How do i get rid of horse tail weeds? they always seem to grow back?
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Its almost impossible but try this one. Beat the horstail vigorously with a stick (it has a waterproof outer layer) then spray liberally with a glyphosate spray. You will have to do this maybe 4 or 5 times and even then it will pop up but you may be able to keep it manageable Good luck
Weed killer?!!
i think you have to cover over the area of ground to kill them off. we call them mares tail here, and they are evil to get rid of.. theres a lovely gardening blog called allotment 21, which goes into a webring..they will be able to tell you more. also a yahoo group gardening chat group which is really informative. click on yahoo groups and go through home and garden to find a group you like good luck
Sorry to say they are one of the most persistent weeds. Weeding them out is problematic as even the tiniest bit of root grows back.
I suspect the only way is systemic herbicide but I hate what that does to the soil and the micro creatures.
I had it in one garden and ended up using it as a herb, to polish pans(it has such a high silica content it's almost as good as pan scrub made with wire wool) and as a nailstrengthener, and in flower arrangements.
Horse tail and the closely related Mares Tail ( they are actually two different plants ) are the present day descendants of the prehistoric forests which eventually fossilised and became coal. Therefore understandably they have pretty good survival tactics. Depending upon where you are some weed / brush wood killers will scorch and chemically burn off the current seasons growth very effectively. I put it this way because in the UK there are stricter rules about pesticides, weedkillers & similar products now, some not available for DIY use and restricted to agricultural applications only. Perhaps a friendly farmer can help you. The product I use kills the new growth in days and doesn't scorch the remainder of the paddock. Horse tail / mares tail likes damp ground and fertile soil.Ask at your garden centre. The roots penentrate very deeply into the ground. If you try digging it out the slightest bit left will grow back. You can try repeated mowing of the grass to try and exhaust it as it keeps popping up from below ground. In some places wher horse tail / mares tail is a problem they resort to removing ordinary plants, turf the area over and hope to eliminate by the repeated mowing process. It really is a pest.
Added much later: this Q & some answers intrigued me so I did a bit of digging, sorry about the pun, and found that one possible solution is to grow turnips in the 'horse tail patch'. Apparently the turnips produce some 'allelopathic' substance ( an allegeric inhibiting action of one plant against other ) and after a few years you might get rid of the horse tail. I've never tried it but just might bearing in mind that cultivation and breaking up the horse tail rhizomes might aggravate the problem
These critters are older than the dinosaurs. In one gardening program, the experts' advice was that it was easier to move house! The only way is to dig as much of it out as you can, and to keep doing that again and again. Weedkillers are a waste of money on them. And, oh! don't put bits of them into your compost heap. They don't rot and only get propagated.
The only way is to dig deep and make sure you get every
bit of root out. If you leave 1 tiny piece of root, it will grow
again. Good luck.
Don't try and dig it out, the routes go down as far as five feet. Most weed killers wont touch it. As far as I am aware, the only thing that will get rid of it is 'AMICIDE' (Ammonium Sulphamate). This is a rather expensive weedkiller, available online from - "The organic gardening catalogue". Follow the instructions carefully.
PS. I have had 'mares tail' (horsetail). And the above is the only thing that will touch it.
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