Horsetail... again!!!

Yorkie1

stilernin wrote: »

Yorkie, is this from personal experience? I ask because I have been advised to always pull it up and not hoe it.

As it grows from the tiniest bit of root, won't it grow again from the hoed off tops? Or does it only grow again from brown root rather than green tops IYSWIM.

If you have found hoeing to be worthwhile, I would certainly change to that method. I've only had this plot since Jan but digging out the horsetail before hoeing has been a pain.

Luckily I've never had marestail but I do know people that have had it.

All plants gain their energy and thus their strength through photosynthesis, for which they need leaves in light. If you constantly remove the new leaves, they cannot photosynthesise and therefore there is less energy getting down to the roots (or something like that).

Hoeing or pulling up, both results in the leaves being removed. It's just that hoeing involves less bending and less painful hamstrings the following day!

TheMoneySpider

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Regular hoeing will weaken it. Never let it see a Sunday, I've heard it said.

I like that. It is just one of those things that once it's in every day you leave it means about a week getting rid of it.

We are plagued with vetch and the odd bit of casual weeding isn't even scratching the surface...springs up everywhere. The second I see marestail it's time to go nuclear.

kazschow

my horsetail is now in steep competition with the creeping buttercup!!! On the plus side my field looks so lush and green with the horsetail, and dotted with cheerly little yellow flowers, if I take my glasses off and look at it I can almost convince myself it was all planned and planted that way hehehehee. I think the only answer is a couple of weaners to snurff their way through the whole field lol. sadly my dogs would spend their entire life, hounding the poor porkers, so back to the drawing board!

Patchwork_Quilt

Boiling water works on small infestations.

lostinrates

kazschow wrote: »

my horsetail is now in steep competition with the creeping buttercup!!! On the plus side my field looks so lush and green with the horsetail, and dotted with cheerly little yellow flowers, if I take my glasses off and look at it I can almost convince myself it was all planned and planted that way hehehehee. I think the only answer is a couple of weaners to snurff their way through the whole field lol. sadly my dogs would spend their entire life, hounding the poor porkers, so back to the drawing board!

we have patches of buttercup . I've dug at some of them, but its a thankless job on a large scale...one day it will pay off I hope.:mad:

kazschow

I've given up the ghost on the lot of the weeds, 'til next year, at least then the house will be up, I won;t be living in a scanky caravan with no hot water, so will be able to go soak my aching bones after a serious days weeding lol