So I tried to post on another forum, but it wouldn't let me. So I am posting here. I am trying to get rid of the horsetail in my garden and I used the vinegar suggestion. What I want to know is if the vinegar will kill your large bushes, shrubs or plants? I spot treated the horsetail and didn't spray it when it was really close to a plant. I have had this weed for 3 years now and it is progressively getting worse. This year we took the time to lay weed paper down before mulching, but it is popping thru the paper, go figure. So what do you do if the plant won't die from the vinegar since pulling just makes the weed grow faster and more? Anyone's knowledge on this would help. Thanks, Celeste from Duvall, WA.
Hi Celeste, Here is a post I wrote in reply to someone else with a horsetail problem. I don't think they ever tried this solution but it's said to work well with killing of this dreaded grass so maybe it's worth a try. "There is a plant who's roots are said to be toxic to Horestail/Marestail if you have it in your flower beds or lawn. It's called 'Tagetes Minuta' and it's a Mexican marigold. Quite a few organic allotmenteers put in these plants where they have HT/MT growing as they don't want to contaminate their soil with chemicals." Hope you get rid of your problem soon.
Hi Celeste, in case you missed it there is a helpful topic here also: http://www.gardenstew.com/about318.html
horsetail Thank you so much for the help. Yes I read the other forums on horsetail, but it didn't answer my question about killing my other plants. And what is "organic allotmenteers" not sure what that is. Will try and look it up see what I can find. And to let you know that the vinegar is working and I sprayed again today because I only have a couple of hot sunny days left in the Seattle area. I am scared of what is going to happen in our rainy season if I can't put vinegar on it.
Sorry crothlis I should have explained what organic allotmenteers were. They are simply people who have an alloted piece of land that they rent from the local authorities and who don't believe in using chemicals on their plants. If you use Tagetes Minuta plants in your garden, as they do, then they won't affect your other plants but should help you with controlling the horsetail.
Hiyah Crothlis... I have to say, having this weed is a problem which no one deserves. It is an extremely pernicious plant, and thus, has a very, very poor prognosis. It has been around since pre-historic times, so this gives you an idea of what we are up against here. It is kindest to just tell you from the beginning that you must accept it's presence and the best that you can do is to try and keep it contained. Having said that, I can tell you what I do to combat it; but, first of all let me tell you that I took-on a new lottie two years ago now. When I took over the lottie it had clean (above ground) and I recieved a bare 100 m² plot of ground. That was in January, and as spring came on the mares tail began popping up all over it, looking like an ankle-high forest. What to do!? I garden organically, so chemicals wasn't an option for me--although at the height (or depth) of my desperation, I did investigate the possibilities of a chemical intervention and discovered that there is no legal solution that will kill it completely and for all time. I found out that some chemicals would kill an individual plant that stuck it's head above ground,; however, the poison was not taken into the roots, killing the whole plant. Ok then, here is what I have noticed and what I did and still do: --1) Keep your soil turned and loose. This plant doesn't seem to show itself very much in loose and frequently tilled ground. The opposite is true of compacted ground, like beathe-down footpaths, soil under stepping stones and soil under fences that can't be tilled properly. --2) If you remove every plant that you see with a narrow trowel down to as deep as you can go, it may not come back for one or two years in that place. --3) There are two different types of stems: the (sterile) green, bushy ones and the bare-stemmed brown ones with a "cone-shaped" formation atop it (most commonly seen in april and may). They must both be removed, but the brown ones are the ones that have the spores that can spread the plant, so care must be used in removing this. Care and isolation. --4) If it is at all possible for you to burn these bits, you should. --5) Remove as much root as possible, but beware that broken bits of roots will generate a new plant. * The roots of the mares tail can run as deep as 3 meters, so do not expect to get it all--just get as much as you can. --6) The first year my partner and I had to break the ground and then get down on our hands and knees and remove the plants by hand. We did this three times during the course of the season. This year we did it once, but there were only a very few places where it grew. I was very encouraged. It must be said that the ground where the infestation is is a veggie garden, so tilling and keeping clean is fairly easy. I am not sure what your situation is, but you may have to settle for clearing and keeping clear segments of your property clear of this weed and leave it in others. Well, I said in the very beginning that you will keep this weed always, but to be faiur, some folks swear that after 2-3 years of inrensive hadnling as I have outlines, the plant can be beaten. If this is true, remains to be seen. I am always the optimist and do not give up easily. ***There is one other trick that I know of, but have not tried it myself: the "cardboard treatment". This is actually for smaller plots primarily. If you are interested, I can translate this idea for you and tell you about it...but as I said, it's an un-tested (by me) idea. I hope that this helps. I wish you good luck and I offer moral support, also being a sufferer of this plague.
Equisetum/Horsetail is one nasty weed to have. It spreads and reproduces a couple of very effective ways. Long roots that can grow several yards and spores. In the Spring you will see tan/brown colored stalks with a knob on top. The pointed knob is a spore head. 1. pick this off before it can spread spores. 2. Solarfication is required for large patches using plastic and the sun's rays to bake off everything several inches below the siol surface. 3. Boil water and spot cook individual weeds. Boiled water cooks off weed right now and the first couple inches of root. Keep this up and the weed eventually fades away as it can not photosynthise, so it starves to death so to speak. Because Equisetum has no real foliage and has hollow stems, there is no real effective way to spray on any chemical (manufatured or organic) that is effective. Not Poison Ive killer or commercial strnght vinegar. It wont and doesn't work Boiled water works best for me. Ron
ok, I know this will sound really gross. When I had a horsetail problem, The best I could come up with(are you ready) pee on them. Well, not actually on them, but pee in a cup and put it on the horsetail. Mine was gone in less than 2 months and never came back. Cathy
I wonder if the horsetail i have in mind is the same horsetail you're talking about...I just got some horsetails yesterday for my apartment.
