"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"GH" wrote
I may be making a mistake, I'm just a beginner gardener.
We are living in France for the moment because my husband was sent to
work here for a couple of years. Reading French posts on
fr.rec.jardinage I noticed they use horsetail (Equisetum pratense -
prêle des près) macerated in water to spray again fungus infections
(powdery mildew, phytophtora).
Maybe a more experienced gardener could tell us if the plants, coming
from the same family, are very different and you can't use yours (at
least part of it) to spray when you will have a crop.
I have seen this "purin de prêle" also bottled and sold in stores as a
biodegradable treatment for crops.

Ours is Equisetum arvense but it may well have the same properties.
Interesting!
Thanks for mentioning it, may be worth a try, especially for the Organic
folks.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

Our Equisetum arvense does appear to perform in the same way with regard to
fungus infections. It also appears to be one of those magical cure alls for
just about everything.
Can't really find what the active ingredient (s) is/are, although the
individual constituents seem fairly well documented.
Definitely worth a go as a fungus remedy.