Wow you have your work cut out there. As far as I know there is not a lot that can be done with it except patience just keep pulling it out as you see it grow. We had one plot on the allotment site covered in it and the council racked it level and covered it in grass seed, it as slowed it down a lot. We seem to be hearing more and more about mares Tail invasion. Take it easy.
Hi Sarah, this bed is now rebuilt and full with the soil I riddled. I did add some well rotted manure and compost to give it some body. Up to now the Mares-tail has not returned . I will show this on my next you tube video.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 Great look forward to seeing the results! My own front garden is riddled with it, made its way in the lawn & borders, I used Kurtail (with a lot of guilt!) last year but it’s back with a vengeance this year! 🙈
@@Sarah-Gee , Kurtail is the best weed killer for the job but you may need to repeat a few times before it totally exhausts the root. I am expecting a few bits of growth but I will just keep pulling them out until they give up.
I’m sorry to hear your garden has mares-tail. But don’t despair you can beat it. I will take a lot of hard work on a regular basis. It’s over two years since this post and I am gardening free of this weed up until now. I know you can not do as I have on a larger scale garden but if you never let this weed produce its tree like leaf it will slowly die. Try and dig out as much as you can and as it reappears just hoe the tops off. I have also done this in other parts of my garden with great success . The weed is very persistent but if you can be bothered you will beat it. Good luck.
Yes, I just keep on top of it from spring-summer pulling out as much of the deep root as possible, spending approx fifteen minutes every two weeks to prevent any green shoots emerging. I'm so good at it now that the activity is part of my therapeutic weeding routine.
I have mares tail in my allotment and as a new allotment owner I am on my way to clearing it all out. I have found that strong weed killer mixed with a little bit of wallpaper paste helps knock it back and can kill off some of the roots. Rest of the plot looks great though John
Goodness me, that is a lot of horsetail! I had it at a previous property and struggled to get rid of it, we had a stream running through and I think it travelled through that.
About 25 years ago I got my dad a load of horse muck for his allotment and the year after all of his plot had mares tail growing all over it I haven't used horse muck since
Hello John, would you be interested in showing how to cross pollinate two different leeks for new strains and, how we would go about choosing which leek for each purpose ie would you pick the shape of the mother plant and length of father plant or viceversa? Or would it be a case of just seeing what the plant produces. Cheers.
Thank you Darat, I made the riddle my self from 2x3” timber and quarter mesh with latts to hold in place. By the way I don’t have any more trouble with mates tail.👍
John love your tomatoes, I am 74 and always grown tomatoes but never had them as good as yours, I have got my seeds Maisey for next year, is the growing in the compost or the feed, what can I add to my clover before planting please Cheers
Hello Moorlands Allotment, up to this point all the soil I sifted onto my footpath is still there. I haven’t had time to rebuild the wall. But there is no sign of any growth in the soil or the base of the bed. But as spring has not really arrived yet that could change. I will follow with an early summer video and assess how successful this project has been.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 Thanks for the reply. I have just taken on an allotment with the dreaded Marestail. I've been digging and hand picking it out. Hoping to at least get on top of it so that I can remove as soon as it rears it's unwanted head.
@@themoorlandsallotment7159 you are doing the right thing. Other areas in my garden were very bad with this weed and with constant hard work these areas are almost clear now. Keep up the good work.
Hello Joanne, mares-tail is very persistent and very deep rooted. But with hard work you can beat this weed. If you intend covering the area to stop light you would still need to use a weedkiller such as Kurtail first to knock the weed down. The area I worked on the video you watched is now almost clear of mares-tail. I am seeing other weeds appearing but no mares-tail . The best of luck with your attempt, I hope you beat this weed.
I have this I my garden, it's not practical to dig down a meter plus. If I just keep picking all the heads off with it eventually run out of steam after a few years?
Hi there, mares tail is a nightmare and the roots can be more than 2 meters deep. But with perseverance you will beat it. As soon as you see new shoots emerge pull them out, this will be a daily chore, but eventually the roots will be exhausted and will take longer and longer to re-emerge. Good luck.
Where that bag of fertiliser was you had no weeds. Does this mean you could cut the weeds back then cover with black plastic and grow through wholes in the plastic?
I haven’t tried WD40 as I try to keep my land as organic as possible. As it happens all the hard work I did has worked and I have had two crops from that raised bed with no mares tail reappearing .
I have this between a section of slabs about 5 x 5 metres. I dont really want to use any weedkiller product as i have a pet. If i just pull the shoots diligently every time i see them, can i get rid of this stuff over time? Or is it a futile cause to just pull shoots?
This is a big problem as the roots grow over 2 meters deep and keep growing back when you snap them. But any plant will die if it does not get light over a long period of time. You must be prepared to keep at the task of removing growing tips everything they appear and eventually you will exhaust the plant and it will die. This will take maybe two or even three years. The other method you could try is to crush the stem and spray with neat vinigar, and again this will still take many times to rid your land of this very strong persistent weed. Good luck.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 thank you for the swift reply sir! I am a new gardener and want my land to look clean and tidy. I enjoy the hand weeding process as it is somewhat therapeutic. But damn i hate the persistence of this horsetail stuff! I suppose it's me vs a few hundred years of evolution so im already at a disadvantage.
I spray it with distilled malt vinegar with a little washing up liquid to break down the waxy coating. Needs a few applications but does kill off visible growth & not a nasty chemical!
Hello, Mares-tail is a nightmare , but with persistence you can beat it. The only way to control in paving is with weed killer I’m afraid. The normal garden centre weedkillers will not do the job. You either need Kurtail or Roundup and even with these weedkillers you will need to crush the mares-tail as it has a waxy coat that acts as a defence barrier. By crush the foliage you create an open wound which allows the weedkillers to penetrate the plant. The root can be easily 6/7/8ft deep so you may need to replete the process two or three times to eventually exhaust the plant.
Thanks very much John and lovely update. All looking good. I've just shaved one of my pendle off last week
Oh wow you are a glutton for punishment. Well done, your perseverance is an inspiration!
Wow you have your work cut out there.
As far as I know there is not a lot that can be done with it except patience just keep pulling it out as you see it grow.
We had one plot on the allotment site covered in it and the council racked it level and covered it in grass seed, it as slowed it down a lot.
We seem to be hearing more and more about mares Tail invasion.
Take it easy.
Never pull it out only grow stronger from where its snapped of and is harder to get rid of...same as doc leaves
Wow I am in awe at your perseverance! 👏
Hi Sarah, this bed is now rebuilt and full with the soil I riddled. I did add some well rotted manure and compost to give it some body. Up to now the Mares-tail has not returned . I will show this on my next you tube video.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 Great look forward to seeing the results! My own front garden is riddled with it, made its way in the lawn & borders, I used Kurtail (with a lot of guilt!) last year but it’s back with a vengeance this year! 🙈
@@Sarah-Gee , Kurtail is the best weed killer for the job but you may need to repeat a few times before it totally exhausts the root. I am expecting a few bits of growth but I will just keep pulling them out until they give up.
Also , a fellow northerner comforted by a local accent instead of a American one on here
I’m sorry to hear your garden has mares-tail. But don’t despair you can beat it. I will take a lot of hard work on a regular basis. It’s over two years since this post and I am gardening free of this weed up until now. I know you can not do as I have on a larger scale garden but if you never let this weed produce its tree like leaf it will slowly die. Try and dig out as much as you can and as it reappears just hoe the tops off. I have also done this in other parts of my garden with great success . The weed is very persistent but if you can be bothered you will beat it. Good luck.
Yes, I just keep on top of it from spring-summer pulling out as much of the deep root as possible, spending approx fifteen minutes every two weeks to prevent any green shoots emerging. I'm so good at it now that the activity is part of my therapeutic weeding routine.
That’s exactly what you have to do. Eventually you will win the day.👍
I have mares tail in my allotment and as a new allotment owner I am on my way to clearing it all out. I have found that strong weed killer mixed with a little bit of wallpaper paste helps knock it back and can kill off some of the roots.
Rest of the plot looks great though John
Good advice Allan. Thank you. I hope you have a good season ahead.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 thanks John, you too. It was longbow that I used but has been taken off the market now lol
Goodness me, that is a lot of horsetail! I had it at a previous property and struggled to get rid of it, we had a stream running through and I think it travelled through that.
Wow I eat it
About 25 years ago I got my dad a load of horse muck for his allotment and the year after all of his plot had mares tail growing all over it I haven't used horse muck since
I was talking to guy at the local allotments he said the roots have been found in the coal mines in our area ….Yorkshire
I’m Yorkshire and heard the same lol
Hello John, would you be interested in showing how to cross pollinate two different leeks for new strains and, how we would go about choosing which leek for each purpose ie would you pick the shape of the mother plant and length of father plant or viceversa? Or would it be a case of just seeing what the plant produces. Cheers.
Yes Russ, Peter and Flo are now crossing heads for next year, I will pop up next week and do a video.
That’s excellent,thank you.
Nice video mate, just wondering how you built your griddle, especially the sieve section so it can take the weight of the soil
Thank you Darat, I made the riddle my self from 2x3” timber and quarter mesh with latts to hold in place. By the way I don’t have any more trouble with mates tail.👍
John love your tomatoes, I am 74 and always grown tomatoes but never had them as good as yours, I have got my seeds Maisey for next year, is the growing in the compost or the feed, what can I add to my clover before planting please Cheers
Thank you for great comments.
I added Terra Plus to my compost and they have had 2 top dressings of Terra. Apart from that no feed at all.
Would that be terra balance please
@@splishsplash2579 I will post a photo later
Another good vid John thanks
Great video. Can you advise if the sifting out of the marestail has worked long term.
Hello Moorlands Allotment, up to this point all the soil I sifted onto my footpath is still there. I haven’t had time to rebuild the wall. But there is no sign of any growth in the soil or the base of the bed. But as spring has not really arrived yet that could change. I will follow with an early summer video and assess how successful this project has been.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 Thanks for the reply. I have just taken on an allotment with the dreaded Marestail. I've been digging and hand picking it out. Hoping to at least get on top of it so that I can remove as soon as it rears it's unwanted head.
@@themoorlandsallotment7159 you are doing the right thing. Other areas in my garden were very bad with this weed and with constant hard work these areas are almost clear now. Keep up the good work.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 100 percent it will grow back use systemic weedkiller
I have a huge spot in my garden and I’m thinking of putting landscaping cloth down for a few seasons
Hello Joanne, mares-tail is very persistent and very deep rooted. But with hard work you can beat this weed. If you intend covering the area to stop light you would still need to use a weedkiller such as Kurtail first to knock the weed down. The area I worked on the video you watched is now almost clear of mares-tail. I am seeing other weeds appearing but no mares-tail . The best of luck with your attempt, I hope you beat this weed.
I have this I my garden, it's not practical to dig down a meter plus. If I just keep picking all the heads off with it eventually run out of steam after a few years?
Hi there, mares tail is a nightmare and the roots can be more than 2 meters deep.
But with perseverance you will beat it. As soon as you see new shoots emerge pull them out, this will be a daily chore, but eventually the roots will be exhausted and will take longer and longer to re-emerge.
Good luck.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 awesome stuff mate I'll keep doing what I'm doing.
Nòoooooooo systemic weedkiller
Back in a year or 2?? I pull them out and jet wash the block paving and it’s back again in 3 weeks 😤
Here because I'm moving house , and my new houses garden has it 😭 I'm devastated
Where that bag of fertiliser was you had no weeds. Does this mean you could cut the weeds back then cover with black plastic and grow through wholes in the plastic?
If your land is covered with something that blocks out light the weeds will not grow. But Mares-tail will grow and travel until they find light.
Have you tried wd40? Woukd it ruin the soil for your plants?
I haven’t tried WD40 as I try to keep my land as organic as possible.
As it happens all the hard work I did has worked and I have had two crops from that raised bed with no mares tail reappearing .
I have this between a section of slabs about 5 x 5 metres. I dont really want to use any weedkiller product as i have a pet. If i just pull the shoots diligently every time i see them, can i get rid of this stuff over time? Or is it a futile cause to just pull shoots?
This is a big problem as the roots grow over 2 meters deep and keep growing back when you snap them. But any plant will die if it does not get light over a long period of time. You must be prepared to keep at the task of removing growing tips everything they appear and eventually you will exhaust the plant and it will die. This will take maybe two or even three years. The other method you could try is to crush the stem and spray with neat vinigar, and again this will still take many times to rid your land of this very strong persistent weed.
Good luck.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 thank you for the swift reply sir! I am a new gardener and want my land to look clean and tidy. I enjoy the hand weeding process as it is somewhat therapeutic. But damn i hate the persistence of this horsetail stuff!
I suppose it's me vs a few hundred years of evolution so im already at a disadvantage.
Won't get rid only control it..SYSTEMIC weedkiller keep pets in till dry
I spray it with distilled malt vinegar with a little washing up liquid to break down the waxy coating.
Needs a few applications but does kill off visible growth & not a nasty chemical!
Hi John, I have mares-tail coming through block paving, any help would be appreciated
Hello, Mares-tail is a nightmare , but with persistence you can beat it. The only way to control in paving is with weed killer I’m afraid. The normal garden centre weedkillers will not do the job. You either need Kurtail or Roundup and even with these weedkillers you will need to crush the mares-tail as it has a waxy coat that acts as a defence barrier. By crush the foliage you create an open wound which allows the weedkillers to penetrate the plant. The root can be easily 6/7/8ft deep so you may need to replete the process two or three times to eventually exhaust the plant.
@@gardeningwithjohnsoulsby111 Thank you, it seems I’ve got a job on my hands
Ammonium sulphamate works
Thank you, I could have saved my self a lot of hard work. Never mind I’m weed free in that trench now.