Mare's tail getting me down

Mojisola

janibrown wrote: »

Just found this online for Mare's tail it looks really good

http://www.progreen.co.uk/index.php?c=55&p=156&gclid=CIrg4vjc9J8CFc9i4wodTg2gXQ

This is a professional product. If you do get some, make sure you follow the regulations which apply to its use, especially the clothing necessary when you apply it. It's a neurotoxin and is easily absorbed through the skin. In particular, keep it well away from children and pregnant women. Dogs are also very sensitive to it.

the_cat

Mojisola wrote: »

This is a professional product. If you do get some, make sure you follow the regulations which apply to its use, especially the clothing necessary when you apply it. It's a neurotoxin and is easily absorbed through the skin. In particular, keep it well away from children and pregnant women. Dogs are also very sensitive to it.

Thank you. I was considering it as it sounds good, but I think it may be too scary for me!!:D

Will stick with the digging and maybe a spray of a more general weedkiller...... although how I can do that when I have veg growing in amongst the mare's tail I have no idea:rotfl:

Mojisola

Depending on what the veg are, you can cut the bottom off 2 litre pop bottles and use those to cover the veg. Leave them on while you spray. Alternatively, you could get make a barrier with a bottomless cardboard box, put it over the mares tail and spray carefully within the box.

Every bit of knocking back you can do will help. Glyphosate is a translocated weedkiller - it doesn't just act on the bit you spray but moves around inside the plant's shoots and roots. Even if you can just do small areas, it will help. Look on it as a long-term project - you will succeed but it will take time.

It's a shame the allotment society has allowed the ground to get in this condition. Have you spoken to the committee about doing some general control on the site, particularly if there are any empty allotments?

alleycat`

Mojisola wrote: »

It's a shame the allotment society has allowed the ground to get in this condition. Have you spoken to the committee about doing some general control on the site, particularly if there are any empty allotments?

It was actually in our local paper that the council / allotment societies are looking into speeding up the eviction of "non-users" due to allotment demand and those that are falling into disrepair.

A lot of evictions take up to a year as it stands and given that length of time you can imagine how something like this can take off in a hurry.

My plot was an utter shambles when i took it on but thankfully the amount of mares tail was minor.

the_cat

alleycat` wrote: »

It was actually in our local paper that the council / allotment societies are looking into speeding up the eviction of "non-users" due to allotment demand and those that are falling into disrepair.

A lot of evictions take up to a year as it stands and given that length of time you can imagine how something like this can take off in a hurry.

My plot was an utter shambles when i took it on but thankfully the amount of mares tail was minor.

If only they would!!

I waited nearly 3 years for this plot and it was a bomb site. Despite this, there was allegedly a person who had it right before me. They had never even dug over about half of it desipte having it for several years. The plot holder next door cheerfully told me that she too has had loads of warnings about the state of her plot, but she still has it 4 years down the line!!

Zazen999

Hmm:

Kibosh Suggested safety clothing
Ultranile Gloves
Disposable Coverall
Face shield
Rubber boots

Yummy, that must be really tasty when it gets into your veg.

SailorSam

I have the same problem and because this year i've planted new plants were the weeds are most prevalent i didn't want to spray. I've tried a couple of the strongest weedkillers i could find and mixed them in a coffee jar (I drannk the coffee first). Now i've got a small paintbrush and each weekend go around painting each weed, time will tell if it's worth it.

the_cat

SailorSam

Good idea with the paintbrush, I might just nick that one!!
One of the plotholders at my site told me that to get the best effect from the weedkiller, it is best to expose the tube by nipping off the tip of the plant first

No idea if he's right, but he doesn't have too much of the damn stuff so it might be worth a go!!

MrsBartolozzi

Ammonium Sulphamate used to be licensed as a weedkiller and was good for woody weeds and mare's tail, but it's license ran out and, as the big companies have more expensive weedkillers to promote, no-one renewed it. (just to clarify, it's not been removed from sale because it's unsafe - in fact it breaks down well in the soil).
You can still buy it as a "compost accelerant" and it's available on ebay and here. ( it's cheaper here)
I bought some from ebay last year, just a small package as it's quite expensive and I didn't know how well it would work. I was pretty impressed. The small isolated area I used it on has not regrown this year which is amazing, and I'm buying a bigger pack this year to use once the veggies are done. It is however important that you don't ask for it as a herbicide as it's illegal to sell it as such (so, don't email them asking for dilution figures!:o These can be found online.) And I added the washing up liquid as suggested in a few places don't know if it's necessary- but it worked so I'll use again)

I applied it twice a couple of weeks apart to the horsetail, which I'd scrunched up to damage and let the herbicide in better.

Mojisola

the_cat wrote: »

One of the plotholders at my site told me that to get the best effect from the weedkiller, it is best to expose the tube by nipping off the tip of the plant first!

Anything you can do to damage the tough, water-resistant surface will help. MrsBartolozzi mentions scrunching it up. Trampling over it or crushing it in any way you want will help.

Ammonium Sulphamate is good, safe stuff but the land won't grow anything on it for about three months.

You could use it on any unused areas at the moment and try the glyphosate around your veg.

A couple of drops of washing up liquid helps with any herbicide application to make the mixture "wetter" so it doesn't run off as easily.