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  • Horsetail Plant

    Created by Mary Dayton on July 31, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    Do you have anything to control horsetail? I purchased 10 acres from a person who thought this is a useful herb. It is taking over my garden. Help!! I have been digging, cutting, burning, you name it! It pops up in compost, raised garden beds, in containers, along asparagus, dry areas, wet areas, within a lawn that is short clipped . . . it’s everywhere!!

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  • August 5, 2018 at 8:10 am #285957

    Eric Vinje
    Keymaster

    Hi Mary –

    Horsetail can take years to eradicate from your garden space. These hearty plants thrive in poor soil conditions. Usual weed eradication methods, such as pulling , digging, covering the ground with plastic, or applying herbicides will only encourage growth of horsetail. The only sure way to eradicate this aggressive invasive species is to change the condition of the soil they grown in.

    Begin by removing any mulch and/or plastic material that has been laid around where the horsetail is growing. Cut off and remove any spore-bearing stalks (these look similar to asparagus). Throw these items in a trash bag and toss them out.

    Apply Dolomite Lime according to package directions. Water this into your soil for 2-3 weeks. You will then want to start aerating your soil by applying a good layer of compost to your soil. Locate some earthworms to your space, as they are a natural way to aerate soil. Cover the ground with bark mulch will provide an airless,acidic and moist location that make it difficult for the species to thrive. Living ground cover is another way to eradicate horsetail from your space because they will take essential elements from the horsetail and create a soil that is too nutrient-rich for horsetail to thrive.

    Stay vigilant, and you will see fewer and fewer traces of this invasive species as time goes on.

    Haope it helps!

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