Moral support for crap gardeners

[Millymollymandy]

You can make a 'tea' out of mares tail which is very good for preventing blight on tomatoes/spuds, so I hear. So it is better to have than Jap Knotweed.

[Peggy Sue]

You can make a 'tea' out of mares tail which is very good for preventing blight on tomatoes/spuds, so I hear. So it is better to have than Jap Knotweed.

True, I've done that for the last two years! My next door allotment holder also reckons that although the marestail is everywhere on his patch it really doesn't affect the plants he grows, the roots on marestail are so deep water and goodness comes from 4 foot down.

[phil55494]

I'm sure I've read in Organic Way (the Garden Organic mag) that one way to control/get rid of Marestail is to grow grass around it and just mow it away. It will take several years to bring it down though. I'd point you to online references but I cant find any so this suggestion is just from memory.

[Susie]

There was a woman on Gardeners Question Time who had bindweed and they told her to cover the bit where it was with glyphophosphate (not sure about that word) and wait for 3 years. 3 years! They'd have kittens if they saw my garden :-(.

I wonder if I can just pull out the mares tail when I see it? In a way I don't mind it. I mean, I understand it's Very Bad, but I quite admire its bushiness and staying power.

[Flo]

One trick I used to pass on to gardeners with mares tail was to take a kettle of boiling water and trickle it down the stems of each bit you see. Boil it whilst in place. It certainly used to make a difference in gardens with mares tail. Little by little over the years. Far better than matrimonial pots and pans (oooooooooooooh there's a local phrase for household rows). Something you can do when you are at home.

[Millymollymandy]

Susie - I've never had that weed but I just control all the weeds I have by hoeing them off. Not a lot I can do about bindweed but if you keep on top of the hoeing it doesn't have a chance to smother your plants. I guess if I had marestail I would do the same but don't know its growing habits.

[grahamhobbs]

In usual circumstances you cannot get rid of marestail, you either give up, put your land down to grass and mow it for 5 years (and it will probably reappear) or you live with it, hoeing regularly to keep it from taking over. But like this, as someone previously said, as it so deep rooted it doesn't affect your crops that much. It is gadually making it's way across our allotments, another 5 years and we will be fighting it off.