My soil has a high clay content, The problem i have is Horsetail this grows everywhere i have tried digging it up but it always seems to come back. Does anybody know of a suitable weed killer that really does work on this plant.
I has started to take my garden over. Any help would be appleciated.

grimmjimm wrote:
My soil has a high clay content, The problem i have is Horsetail this
grows everywhere i have tried digging it up but it always seems to come
back. Does anybody know of a suitable weed killer that really does work
on this plant.
I has started to take my garden over. Any help would be appleciated.

It comes back because you've left bits of it in the ground. Make sure
you remove the whole plant out. The root is single and long, easy to
dig out really. I find it easier to dig it out after the rain. I don't
use weed killers so wouldn't know what to use to kill it off. But I've
heard there's nothing really. We're all plagued by the jurassic plant -
don't bother me much. I just take it out when I see it next to my crops.

"La Puce" wrote in message
ups.com...

grimmjimm wrote:
My soil has a high clay content, The problem i have is Horsetail
this
grows everywhere i have tried digging it up but it always seems to
come
back. Does anybody know of a suitable weed killer that really does
work
on this plant.
I has started to take my garden over. Any help would be
appleciated.

It comes back because you've left bits of it in the ground. Make
sure
you remove the whole plant out. The root is single and long, easy to
dig out really. I find it easier to dig it out after the rain. I
don't
use weed killers so wouldn't know what to use to kill it off. But
I've
heard there's nothing really. ...........

:-))
Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Roundup mixed with washing up detergent, spot sprayed on the plant
will cause the plant to die back but do not remove the apparently dead
stems until they are brittle and can be brushed away.
A second application on any regrowth may be needed, but,
in my experience (!!!)
it works.
Spores will only come from fertile coning heads. Picture of a fertile
cone at
http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/plants.html#EquiSet
The cones should be nipped off before they open. Fortunately the
fertile cones are in the minority and are the first to appear in
spring. In my neck of the woods, their season is just about over now -
so you have a whole season to devote to the treatment - whatever you
choose, of the infertile green stems.

It is not a lost cause.
You will prevail. :-)

--
ned
http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk

Alternatively, you could try making use of it. Pick it, dry it then
stew it in boiling water. The resulting (smelly) liquor can be diluted
and used as a foliar spray which boosts your plants' immunity.

Bob Flowerdew advice that works but smells. And doesn't actually get
rid of it.

ned wrote:
:-))
Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Roundup mixed with washing up detergent, spot sprayed on the plant
will cause the plant to die back but do not remove the apparently dead
stems until they are brittle and can be brushed away.
A second application on any regrowth may be needed, but,
in my experience (!!!)
it works.

Alright ... there's a cure - but roundup's bad in my books. So I'll let
you have the soap box ;o)

"grimmjimm" wrote
My soil has a high clay content, The problem i have is Horsetail this
grows everywhere i have tried digging it up but it always seems to
come back. Does anybody know of a suitable weed killer that really
does work on this plant.
I has started to take my garden over. Any help would be appleciated.

Lots of previous threads on this subject (check out via Google archive),
but this stuff is, as you've found out, next to impossible to simply dig
up. It spreads far and wide a) by underground rhizomes with roots that
can go down several feet and will regrow from any little bit you break
off, and b) by shedding spores from dingy brown fruiting shoots that go
unnoticed in early spring.

IME Glyphosate works in the end if you repeat treat, and then improve
the soil and keep the area cultivated. I got rid of horsetail in one of
my borders this way.

Try bruising the weed first by crushing and whacking, and then apply the
glyphosate and leave to be drawn into the plants. You might have to do
this several times but the good news is if you persist you'll eventually
kill it. The bad news is that because of the spores, if there's any of
the stuff growing nearby on someone else's land, it's likely to be a
reoccurring battle.

--
Sue

I constantly used a Gas Burner on Horsetail (between the cracks in my crazy paving!) last year and there is about a 90% reduction, compared to this time last year... so that works, difficult for beds though

rich1234 writes

grimmjimm Wrote:
My soil has a high clay content, The problem i have is Horsetail this
grows everywhere i have tried digging it up but it always seems to come
back. Does anybody know of a suitable weed killer that really does work
on this plant.
I has started to take my garden over. Any help would be appleciated.

I constantly used a Gas Burner on Horsetail (between the cracks in my
crazy paving!) last year and there is about a 90% reduction, compared
to this time last year... so that works, difficult for beds though

That would work. Horsetail needs at least some period of being above
ground and photosynthesising, so anything that constantly removes top
growth will get rid of it. Mowing will see it off from a lawn. If it's
only a small patch in a bed, then inspecting every 2 or 3 days and
taking the top off will keep it at bay - I eradicated a small patch like
that. But it won't work very well if it's constantly being renewed from
a neighbour's garden.


--
Kay