Forum home› Plants

Weed help?

edevriesedevries Posts: 4
in Plants
Hi everyone, 

I'm new to my allotment and gardening in general! I was wondering if I could get your advice on what sort of weeds I have? I've attached an image here (they conveniently have popped up through one of the holes in my weed cloth and in the space that I've yet to plant). 

I had weedcloth down in one section at the beginning of this year and they managed to grow under that as well. 

Thank you!

Emma

Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 13,701
    The dreaded horsetail.
    Been around since the days of the dinosaurs, roots are reported to go down to 100 meters, very hard to eradicate.
    I find the best way to deal with it, is to regularly take the tops off it, you can weaken it like this.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    Hi Emma, not an expert but that looks like marestail I'm afraid. Someone more knowledgeable will be along soon and maybe give a different opinion - I hope so!
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    Hey @punkdoc do chaps say horsetail and gels say marestail?  Sorry Emma, hoped I was wrong  :(
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 9,347
    Horsetail is a terrestrial plant and marestail is the similar looking aquatic plant but they're often mixed up.
    Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 6,642
    wild edges said:
    Horsetail is a terrestrial plant and marestail is the similar looking aquatic plant but they're often mixed up.
    Something new I've learned today  :)
    “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first” 
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    Me too!  :)
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • edevriesedevries Posts: 4
    Thank you all for the speedy identification! It looks like a horrible weed :(

    I will try to regularly take the tops off to try to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it's popped up after I've put in my seedlings so I don't think I can do any sort of weed killer. 

  • LynLyn Posts: 21,882
    I saw a programme on tv some years ago, the chap said to get a hypodermic syringe (is that what it’s called?) anyway, you put very strong weed killer in and inject into the stems, time consuming but he said it worked. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • soulboysoulboy Posts: 429
    In my experience it's no good just chopping it down or pulling it out as it will grow back because of the already mentioned extensive and very deep root system. The RHS website states that they can extend 2 metres into the soil.

    I had a plot that had it and the way to deal with it is is to get a strong root-killing weedkiller.

    I too, had already planted but chose to sacrifice some of the plants because this pernicious weed spreads everywhere, and quickly. With the weedkiller I used (not glyphosate) you can plant in the soil after six weeks.

    The one I used was SBK brushwood and weedkiller, which you can buy in soluble form or ready to use. It is a selective weedkiller so might not affect your other plants and you can also paint it on if you buy the soluble form. With the ready to use you can adjust the nozzle to a coarse, jet setting and by gently spraying, avoid splashing. It's a good idea to gently bruise the leaves before application by squeezing them.

    You will need to keep a close eye on your plot for re-emergence and it may well require repeated application of the weedkiller.
Sign In or Register to comment.