Cat's eye, mop-grass, whisk, tin grass, horse tail ... All these wonderful and very uncommon names belong to such a plant as horsetail. Drugs produced on the basis of tin grass, can effectively deal with such diseases as cholelithiasis, diarrhea, eczema, dermatitis, trophic ulcers, herpes and other illnesses. However, this herb has a different side. Horsetail is a garden weed, and it is difficult to remove.
Horsetail can get to the garden with the applied soil. For example, this plant likes to settle on the developed peatlands, from where they often bring soil for garden plantings. Before you put the soil on your site, you must make sure that the roots of the horsetail are not “hidden” in it. Calculate them is not so easy, for this you should carefully go through most of the soil.
It is quite difficult to find signs of horsetail during the annual digging of the site (both spring and autumn). The fact is that the root system of this plant can lie at a depth of from forty to sixty centimeters. Unfortunately, with the help of usually shovels, it is simply impossible to reach the rhizomes, so this weed continues to live and develop calmly in the garden plot. To avoid its spreading, it is necessary to learn correctly, and most importantly, to deal with this plant in a timely and effective manner.
Methods of dealing with field horsetail
1. Chemicals
Horsetail is a herbaceous plant that does not have flowers, but reproduces by spores. Such preparations as Glyphos will be suitable for its destruction. This water solution is used to destroy annual and perennial weeds. Belonging to class IV of hazardous substances, Glyphos does not harm harmful insects (such as bees). The action of the drug is aimed at blocking the synthesis of aromatic amino acids occurring in the horsetail. The consequence of this is the gradual extinction, and then the death of the plant.
Glyphos and other herbicides are preferable to apply in the evening. It will be just wonderful if the weather on this day is calm and windless. During processing, the gardener should protect his hands with rubber gloves. It is not necessary to carry out spraying during or after rain, as well as during the period of drought.
2. Unwanted neighborhood
There are plants that horsetail does not tolerate. Practically all representatives of the Cruciferous family belong to them: oil-bearing radish, winter rape, white mustard and others. In those places of the plot where the appearance of horsetail was noticed, next year any of the cruciferous plants should be planted. The fact is that root excretions of radish, rapeseed and other crops can suppress weeds. This neighborhood will lead to almost one hundred percent death of the horsetail.
3. Soil acidity reduction
As is known, horsetail prefers to grow in soils with high acidity. Therefore, this figure should be gradually reduced. By the way, the process of lowering the acidity is long, it can take from six months to several years. In order not to act blindly, it is preferable to initially calculate the total soil acidity in the area. For several years should be applied to the soil lime. Calculation: two to three kilograms of lime per square meter in the first year and five hundred grams in the second - the third year. If the acidity reduction procedure is combined with regular weeding, then after a couple of years there will be no trace of the horsetail in the garden.
In the fight against such a weed as field horsetail, the main thing is to carry out work on an ongoing basis. In no case can not leave the garden unprepared after the harvest. The soil should be carefully dig, and when the first shoots of horsetail appear, they should be immediately destroyed. Comprehensive measures will allow the gardener to forget about a weed plant for a long time!
Horsetail is a medicinal plant, which in everyday life is called a cat's eye, whisk, horsetail. On its basis, medical products are made that help with cholelithiasis, diarrhea, eczema, dermatitis, herpes. Of course, in the field of medicine, the plant is of great benefit. As for his stay at his summer cottage, here he acts as a weed, which is rather difficult to get rid of.
Horsetail is a perennial spore grass that reaches a length of up to 40-50 cm. The weed has a long creeping rhizome with tuber-shaped processes with which the plant propagates in a vegetative way. Air shoots (those that are above the ground) are generative and vegetative. Generative have a brown or pinkish tint, brown leaf teeth in the form of a triangle. The color of vegetative shoots is green. Upright, with a pointed tip.
Weed grass breeds spores. As soon as the latter mature, the plant dies completely. After a few weeks the bushes turn green again. Then lateral branches are formed, which resemble vegetative processes externally.
Fact. Horsetail is an ancient plant that appeared in nature 400 million years ago.
Horsetail grows in the subarctic, temperate and tropical climate of Eurasia, in North America. The plant actively propagates on wet sandy soil. It is in great demand in traditional medicine.
What is dangerous horsetail?
Above it has already been said that horsetail delivers a lot of trouble to summer residents, as it is considered weed grass. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that the plant is poisonous. It actively reproduces in the soil, it costs only a few disputes to get into the soil, and the following year it will flood the entire site. To eradicate horsetail is not easy. Weed control is not always crowned with success, even if it uses popular proven tools. The main thing in this business is an integrated approach.
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Smart landing - a guarantee of success
Methods of dealing with vegetation
With the annual digging of the suburban area, we can detect the appearance of weeds. Its root processes lie at a depth of 40-60 cm. In this regard, it is not always possible to dig them up with a conventional shovel. As a result, the weed remains intact and begins to grow rapidly. Exterminate horsetail can be a complex method. How to act, we will tell you.
Decrease in acidity
Horsetail - a plant that loves soil with high acidity. Given this feature of weed, it can be eradicated. To do this, you need to reduce the acidity. The process is rather complicated and requires serious time-consuming (from six months to 2 years). Reduce the rate by adding dolomite flour, slaked lime or ash. These funds will give a positive result, subject to compliance with the dosage. In the first year, 2–3 kg of limestone will be required for 1 square meter of land, in the future this amount will be reduced by 6 times.
If you combine the procedure of reducing acidity with regular weeding, in a few years you will be able to completely forget about this weed.
Fact. In Japan, a plant such as horsetail is used to polish wooden products in order to give them an unusual shine. For this, the plant stems are digested in a special way.
Chemicals
Horsetail is ranked as a class of plants that do not bloom and multiply by spores. To remove it from the dacha, you can use herbicides that have a detrimental effect on different types of weeds.
Many drugs are assigned IV hazard class of substances, so they are not capable of harming bees. Herbicides block the synthesis of aromatic amino acids, resulting in the death of the weed and the death of the weed.
The following drugs can be used to eradicate weeds: Prima, Ground, Zencor, Stomp, Agrokiller, Lontrel-300. It is recommended to carry out processing of a site in the evening. It is best to choose for this dry and windless day.
See also:
Horsetail: photos, types, cultivation, medicinal properties and contraindications
Processing chemicals should be in rubber gloves. Do not spray weeds in rainy weather and during drought. It is necessary to process actively growing grass. If, after harvesting, young shoots have been identified, they must be immediately destroyed. This method will facilitate the fight with horsetail next year.
Important! To destroy the weed, you can use potent means in the form of the herbicides "Glyphos" or "Titus". In this case, the harmful substances penetrate not only into the soil, but also into the fruits themselves.
Biological methods
To destroy the weed in the form of field horsetail is not necessarily to use chemicals. You can go the other way. It is enough just to land at the site of his enemies - representatives of Cruciferous. Horsetail does not tolerate their presence nearby, therefore, if you suspect that it will actively grow, in the next season sow cabbage, radish, arugula, rapeseed, mustard seeds. The fact is that they emit from the rhizomes of substances that are detrimental to weeds. This method will completely eradicate it.
Another safe way to fight a horsetail is to mulch or cover with black foil the areas where it grows. In this case, organic and inert materials can be used.
War with weeds in gardens and gardens will always be relevant. That is why, more and more chemicals appear on the markets. But, before acquiring them, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with each weed separately in order to combat it effectively.
Horsetail is known to many gardeners. This herb has many other names. Among them: pistilka, herringbone, tin grass, cat's tail, panicle, etc. In the garden, horsetail can not be confused with other weeds because of its perceptible appearance.
How to get rid of horsetail in the garden, a question that worries many gardeners. Definitely, this is not easy. The thing is that the plant can develop on the site for a long time, spread through controversy, take strong roots with tubers deep into the ground. Therefore, you can get rid of it by performing complex actions.
Horsetail is one of the oldest perennial plants. Its age is more than 400 million years. The grass covered part of the land with dinosaurs.
Among the characteristic features of the plant - its unusual appearance, methods of reproduction. It is noteworthy that shoots of horsetail come in two varieties. In spring and summer, the plant looks different. The only thing that is common in spring and summer horsetail is a segmented stalk consisting of nodes.
Species of horsetail:
- spring escape is a generative or spore-bearing. It provides grass reproduction;
- summer shoot vegetative or photosynthetic. His task is to stock up on nutrients, put a long root.
Spring shoots are also called pistils. They are eaten. It tastes a bit like bread. In generative shoots no chlorophyll. Color - gray, slightly brown, there are shades of dirty-pink.
In appearance - it is a straight stem without ordinary leaves. Instead of leaves, the stem is covered with girdling teeth. The upper part of the shoot is an ovoid spike or strobe. It contains millions of disputes. They are very small, weightless. The wind takes them long distances. Some disappear, as they are viable for only two days. Where they fall into favorable moist soil, a new horsetail will appear.
Just sprouted horsetail is completely different from its elder brothers. It is a green stalk 2-4 mm long. This is a gametophyte. It has an egg and sperm. During the rain, the egg is fertilized. A sporophyte appears after the gametophyte. This is the usual horsetail.
The peculiarity of the spring escape is that he lives for about a month or a bit more. After drying out. In summer, a vegetative shoot of horsetail appears at the site of the pestles. It looks like a dwarf herringbone or pine. The height of the stem from 10 to 40 centimeters. It develops prongs, multifaceted side shoots. Plant color - saturated emerald.
The lower part of the shoot is represented by a long rhizome. Its length can reach more than half a meter. On the roots there are small tubers. They form nutrients. Tubers are separated from the plant and develop independently. That is why the weed is very tenacious.
Another characteristic feature of the plant is that it can be found all over the world. It loves the sun, wet sandy acidic soil. No problem tolerates drought or prolonged rainfall. He loves to settle on peatlands. It is from these developed sites that peat soil is extracted for the garden, which gardeners order. Through the soil brought, the horsetail is in the garden. In order to reduce this possibility, gardeners should carefully inspect the brought nutrient land. The long, durable roots of dark colored weeds are quite noticeable.
The composition of the horsetail saturated. It contains fatty acids, glucose, lignin, pectin, vitamin C, organic acids.
What is dangerous horsetail?
This is weed grass. Its danger is that, appearing in the garden, it interferes with the full development of vegetable crops. Weed picks up moisture, nutrients that were intended for potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. As a result, gardeners get a smaller crop than expected.
Horsetail spreads very quickly, occupying a large area on the plot. He impoverishes the land, depriving it of fertility.
An unpleasant feature of horsetail is that it is difficult to fight it. In order for the weed to disappear, it is not enough to treat the site with chemicals or plow. Need an integrated approach.
The plant, despite the fact that litters planting, is often used in traditional medicine. Experts advise caution to use decoctions of green shoots. They can be dangerous. They contain toxic substances that accumulate in the human body. As a result, poisoning occurs. You can not be treated horsetail longer than two to three weeks.
Broths can not be drunk for pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with low pressure. This category of plant will bring only harm. It is better to consult with a therapist before horsetail self-treatment.
Methods of dealing with vegetation
How to deal with horsetail in the garden? First, it is worth understanding that it is necessary to do this as early as possible. The plant property is an annual increase in numbers. Secondly, the usual methods used in weed control are not enough. Thirdly, it is possible to get rid of it only by complex actions to combat vegetation. Control measures should not be one-time, but permanent. It is necessary to do this until the site is completely rid of the dangerous, annoying weed.
Among the methods of struggle stand out:
- Reduced soil acidity.
- The use of chemistry.
- Biological methods.
Part of the gardeners are not aware of the acidity of the soil, the cultivation of which involved. Although it is quite an important indicator that affects the yield, the spread of weeds. Usually, high acidity of the earth occurs where it is too humid, often rainy weather. Calcium is lost due to water. She washes it.
In the acidic soil, the horsetail begins to spread very quickly, capturing the territory. It is this weed that will inform the owner of the field or plot of the increased acidity of the earth without any analysis.
To drive the weed out of the garden requires deoxidation of the soil. In other words, you need to adjust the soil composition, making it neutral or slightly acidic. It is not difficult. However, the process is long. It can take from several months to 1-3 years.
Substances that help reduce acidity:
- Ash.
- Slaked lime.
- Plaster.
- Dolomite flour.
- Special deoxidizing agents.
- Cement dust.
If lime is taken, it needs about 0.6 kg. per square meter. The landlord spreads it evenly on the ground. After being watered. It is believed that lime is best deoxidized in the fall, since in summer it can damage the root systems of vegetable crops. This procedure with lime is carried out once every 3 years.
Chalk, dolomite flour, old plaster is spread on the territory of the garden in the ratio of 300 grams per square meter. Deoxidizers, which can be bought in specialized stores, are used according to the instructions.
Reducing the acidity of the soil helps to fight horsetail under the condition of constant weeding, digging the vegetable garden.
Chemicals
Gardeners in addition to soil deoxidation in the fight against horsetail field can apply a variety of chemicals. Herbicides are effective because they remove not only the plants themselves, but also spores and root tubers.
Herbicide Prima
Chemical from powerful components. In a short period of time it penetrates into weeds, stops its growth. Death will happen in 2 weeks. The advantages of the drug is that it is not afraid of precipitation in the form of rain due to the rapid penetration into the horsetail or other weeds. At the same time, the chemical quickly disintegrates in the soil, does not violate its fertility. Does not affect insects. The disadvantage is that Prim’s properties are reduced during frosts.
Ground
This is a continuous action herbicide. Kills both vegetable crops and weeds. The advantage of the drug is that it effectively relieves the garden from any malicious weeds, does not pollute the environment, is safe for harvest. This tool has a significant plus - not too high cost. Ground is applied in spring, before planting, or after harvesting. It is sprayed over the soil. Can be applied directly on the weeds themselves. The ground's minus is that insects can suffer from its use.
Zencore
A time-tested drug for weeds. Herbicide selector action. He fights only with weeds. It can be used before planting and after the emergence of green shoots of crops. The drug is completely harmless to vegetables and poisonous for weeds. After the tool penetrates into the weed plant, the pest turns yellow, fades, dies. The advantage of this drug is that it penetrates deep into the ground and has a destructive effect on the roots of plants. Non-toxic, for humans, insects. Among the shortcomings of Zenko is the low efficacy of the drug in greenhouses; in hot weather, the tool can damage some hybrids.
Stomp
Selective herbicide broad-spectrum. It can be used to control a variety of weeds. He will not touch vegetables. Its disadvantages are that in hot, dry weather, the remedy will not penetrate to the roots of weed grass, but will remain on the soil surface.
Agrokiller
Effective for weeds and safe for other plants. Its active ingredient penetrates into the weed, spreading through the stem, leaves, roots and destroys them. Agrokiller sprayed on the soil with weeds, while not planting other plants. After 2 weeks, the garden can be planted. Disadvantage of the drug - suitable for single use. Only if the agent is sprayed once, it does not have a detrimental effect on vegetable crops, soil quality. In addition, the prepared solution can not be stored. It should be immediately applied as intended.
Lontrel-300
He is selective. Its advantages are non-toxic, it is not afraid of rain, it destroys harmful plants in a short period of time, penetrates into the roots. Lontrel-300 buying profitable. It requires very little to handle a large plot of land. On 3 hectares of land goes one liter of funds. Often the drug is used for feeding beets. To do this, it is mixed with fertilizers. Disadvantages of the drug - it is used only once.
Roundup in reviews refers to the effective in the fight against the most annoying weeds. It needs to be applied only on weeds. Otherwise it will damage garden crops. The advantages of the drug - after it does not need to carefully dig the soil several times. Disadvantages - long action. Weed grass begins to wither only after 4-5 days. The minus of the Roundup is that he is afraid of rain, which washes away the active substances from the plants. In dry weather, it is also used with caution. The procedure is best done early in the morning or in the evening.
Tornado - a continuous action herbicide, ideal for the destruction of difficult to eradicate weeds. Among which, horsetail. It requires two cultivations. The first is held in the spring before vegetable crops are planted. The second is after the harvest. The advantages of the drug - it does not accumulate in the soil, spreads throughout the plant - from the leaves to the deep roots. Disadvantages - it should be applied directly to the weeds, it will not penetrate to the roots through the ground.
Biological methods
A characteristic feature of the horsetail is that it cannot grow near some plants. For example, cabbage, mustard, radish, horseradish. Therefore, in addition to all other actions aimed at weed control, these crops should be planted on the site.
These methods will help gardeners to master the science of how to get rid of horsetail in the garden forever. The main thing is not to give up and fight with a weed. Then the result of the work does not take long.
Horsetail distributed throughout almost the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. Now there are about 32 types of horsetails. The most common - field, meadow, marsh.
Horsetails take root in swampy and dry areas. Some species contain silicon in the epidermis, which gives the stem stiffness and strength.
This weed is particularly fond of wet places, acidic soils, swamps, wet meadows, river banks and various water bodies. Horsetail ripens in March and May, after which the fruiting stems die off. The formation of shoots from rhizomes continues until late autumn.
The main reason for such survivability of horsetail is a very powerful, well developed and deep root system (up to 1–1.5 m). A large number of nodules ripen on the roots of the horsetail, which are organs of vegetative propagation. After mechanical weeding, it suffices to leave a very small piece of rhizome only 1 cm long in the ground and a young horsetail shoot will appear from the nodule located on it. It is because of this feature of breeding only mechanical weeding will not allow you to completely clean your site from horsetail. You can get rid of it only in combination with other methods of struggle.
METHODS OF STRUGGLE AGAINST THE FIELD
1. "Disastrous neighborhood".
Horsetail does not tolerate proximity to cruciferous plants such as winter rapeseed, oilseed radish, white mustard, arugula, etc. Their root excretions suppress weeds and contribute to their death. Sow crucifers after harvest and during the period of soil preparation until the following year. If you do not find the seeds of these crops, plant winter rye - it also has powerful alelopathic properties.
2. Removal by chemical means.
For effective destruction of undesirable vegetation by chemical means, Roundup (glyphosate) or its analogues should be used. This drug is able to destroy all weeds, both on the soil surface and due to systemic action in the soil itself, because it has the ability to penetrate the root system.
When applying herbicides you must comply with certain requirements. First of all, you need to spray the weeds that are actively growing. But in case of severe drought, which is characterized by poor germination of weeds and acute water stress, one should refrain from spraying until it rains. If precipitations are expected within 4-5 hours, spraying is not necessary, since the herbicide must be completely absorbed by the leaves of the weeds.
For the chemical control method for spraying, select pre-evening time. A calm, quiet evening is the perfect time. Prepare a respirator, rubber gloves, an atomizer. Work should be carefully, without haste.
3. The method of "scorched earth".
Places where horsetail grows can be covered with black plastic wrap or mulched. Materials for this can be either organic (chopped bark, chips, needles, pruning, dried lawn grass, mown hay, sawdust), or inert (gravel, river pebbles). It is important to pour any mulch material on the surface of the spunbond or geotextile, not on the surface of the earth, but on the ground.
4. Drainage of wet areas.
If the land on your site is very watery and there is a high level of standing groundwater, then it is advisable to carry out drainage.
5. Reduced soil acidity.
As already mentioned, horsetail loves to live on acidic soils. Therefore, soil alkalization is one of the very effective ways to combat horsetail. To do this, in the fall, before digging the ground, it is necessary to add lime, dolomite flour or wood ash to the soil. Proportions: two to three kilograms of lime per square meter in the first year and five hundred grams in the second and third years. If the procedure for reducing the acidity is combined with regular weeding, then in 2-3 years there will be no trace of the horsetail in the garden.
In the fight against such a weed as field horsetail, the main thing is to carry out work on an ongoing basis. In no case can not leave the garden unprepared after the harvest. The soil should be carefully dig, and when the first shoots of horsetail appear, they should be immediately destroyed. Comprehensive measures will allow the gardener to forget about this weed for a long time!
In June, the fight with horsetail takes the thoughts of many gardeners, gardeners, because this weed is not so easy to lime traditional weeding. Liming often does not bring the expected effect (as you probably remember the horsetail is an acidic soil) and even the all-powerful Tornado usually succumbs to this tenacious grass.
Field horsetail most often falls on the site along with imported land extracted from peatlands, where this plant adores settles. The first and main preventive measure against this weed is a thorough check of any imported soil mixture for the presence of low visible blackish rhizomes of horsetail.
As in the autumn and spring digging of the soil, the roots of this grass practically do not stand out against the ground and are rarely chosen. By the way, they can lurk in the soil at a depth of 40-60 centimeters, and often more than a meter, which significantly exceeds the thickness of the arable layer. Thus, using a shovel to completely get rid of this scourge is impossible, and horsetail continues to quietly multiply, littering all new areas in your garden.
Liming usually bears fruit in the fight against horsetail only after several consecutive years of application of deoxidizing materials. Just think: it is necessary to neutralize not only in the arable horizon, but to a depth of 1 meter. In addition, for complete success in the war with the horsetail, it is required to add calcium-containing preparations to the soil (chalk, lime or dolomite). For a more accurate determination of the doses of the above preparations, I recommend first finding out the total acidity of the soil at the site using one of the methods described. At high values of this indicator, it is advisable in the first year to add 1-2 kilograms of lime per square meter of garden soil, and in the next 2-3 years to repeat this operation, but with a lower dose of about 0.5 kilogram per square meter. (best done in spring). If you alternate this technique with regular cutting of green stalks of horsetail, then within three or four years you can finally lime this insidious plant from the vegetable garden.
Horsetail belongs to the spore, rather than to flowering plants, so the use of drugs such as Tornado and Rounds is usually ineffective. This weed can be destroyed only by using more potent herbicides (Glyphos, Titus, etc.) in high concentrations (up to 10 liters per hectare). But in this case, there is a great danger of harmful chemical compounds entering not only the soil, but also the harvest.
Use of horsetail
Of course, field horsetail does not bring anything to the cultivated plants except harm: it depletes the soil on the main macronutrients and accumulates them in nodules on its rhizomes. On the other hand, all of its green parts contain a huge amount of valuable substances, including silicic acid, a substance that is extremely difficult to obtain in proper volume with normal nutrition. It participates in the process of building the human skeleton, in the work of the mucous membranes and contributes to the speedy healing of wounds and damage to the vascular walls. Silicon compounds that make up horsetail prevent the formation of kidney stones. Generally speaking, the significance of this plant in the treatment of virtually all diseases of the urinary tract is undeniable.
Herbalists also often prescribe a decoction of horsetail as a blood purifying agent. Therefore, it is great for a course of detoxification and treatment of various kinds of allergies.
To make a super-healing drink, you need to take 4 tablespoons of dry green horsetail, pour 200 ml of water on it and leave for 30 minutes in a water bath under a lid, then let it brew for another 10 minutes and strain. After that, bring the volume of liquid to the original and drink half a glass 3 times a day one hour after meals.
