Bob Hobden wrote:


"seeker" wrote ...
Any cures for marestail weed ?

Hoeing and more hoeing over many years so it never gets to grow much
will significantly reduce it so it's no longer much of a problem.
Some say you can crush it and spray with weedkiller but I've never tried
that, just spraying with weedkiller won't work because the plant has a
waterproof skin.

Silica exoskeleton doesn't wet even with modern surfactants. You have to
bruise it first. But a concerted campaign of never letting it see the
light without being pulled up or poisoned will eventually weaken it
after a few years. Glyphosate and a wallpaper paste (unlicenced use)
applied with a brush to the bruised stem will get it.

It seems to be a lot more of a problem in better drained and sandy
soils. In my heavy clay it barely grows at all. Once you have worked
over the soil with a bit of practice you can get 12-18" of root out with
every stem you pull. You will have lots of time to perfect the method.

Regards,
Martin Brown