Hi

I'm a very inexperienced gardener, but enjoy having a go!

We've recently moved into a house where the garden is nothing short of a mess. We need a patio removed and an area that is overrun with a combination of weeds/plants removed. It's too big a job for someone as inexperienced as we are, does anyone have any idea of what this may cost before I make enquiries...also, when is the best time to get it done.

2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned above.

Thanks in advance for any help!

In article ,
mandyp writes:
|
| We've recently moved into a house where the garden is nothing short of
| a mess. We need a patio removed and an area that is overrun with a
| combination of weeds/plants removed. It's too big a job for someone as
| inexperienced as we are, does anyone have any idea of what this may
| cost before I make enquiries...also, when is the best time to get it
| done.

Don't be intimidated - it is easier than you think to clear ground,
if you have the right tools (NOT necessarily expensive power ones).
How big is the area, what is it overrun with, and what do you want
to do with it?

Having a normal patio removed is cheap. Get several quotes from
local builders (ones with permanent addresses or recommendations,
not cowboys that leave cards through the door).

| 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the
| bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors
| tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge
| roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming
| up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned
| above.

Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. To a
first approximation, you can't get rid of it. It's been around
for 300 million years and will outlast the human species. It's
not unattractive, so you could try living with it at the end and
mowing it in the lawn.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The real "Nick Maclaren" wrote in reply to Mandy P

| 2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the
| bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors
| tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge
| roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming
| up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned
| above.

Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. To a
first approximation, you can't get rid of it. It's been around
for 300 million years and will outlast the human species. It's
not unattractive, so you could try living with it at the end and
mowing it in the lawn.


We have Mare's Tail on both our allotments and I agree with Nick, it's
virtually impossible to eradicate especially as it has a skin that
weedkillers simply can't penetrate and black roots that go down to
Australia.
When it first arrived marching across the site like a slow wave it went
berserk and grew thickly, but as the years progressed and with hoeing etc,
it has settled down to a few here and there and isn't a problem, just
another weed to hoe.
In your case grassing and mowing the whole area will ensure it doesn't get
too bad.

Bad luck. An experienced gardener may have gone elsewhere. Please tell me
none of your neighbours have Leylandii hedges. :-)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

My incorrect spelling certainly explains why I couldn't find anything when I did a google on it!!

The slabbed area is about 7 ft X 8 ft. There are also bits of path that are crazy paving in concrete and the area full of Mare's tail (correct spelling!) and a variety of plants/bushes and trees is about 9 ft X 9 ft. It was our intention to grass this as the opposite side of the garden gets the sun, so we'd like a patio there.

To be honest, it's as much a time issue for paying someone to do this, I attempted to dig out weeds and spent a day trying to clear an area about 3 ft square! You're probably right, tools would help, I was working with a shovel and fork. It looks daunting and in light of the time I spent I thought it'd be easier to get someone in.

Thanks for your post!

"mandyp" wrote
Hi
I'm a very inexperienced gardener, but enjoy having a go!

We've recently moved into a house where the garden is nothing short of
a mess. We need a patio removed and an area that is overrun with a
combination of weeds/plants removed. It's too big a job for someone as
inexperienced as we are, does anyone have any idea of what this may
cost before I make enquiries...also, when is the best time to get it
done.

You could have a 'garden party'. Ask friends, rellies etc round for a days
clearing. Provide lots of grub and booze when the jobs done :~))


2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the garden, the
bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is called Mayors
tail. I've tried to dig it out but can't get in because of the hedge
roots, anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it, it's even coming
up through the grass and is everywhere in the patch that I mentioned
above.

Thanks in advance for any help!
mandyp
I think you mean Mares Tail. You could try nuclear warfare on it............. Or
learn to love it :~)) Makes a good foliage plant in flower arrangements :~)

Jenny

In article ,
Martin wrote:
While were away on holiday, the local authority sprayed the pavement
outside our house, where mare's tail was rampant.
The stuff was brown when we got back and it hasn't reappeared. Not bad
for a local authority that has/had a policy of not using herbicides.

Please tell us what happens next year :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Bob Hobden wrote:
The real "Nick Maclaren" wrote in reply to Mandy P

2nd question, I have privet hedges down both sides of the
garden,
the bottom of which is overgrown with a weed that I'm told is
called Mayors tail. [...]

Horsetail or Mare's tail (Equisetum). That area is damp. [...]


We have Mare's Tail on both our allotments and I agree with Nick,
it's
virtually impossible to eradicate especially as it has a skin that
weedkillers simply can't penetrate and black roots that go down to
Australia.
[...]

Highly appropriate, if we'd been able to ask my father: his
unfavourite uncle was mayor of Brisbane, and I reckon my old Daddy
would have loved the idea of Mayor's tail, especially if you could
have added a pair of cloven hooves!

Mike.

In article ,
mandyp wrote:

My incorrect spelling certainly explains why I couldn't find anything
when I did a google on it!!

Think of it as extending the language - look up the origin of the
word butterfly sometime :-)

The slabbed area is about 7 ft X 8 ft. There are also bits of path that
are crazy paving in concrete and the area full of Mare's tail (correct
spelling!) and a variety of plants/bushes and trees is about 9 ft X 9
ft. It was our intention to grass this as the opposite side of the
garden gets the sun, so we'd like a patio there.

To be honest, it's as much a time issue for paying someone to do this,
I attempted to dig out weeds and spent a day trying to clear an area
about 3 ft square! You're probably right, tools would help, I was
working with a shovel and fork. It looks daunting and in light of the
time I spent I thought it'd be easier to get someone in.

Get a grub-axe (pick-mattock) from any good agricultural merchant,
rural hardware store or whatever. That is a pickaxe with one side
being a blade 4" wide at right angles to the handle. It makes one
HELL of a difference when clearing rough ground, and you don't need
to be a navvy to use it - swing it up and its weight will bring it
down again.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Martin wrote:
:: On 14 Oct 2004 20:12:22 GMT, (Nick Maclaren)
:: wrote:
::
::: In article ,
::: Martin wrote:
:::: While were away on holiday, the local authority sprayed the
:::: pavement outside our house, where mare's tail was rampant.
:::: The stuff was brown when we got back and it hasn't reappeared.
:::: Not bad for a local authority that has/had a policy of not using
:::: herbicides.
:::
::: Please tell us what happens next year :-)
::
:: I think I can guess :-)
::
I may be wrong, but I'm sure I've read that it's very high in
minerals...either way my rodents enjoy eating it.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Martin wrote:
While were away on holiday, the local authority sprayed the
pavement
outside our house, where mare's tail was rampant.
The stuff was brown when we got back and it hasn't reappeared. Not
bad for a local authority that has/had a policy of not using
herbicides.

Please tell us what happens next year :-)

I reckon I've had a fair bit of success at controlling Equisetum.
Certainly you won't get rid of it at one go. But persistant treatment
*each* year does have a debillitating effect and pushes its foothold
away from your 'pretty bits'.
I use a regular herbicide, at normal recommended strength, to which
has been added a surficant (washing up liquid - this helps the liquid
to thoroughly wet the plant), from a hand sprayer. Allow the plant to
die back and leave the blackened foliage until it shrivels up and goes
brittle - ie, give the herbicide time to do its work. Repeat as and
when new stems appear.
I have an area of meadow which is infested, and tolerated.
I have a garden where it is not tolerated and it is now less trouble
than Hairy Bitter-cress or Nipplewort.
Why these last two haven't taken over the world I do not know!
Although they are easy to weed out, they seem to hide behind other
plants and pop their seeds when no one is looking.

--
ned

http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk
last update 29.09.2004

ned wrote:
....Nipplewort.

/ s******! /

Phil L wrote:
ned wrote:
...Nipplewort.

/ s******! /

My apologies, 'Lapsana communis'.
Its been around since Adam was a lad, but the common name was coined,
by the herbalists of the day, as recently as the 16th century, when
meaningful names were considered a virtue and worth risking the
occasional s****** 500 years into the future. :-))

--
ned

http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk
last update 29.09.2004