[DD.]

Dig, hoe, then keep doing it. Marestail isn't that bad on a veg plot.

I do believe that's what was being conveyed on this recent thread:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=93499.0

Indeed it was DD. No harm in sharing a positive experience though eh? 

No harm in sharing indeed. So much so, that I'll merge these posts with the others o they can share the same thread! 

[morbidia]

Found out last night that you can use Marestail as fertilizer and fungicide, I bought a copy of Grow It magazine and it tells you how in there, when I went to my plot today I met one of my neighbours who pointed out his very productive looking plots to me and he told me he uses it as fertilizer and not to get to worried about it just keep pulling out the bits you can, I have cleared one bed of the initial infestation so should be able to keep that under control, just the rest of the plot to do now

[grendel]

could you enlighten us with the process to use it as fertilizer?
Grendel

[Paul Plots]

could you enlighten us with the process to use it as fertilizer?
Grendel

Sounds interesting. 

[sowitgrowit]

I found this while looking up comfrey/nettle fertiliser (started my first evil brew yesterday).

 

Surprisingly, other common
garden weeds can also be used in
addition to comfrey or as stand-
alone feeds. Nettles are a good
source of nitrogen, and I also like
to add marestail ( Equisetum
arvense) to the mix, as its high
silica levels act as a fungicide and
an abrasive, helping to reduce
pest problems - especially aphids.

Edit: Apologies DD! Forgot to add, that is from a Ryan Lewis article in the Guardian.

Here:
m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2012/may/11/allotment-comfrey-tea?cat=lifeandstyle&type=article

[DD.]

If you are going to copy/paste from another website, could you please give a citation, or alternatively a direct link rather than a copy.

[sowitgrowit]

If you are going to copy/paste from another website, could you please give a citation, or alternatively a direct link rather than a copy.

Apologies, now amended

[morbidia]

Am I allowed to share the nfo from the mag or is that a no no

[DD.]

A quick precis and an acknowledgment of the source would be fine.

[Aidy]

I find the whole subject of marestail interesting, it must be the only plant that is always brought up in converstion.

I am currently experimenting on a patch of land which is not grown on.
1 sprayed with round up.
2 sprayed with resolva 24hr
3 sprayed with soapy liquid, allowed to dry and then sprayed by resolva 24hr

Now the object of this is to A. see how effective each one is at knocking it back and B. see how long re-growth takes.

On my plot I use the never let it see a Sunday method for control and when digging over clear as much root as poss.
In the areas where getting the hoe in is almost impossible I am using the above to see if it is possible to control it over a season and beyond.

So far this is what is happening..
1. (round up) Plant going brownish but looks like it is giving a fight.
2. (resolva 24hr) Plant dying, all green bits shrivelled
3. (soap n resolva 24hr) Plant down to the base is dead.

The other interesting observation I have made is on a plot of couch grass that was also sprayed and killed off, there was no evidence of marestail, now the couch is dead it is a mass of little trees popping up

[mumofstig]

Strange about it not liking competition...............

Before I had the cherry tree cut down (2 years ago) I had only the odd one or 2 shoots of it a year, which I just nipped off. This year there's quite a bit of it coming through.............not unless it's just loving this wet weather......well something has too 

[Christine]

The trouble with marestail on an allotment is that most of us don't have electricity. I've seen the stuff knocked back by pouring boiling water down the stem to the roots. Bit fiddly but it's as cheap a way of dealing with the stuff as any. 

[Yorkie]

Keep us informed with progress of the experiment Aidy, sounds fascinating 

[morbidia]

The following info was taken from Grow It Magazine
Foraged plants make a wonderful magnesium rich spray that can be applied to the soil or directly to the plant

Boil one handful of fresh horsetail with three cups of water ( or half a cup of the dried plant)for five minutes. Remove from the heat and cool,still covered, for six hours. Strain and dilute one part horestail liquid to four parts water.

You can also use the fresh shoots that appear in late May to make Little Shoot Spray which is a beneficial fungicide

Simmer two cups of fresh shoots ( or one cup of dried) in nine litres / two gallons of water for twenty minutes. Remove from heat and leave, still covered, for 24 hours. Strain and dilute one part liquid to two parts water

[grendel]

many thanks for that, I now know to collect up my marestail and put it to good use - its an asset now not a weed anymore.
Grendel