[M0rph3u5]

I have acquired an allotment recently but the land is plagued by Horsetail.

Does anyone have any advice on how to eradicate this weed organically without spraying chemicals as I am growing crops and would prefer not to go down that route.

Please let me know if anyone on this forum was successful in cleaning up their land from this nightmare forest of green fern.

[richyrich7]

Hi and welcome to the forums  
Marestails a swine very deep roots your not going to be able to dig it out, best just to hoe it off as soon as it appears, it will take many years to eradicate it, but you can do it. We had some in the garden when we moved in and most years now we don't get any. It's very brittle and pulls easily.

I can understand you stance on weedkiller but you may want to consider doing it once to get you started.

[fatbelly]

I took my plot over last year and it too had a great lot of Mares tail. I am Organic so chemicals were out for me. I hand dug and weeded the whole plot last year and have been doing so all this year.
The Mares-tail is decreasing but it does take time, as RR7 says the roots are brittle and do break off as you pull them leaving a healthy root to re-grow from. So its a question of just pulling them very time they pop up and eventually you will see a difference.

[Tigerhair]

Apparently it doesn't respond to chemicals as it has a coating on the leaves, so organic is best!  In areas that you can - i.e. long term beds (asparagus, rhubarb, etc) use mulch to help you along.  

[M0rph3u5]

thanks for your replies

I have been using the hoe method for a few weeks now cutting below the surface as deep as I can. It has become a daily routine.

It is astonishing the growth of the spears in just 24 hours. At least 2 or 3 inches in some cases.

Someone suggested to me to paint the leaves with a weedkiller but when you are dealing with hundreds of the * that is just not practical. I also ready the leaves and stems are some sort of silica base and therefore resist absorption so that would probably just kill what is above ground leaving the main plant below the surface unharmed.

So hoe hoe hoe and off we go............

[Tigerhair]

You will find........ eventually...... that if you do it every day, the plant will weaken... just stick at it  

[tommyboy]

I might be wrong an sorry if i am, i`am sure DD will correct me :? .
If you leave it to grow up to 2-3in it draws energy from the root then hoe
then let it grow again to same height. keep doing that until it gives up rather than you. Have i had to much to drink or not, please let me know before i open anothjer  can.   opps     to late                        

[M0rph3u5]

yeah I see the logic in that

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if you let it grow more than 3 inches it starts to pull food back down to the mother plant.

Probably one of the most successful weeds on the planet!

Even the Aussies have a National Alert about it can you believe it is apparently responsible for 4 billion dollars of lost produce.

My situation isn't that bad yet

Too much to drink? nah I am on my 2nd whisky n coke waiting for my curry to be ready :-)

[peterjf]

it grows and is waxy , you need to break the wax seal , maybe a garden roller over the mares tail , spray the broken stems of marestail with double strength round up, this will take about 2 yrs to get rid , ive also heard that hoeing gets rid in about 5-6 yrs , GOOD LUCK

[WirralWally]

M0rph3u5,
An old guy (75 years) once told me to 'never let horsetail see a Sunday'
In other words, hoe it down at least once a week..
I have a plot that was covered with the evil stuff 6 months ago.
I have religiously hoed it once a week and now I appear to be getting rid of it.
Persistence seems to be the only cure. . . . . . . . . . unfortunately.

[DD.]

M0rph3u5,
An old guy (75 years) once told me to 'never let horsetail see a Sunday'

An old lady - 300 years+ told me that as well!

[M0rph3u5]

again thanks to everyone for their advice

seems I am dealing with it ok by using the hoeing method

I also realised that one part of the plot is free (small section beyond the shed) and this may be due to the big section being more acidic as the horsetail apparently needs that to grow. So am going to get a PH tester and find out.

[Goosegirl]

I also have it rampaging through my seashore pebble bed and lawn so I can't hoe it. Have just heard an old tale that if you trample on it to get past the silica barrier on the leaves then spray it with Jeye's fluid (don't know dilution factor) it kills it off. Am going to try putting a healthy diluted dose in a 2 gallon watering can as soon as it stops raining here.

[M0rph3u5]

good luck with that

suggestion I got from a local guy was to paint ROUNDUP on the leaves