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Learning to walk before I run
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From what I’ve read, you’ll only have limited success with the chemicals on the horse tail (and let’s face it, it’s not great to be using it). It is all over my allotment and I just tend to try to keep on top of it, but where I don’t, I don’t find it the most offensive weed - no seeds/flowers and it can be quite delicate looking. For the rest, cardboard and a good layer of mulch - ideally 6” should do the trick. Advantage being that cardboard will rot and Abby weeds that do come through are very easy to remove from the compost layer. Polythene will work too, but you’ve got to have that down and nothing planted, whereas you can plant straight into the compost layer.Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days
'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway6 -
Horsetail does seed as I understand it? (well spore), as well as growing a massive network of rhizomes
How do you manage it @themadvix ?
Not sure where I'd get that much mulch, can it be pretty much anything made of organic material? Would need *a lot* of mulch and still not sure whether to remove bark chippings first.6 -
Yes, I would spray & then put the black stuff down.
They will eventually come back but that will help.
Got someone coming to look at my supposed low maintenence garden. Bah.
I need Alan Titsmarch or whoever.
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One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.8 -
The RHS page on eradicating horsetail is quite realistic. It is very hard and you will need to be systematic and regular. Here is the link but here's a summary too. It recommends using a stump killer in repeated applications for bad infestations. It also says bruise the stems with a rake before applying it late summer. I would do this just before dusk if you are spraying, to minimise the impact on pollinators) and then apply a weed suppressing membrane covered in cardboard and then mulch ( a local tree surgeon can usually do a trailerload of shredded green material much cheaper than bark chippings (free, in some cases) - but be aware that it will compost over time, providing another growing medium for weeds. A T-shaped rake will take these out if you do it regularly and a late dusk spray twice in spring will help minimise it.
You could rake up the chippings you have down and reapply these as a top dressing to shredded garden material, to minimise cost. The horsetail rhizomes are often 7 foot deep so weakening it and then staying on top is maybe more realistic than eradicating it. I found bark chippings rather unsatisfactory and we have resorted to marketplace paving slabs (usually about a quid each) over heavy duty water permeable weed suppressing membrane with big gravel between the slabs. DH sprays the gravel twice a year and I pull weeds sometimes - they are surface weeds if you do it before the compromise the membrane (hence why it needs to be thick).
Ideally you want the membrane to be 100-125gsm and be aware that some sellers are listing the square metre coverage, not the length of roll on the big river company. The one we used is unavailable but this is the sort of thing (only 25m long, I got 50m for about £35 in Jan 2020) so not vastly different.
The stump killer should help with brambles too if you have the vigorous shoots like we do currently. Cut them to 30cm then apply the stump or brush killer that takes the poison to the roots. We use a paintbrush to minimise the impact on herbaceous plants.Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here6 -
Thank you @beanielou
@Suffolk_lass - I know you have offered me thoughts on the virtues of membrane before - unlike the horsetail I had hoped that you would pop up! The brambles are something else, they were already cut back by 4' at the start of the summer and some of the new/untangled vines were perhaps 5' long
It looks like I'm going to have to throw some more money and time at the problem, ugh.
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The stuff I bought in January 2020 is still going strong so I think that was worth it. The cheaper, thinner stuff has broken down and is disintegrating in a plastic sort of waySave £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here6 -
@Suffolk_lass - have you clocked the Waitflower Cellar wine offer? 25% off 6 + £2 from TCB for spending over £10 with a merchant + TCB cashback + cashback or points from your payment method of choice. We're going to get Christmas wines in advance6
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Nooo! but you see, now I need to. I just bought three bottles each of the Morrisons The Best 25% off three that finished mid month - Pouilly Fume, Vinho Verde, Provencial Rose and a Pinot Noir and with a third of my 50 bottle rack taken up by screw top kilner jars as I am preserving fruit for winter (electric free!), I'm not sure if I have room for 6. Maybe they could remain boxed though, as I do have another 25 bottle rack in there too (and a 100 bottle rack in the cart lodge, but I might use that to support a plant to remove temptation...).
I have ordered a fewSave £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here6 -
Well, that's us £106 worse off
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Grocery inflation doesn't seem to be slowing as much as the supermarkets claim! My bargain of the night was 4x bars of fancy Swiss vegan chocolate (24p each reduced from £2.95, looked like it was end of line as it still has a year on the BB date)6
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