Can anyone tell me what this is please? Pic inc

Blackjack_Davy

Foxy0810 wrote: »

Nothing will kill it? That's not good will it kill my vegetables?

Round Up or other Glyphosate based chemical does work but you'll probably need a repeat treatment. It'll go from green to yellow looking very sorry for itself, and eventually die.

Pretty tough plant though it's roots go down several feet so nigh on impossible to dig it all out. Just keep on top of it pulling it out and don't let it get established.

Yes a living fossil they once dominated the earth there are fossils of it found in coal and the such like, they were trees then!

valk_scot

The other thing to remember is to quarentine the allotment from your garden and other folk's gardens. Bringing home soil on your boots for example can introduce spores to your garden, bringing home plants is even worse. My SIL had horsetail on her allotment, but my plot on another site was clear. I didn't use the same boots or tools on her plot as I did my own and we kept a strict ban on any transfer of plants and soil from her plot to mine. I didn't want to be the person that introduced mares tail to my own allotment site!

Miss_Havisham

you can get flame-thrower things for getting rid of pernicious weeds - has anyone tried them ?

lostinrates

Miss_Havisham wrote: »

you can get flame-thrower things for getting rid of pernicious weeds - has anyone tried them ?

Yes, we have one. We find it less good at weed killing than clearing, though we manily do bramble with it. To clear brmble we chop one day and burn the next. It doesn 't kill the bases. We have also used it on weeds ans grass on paths and frankly, its nt very effective.....unless its how we use it!

Blackpool_Saver

yikes it's a triffid !

macma

I remember listening to Gardeners question time and someone asked what do about the mares tail in their garden? To a man they all answered "move !" :rotfl:
That said there is a lot on our site and most plot holders just dig it out and continue planting,they never get rid of it but they just live with it.
That tv gardener Christine Walkden visited our site and said learn to love it .Because it is so deep rooted it brings nutrients to the surface.:)

Sugar_Junkie

macma wrote: »

I remember listening to Gardeners question time and someone asked what do about the mares tail in their garden? To a man they all answered "move !" :rotfl:

LOL quite true. It's a bloody nightmare and I've just discovered my new garden has a ton of it coming up... oh joy

Oh and yeah just try to live with it as you'll never manage to get rid of it all. Just dig it up as best you can when you see it. Or try to crowd it out with plants you actually want.

floss2

I have a shared allotment...I've taken time to weed all of my 60% but the other 40%er hasn't and he has mares tail on his side....but chap over the fence has a new chemical treatment to put on in the autumn that will allegedly kill it all....

mutley74

We had this growing through a driveway. The only other place near our house where I found this growing was near a council plot about 30m away, no neighbours have this.

We got the drive block paving relaid last year asking the builders to make lots of effort to clean the blocks and use weed killer, sheets etc to try and avoid this coming back. I am afraid no luck its just started to shoot. Tried weed killer but to be honest it kills the shoots but then new ones appear. Guess next option is to try either large amounts of salt or burn them.

savageHK

I'm fairly sure burning it isn't going to do anything - the roots are very long and I suspect you might as well just keep plucking at the shoots, it will take as much effort.