and have read that vinegar can be used?? Is this true?? Is there any other organic options I can use???

    thanks
    Organic..  ok, good luck.

    you may knock it back a bit by smothering it completely for a few years, but it will just sit waiting on yours and surrounding plots.  
  • BlenkironBlenkiron Posts: 44
    I know your pain, ive got it coming from under the fence into my flower bedding, I try to just pull it out as deep as I can get
  • IamweedyIamweedy Posts: 1,364
    I dont  think vinegar and epsom salts will touch them . 



    'You must have some bread with it me duck!'

  • DaveGreigDaveGreig Posts: 189
    I moved in to my house in 1982. The garden was unkempt and full of mares tail as we call it. The garden is now done up, I’ve fought it since then, I’m 61 now and I’ve accepted lt will be pushing through the cracks in the paving when I’m pushing up the daisies.

    Hoeing or pulling it out weakens it but you only need to lose motivation for a season for it to rally and kick your arse the next year. Weed killer doesn’t work and is bad for the bees so don’t bother. Pay special attention about this time of year or sooner for the fruiting bodies coming up. Sneck them and burn them when they show face.

    Its gotten into the space between my pond liner and edging rocks which is a real bugger.

    All you can do is pull it out and dig it up where you can but accept that you’ll never win.

    My condolences.

    PS Putting vinegar on your garden is bad. Don’t do it.
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