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Marestail / Horsetail on my allotment

NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
in The potting shed
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-horsetail-plant-51693882.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=BED7A570-C2FF-4B8A-A328-68780B1EA32D&p=91109&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1

Just spotted one about 12 inches tall on the other side of the path on my allotment.

reported it to " T' Committee "....scary looking thing.
Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.

Posts

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Rip those heads off as soon as you see them and before they spread their spores. 
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
    I feel I ought to dig it up with the attached soil and dispose of it off site and safely .

    Any suggestions folks.
    Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
  • Mr. Vine EyeMr. Vine Eye Posts: 2,394
    My allotment plot is completely covered in horsetail. At least it was when we got it. It's definitley weakened after a year of hoeing/mowing and ripping up whenever it rears its head.

    Don't be too panicky about it. As long as you keep on top of it it's no worse than any other weed. At least it makes good compost - one of those plants that sucks up nutrients with the deep roots.

    It's not Japanese knotweed!

    East Yorkshire
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I agree. Make sure you tackle it before the spores ripen and are released.  Its roots go down for miles and break and propagate easily so don't try digging it out.  It can be managed with regular hoeing and then making sure the cut pieces are dried completely before they go anywhere near a compost heap, even the council one.   

    It contains a lot of silica so if you want to try weed killers you need to crush the stems to bruise them or it will just run off.

    You can also make a "tea" with the cut stems.  The French call it a purin and it's apparently a good fungicide.
    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
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    There is no way I would put the bits on a compost heap.  Dry and burn.  We moved a retaining wall back at mums. The mares tail roots were at least three feet down. Just keep pulling with as much of the roots as you can.  If it is a new occurrence, could it have come in with manure? If so, you could probably fork out the bits if you keep on top of it, before the roots get down where they are inaccessible.
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    edited May 2021
    NewBoy2 said:
    I feel I ought to dig it up with the attached soil and dispose of it off site and safely .

    Any suggestions folks.
    Don't dig it up, just pick it.  They grow on really long rhizomes and you will never get them all up.  I've read that damaging the rhizomes encourages it to grow more shoots! 

    Just pick it as soon as you see it, over time you will start to see less and less.  Its been around since before the dinosaurs though so there is an element of learning to live with it!  

    Definitely do not put it in compost!
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