Horsetail extraction timing.

[StringfellowParticipant]

Hello,

Is there an optimum moment, regards weakening it, to remove the shooting spears of this minor nuisance? I mean, is it best removed as soon as it’s cheeky little head is appearing at ground level, or would it be better to give it a few days liberty and then remove it at say around 3 – 4″ length?

How are other people getting on with this stuff? Following one year of light exclusion, couch and ground elder from the front garden has gone, but the horsetail is still sending up new shoots down at the allotment, so the black plastic is gonna stay a while longer….

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Sharon TaysideMember]

Hi, Stringfellow. We had varying success with horsetail. It’s a prehistoric plant made up of almost total silica and hugely deep-rooted. It’s a herb used for hair rinses, strengthening nails and even an early non-stick treatment for scrubbing pans. I think it has been used for toothbrushes, too.
It’s silica content makes it difficult to kill with chemicals. And it is very brittle. If you can bruise it without snapping it glysophate has some effect. We used to keep it under control by gently lifting the plant without snapping it and trying to pull up as much root as possible. Densely packed ground cover planting did seem to put it off a bit, too.
Good luck.

[Pete BuddParticipant]

I have been living with this for decades and never completely eliminated it. When I was younger, fitter (dafter), I tried to blitz it from existence. This did not have the dramatic effect I thought it should. As you say it is a minor nuisance, having little or no effect on crops. Latterly I have been pulling it out whenever I see it, with as much root as I can get or cutting it as deep as I can with a kitchen knife. In answer to your question ” when is the optimum time “, I don`t think it matters. What I can tell you is; that with persistence it is possible to virtually eliminate it and this can be achieved within a human lifespan.

Pete

[StringfellowParticipant]

Sharon & Pete, thanks for your responses; nice to know that others are managing this stuff okay!

I’d rather not use any chemical deterrents as growing organically. Besides, previous tenants apparently tried that and got nowhere!

In addition to mulching, I’ll just keep extracting it from beds with a trowel and rubbing it out from paths with a hoe. Persistance.

Pete, what do you mean by ‘blitz it’?!

[Pete BuddParticipant]

By blitzing I mean attempting to dig every piece out to a considerable depth!

Pete

[StringfellowParticipant]

Thanks Pete!

I had images of dynamiting and/ or flame throwing etc.

Thanks for your help again.

[StephParticipant]

I have it in my polytunnel at work, trowel it out once a week to stop it becoming too enthusiastic (the tunnel has only been there a year, the horsetail decades longer – excellent crops so it doesn’t bother them).

I do use it to make all manner of interesting hippy potions including a floor cleaner but would prefer it to be growing somewhere else!

[StringfellowParticipant]

Thanks Steph, I agree, it would be nice if it were growing somehwere else! Still, good to know it becomes manageable with time and persistence.

Good luck with the potions; I noticed that Maria Thun advocates making an anti-fungal brew from it. What a versatile plant….

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