Is somebody trying to wind me up, talking about horse/mares tail?
I have enough on my plot to construct a small cabin!
I have assiduously dug everything by fork only, removing even the smallest bit of "The Weed of Satan" as I went along. Yesterday I harvested half of my radish, hoed and raked the ground ready for some lettuce, and when I went there this morning, that half was sprouting with mares tail. Someone on the allotment told me that the only real way of stopping them, short of an atomic blast, is to keep moving the ground, i.e. digging, forking, hoeing, etc.
However, I have made some observations of my own, but I don't know if I'm actually right, or inwardly trying to persuade myself that I am. Mares tail are lazy. They don't like competition. I had tall weedy grass on the plot when I took it over, and no sign of mares tail. But when I weed-killed the grass and burnt it, the mares tail came flying through over a single weekend. And I also notice that they tend to grow right next to a plant, using the plant to push a way through the soil for them. Maybe I'm just dreaming.