How to grow horsetail in the country. Horsetail: how to get rid of it

Horsetail is a very harmful weed that produces spore-bearing shoots in the most different corners garden, starting in mid-May. The plant is dangerous because its growing rhizomes draw all the moisture from the ground and deplete the soil, preventing cultivated plants from developing normally.

When digging (both spring and autumn), horsetail roots are hardly noticeable, so it is difficult to select them. Meanwhile, they can go into the soil to a depth of 40-60 cm or even 1 m. It is very difficult to dig up the ground to such a depth. Thus, the shovel does not reach the rhizomes of the weed, and it quietly reproduces, populating new territories. Therefore, there are several rules for preparing the soil on the site, following which you can protect the site from horsetail.

Principles of soil preparation

1. When using imported soil, make sure that it does not contain inconspicuous blackish horsetail rhizomes. Otherwise, the plant will settle on your site, and it will be difficult to get rid of it.

2. Lime the soil to create unfavourable conditions for horsetail growth. Usually calcium-containing preparations (lime, chalk, ash, dolomite flour).

If horsetail grows on the site, it means the soil is acidic

The most popular and most convenient remedy is dolomite flour. Indeed, in addition to reducing acidity, it also improves the structure of the soil and enriches it with magnesium. And, unlike lime, dolomite flour can be added at any time of the year.

The table shows approximate doses of dolomite flour during liming different types soil.

3. Be consistent. In the first year, apply the full dose of liming materials, and in the next 2-3 years - no more than half. It is preferable to do this in the spring. If you alternate this activity with weeding out the green stems of horsetail, then after 3-4 years you can get rid of this insidious weed completely.

What medications will get rid of horsetail?

Since horsetail is a spore plant and not a flowering plant, the use of Tornado or Roundup is ineffective. Horsetail can only be destroyed by using a large dose (4 ml/10 sq.m.) of a more powerful herbicide, such as Glyphos. But in this case there is a high probability of dangerous chemical substances not only into the soil, but also into vegetables and fruits.

Horsetail does not get along with plants of the Cruciferous family: winter rapeseed, oilseed radish, white mustard. Therefore, in order to protect the site from weeds, after harvesting, these plants can be sown in empty beds. Winter rye has the same property.

Medicinal properties of horsetail

On the one hand, horsetail is a malicious weed that takes nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus from the soil and accumulates them in its nodules.

On the other hand, it is unique treatment plant, which contains a large amount of valuable substances, as well as silicic acid, which is greatly needed human body. It is necessary for the construction of the skeleton, the functioning of mucous membranes, the healing of wounds and damage to the walls of blood vessels. Silicon compounds contained in horsetail prevent the formation of kidney stones. It is especially effective for diseases of the urinary tract.

For cooking medicinal tea from horsetail 1-2 tsp. dried chopped herbs pour 250 ml hot water, leave for 30 minutes and filter. It is recommended to drink up to 3 cups of this drug per day.

Of course, for an ordinary summer resident, horsetail is a weed that harms plantings. Therefore, carefully check the brought soil, monitor the acidity of the soil and promptly get rid of “accidental” weeds before they have time to fill the entire area.

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Horsetail - perennial herbaceous plant from the Horsetail family, which numbers about thirty various types and is one of the oldest plant crops on our planet. This aggressive and at the same time useful weed consists of a long (about 100 cm) creeping branched rhizome and succulent erect shoots - “fir trees” (30 to 50 cm long) with a spike-shaped inflorescence at the top. An unpretentious and tenacious plant easily tolerates frosty winters and high summer temperatures, even forest fires are not afraid of him. Grass grows on any soil, but feels more favorable on moist soils. forest areas, as well as in meadows, along roads and in vegetable gardens.

Horsetail in the country house, garden or garden is serious problem and cause for concern. The weed reproduces by spores and rhizomes, so it spreads easily and very quickly over a vast area and significantly reduces the quantity and quality of the expected harvest. Its main nutrition is such useful components as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The root system of weeds absorbs all these useful material from the soil, leaving garden crops without feeding. Vegetable plants stop their full development and growth.

Popular species in our country are “Meadow” and “Bolotny” horsetail, and in the dachas of the Moscow region you can most often find “Polevoy” (or “Ordinary”) horsetail. People have many different names for this weed plant - swamp column, cat's tail, pusher, earthen cone, field spruce, ponytail, panicle and many others.

The main feature of horsetail is the ability of its reproductive organs to maintain their vitality and survival for a long time, due to their deep location in the soil. When adjacent to other weeds (for example, fescue and wheatgrass), horsetail can form real dense thickets that are not afraid of drought or excess moisture, sun or shade. To get rid of this culture completely will require a lot of effort and patience, as well as a comprehensive, timely and systematic approach.

Ways to control weeds

Since the weed culture feels more favorable on moist soils, one of the measures to combat it is to drain the waterlogged area.

Covering areas with horsetail thickets and row spacing with dense, light-proof material (for example, plastic film black or pieces of plywood) also leads to good results. Herbaceous crops do not have access to light, heat under cover it simply burns them out - all this ultimately leads to the death of most of the weeds.

Mulching beds performs two functions at once - it protects against weeds and feeds the soil. It is recommended to use crushed grass as mulch. tree bark or shavings, spruce or pine needles, small tree branches, dry grass, straw and even small river pebbles. First you need to lay out geotextiles or spunbond, and on top of it a layer of 5 - 7 cm of mulch. Such an obstacle is too tough for the horsetail.

After harvesting vegetables, you can prepare the area for the next season by sowing it with any plants from the Cruciferous family. The roots of crops such as mustard, radish or rapeseed secrete substances that many weeds, including horsetail, do not like. Weeds do not grow in such a neighborhood.

There is another simple, proven method. Need to dig deep land plot, at the same time carefully selecting all the roots of perennial plants, and then add a large amount to the soil wood ash. You can replace deep tillage with soil deoxidation by adding slaked lime or dolomite flour.

Tillage of soil with weeds gives good efficiency chemicals"Zenkor", "Agrokiller", "Prima", "Hurricane", "Roundup" and "Glyphos".

Special preventive measures to combat weeds will help to reduce the amount of horsetail in the country house or garden many times over. The most popular are repeated liming of the soil (over 2–3 years) and maintaining a stable level of soil acidity. For each square meter soil will require from 500g to 2kg of lime. If you add regular weeding to this, then gradually their number will become minimal.

Is there any benefit from it?

Horsetail is used in official and folk medicine in dry and fresh, in tinctures and ointments, decoctions and teas, in the form of compresses and powders, lotions and baths.

The herb is used in cooking, cosmetology and as a “medicine” in floriculture.

You will need

• - gardening tools (shovel, hoe, rake);
• - lime fertilizers;
• - seeds of cruciferous plants;
• - chemicals;
• - respirator, gloves.

Instructions

If you decide with horsetail ohm mechanically, i.e. digging, weeding and loosening the soil, you will have to do this carefully. You should carefully select rhizomes and under no circumstances leave them within your plot of land, but take them outside its boundaries or place them in compost heap. (Weeds thrown to the ground can take root again and form new shoots). But even after the most thorough cultivation of the soil and “combing out” the rhizomes, you definitely will not get to the deep-lying roots; they, alas, remain in the ground and germinate with new strength. That is why traditional method weed control - weeding, i.e. superficial, ineffective. However, still prune the shoots with a hoe early horsetail a, which are brown spore-bearing shoots, without waiting for weeding cultivated plants, planted or sown in this place.

Because the horsetail on acidic soils, their acidity should be reduced. This can be achieved by adding lime materials to the soil. These include calcite, dolomite, limestone, sugar production waste, slaked lime, etc. However, this method runs the risk of significantly reducing nutrients in the soil, since when applying lime fertilizers, nutrients are not reproduced. If you decide to apply this method, carefully read the instructions for using a specific lime material and strictly follow the proportions specified in it.

Horsetail is not “friendly” with cruciferous plants, such as rapeseed, oilseed radish, mustard, arugula and others. Their root secretions inhibit weeds and doom them to complete death. Sow brassicas at the end of harvest and then to prepare the soil for next year. If you don’t find these crops, sow winter rye - it also has brilliant “sanitary” properties.

Chemical method. Apply to the soil water solution herbicide titus (read the instructions carefully). As an “adhesive”, add laundry soap or PARTrepd 90 to the solution. These herbicides do not harm potatoes and other crops, and horsetail and other weeds (sow thistle, chickweed, galinsoga, etc.) are destroyed well. Read the instructions for the timing of drug administration.
Helps get rid of horsetail and field and aqueous solution. This powerful drug is capable of destroying all weeds both on the surface of the soil and in the soil itself, because has the property of penetrating into root system. This is especially important for the extermination of root shoot and rhizome species of weeds, which include horsetail field.

Helpful advice

Do not leave your plot of land unattended even after harvesting. When new shoots of horsetail appear, destroy them immediately. This will make it easier for you to fight weeds next year.

If you are elected chemical method, choose early afternoon for spraying. There should be no wind at this moment; a cloudy, quiet evening is the ideal time. Stock up on a respirator in advance rubber gloves, spray bottle. Work carefully, without haste.

Horsetail- This perennial from the horsetail family. In folk medicine, the aerial part is used medicinal plant in the form of decoctions, infusions and tinctures for the treatment of various diseases associated with heart failure, to improve water-salt metabolism, for external and internal bleeding, malignant neoplasms, and kidney stones.

You will need

• - dry raw horsetail;
• - thermos;
• - boiling water;
• - tablespoon;
• - sieve or gauze;
• - medical alcohol;
• - dark glass container.

Instructions

Use horsetail as a diuretic, for heart and kidney problems, for the treatment of colds and viral infections, and for the treatment of sand. It is also rational to use an infusion or decoction of horsetail for food poisoning, poisoning with salts of heavy metals, and for alcohol and drug intoxication.

To treat urolithiasis, prepare an infusion of horsetail. To do this, take 1 tablespoon of crushed dry raw materials, pour half a liter of boiling water, leave for 1 hour, strain, squeeze, take 2 tablespoons 3 times a day, regardless of meals. Carry out the course of treatment for three months.

To treat tonsillitis, adenoids, and chronic inflammation, prepare an infusion of horsetail. To do this, place 3 tablespoons of dry raw materials in a thermos, pour 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 5 hours, strain, squeeze, gargle with a warm solution or rinse your nose. The course of treatment can be long.

For the treatment of tuberculosis, internal bleeding, pleurisy, dysentery, metabolic disorders, prepare a decoction of horsetail. To do this, pour 2 tablespoons of dry raw materials into a container, pour 750 ml of boiling water, cook in a steam bath for 30 minutes, strain, squeeze, bring the broth to the original volume. Take 3 tablespoons 4 times a day 1 hour after meals. Continue the course of treatment for 2-3 months.

To prepare horsetail tincture, place 1 kg of dry crushed raw material in a dark glass container, fill with one liter of medical alcohol, place in a dark cool place for 30 days. After the specified time, strain the tincture, pour into sterile dark glass bottles, and store in the refrigerator. Take 20 drops diluted in 100 ml of water, 4 times a day for 2 months. You can use the tincture for all diseases that require infusion and decoction.

Helpful advice

Don't forget that taking horsetail can cause allergic reactions. Also, its use is not recommended in case of individual intolerance.

Horsetail field– perennial rhizomatous plant up to 60 cm high. medicinal purposes vegetative shoots of the second generation are harvested during June-August. The plant contains proteins, bitterness, flavonoids, alkaloids, mineral salts. And also acids - malic, oxalic and aconitic, carotene, vitamin C. Horsetail is considered a radical diuretic in the treatment of diseases that are accompanied by congestion.

You will need

• - horsetail;
• - boiling water.

Instructions

For rinsing at inflammatory processes in the oral cavity, for the treatment of non-healing wounds and ulcers, prepare a decoction of horsetail. Pour 350 ml of chopped horsetail herb in the evening cold water. In the morning, put on low heat and simmer for half an hour. After cooling, filter. Apply lotions to damaged areas of the skin three times a day. The throat should be applied 5-6 times a day. The course of treatment is 5-14 days, depending on the need.

For urinary diseases, internal bleeding, cholelithiasis, malaria, rheumatism and gout, prepare an infusion of horsetail. Pour 4 teaspoons of chopped herbs into 500 ml of boiling water in a thermos and leave for 2 hours, filter. Drink the filtrate in small sips throughout the day. The course of treatment is up to three weeks.

To strengthen, improve their structure and accelerated growth prepare a horsetail decoction. Take 30 grams of crushed herb and fill it with 500 ml of cold water in the evening and leave until the morning. In the morning, put on low heat and, bringing to a boil, cook for half an hour. Let it brew for 4 hours and filter. After each hair rinse it for two months.

note

Horsetail is contraindicated in patients with nephritis due to irritation of the kidneys by silicic acid contained in large quantities in this plant.

Helpful advice

Decoctions and infusions of horsetail have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, hemostatic and anthelmintic effects. Strengthens the body's immunity. The colloidal properties of horsetail prevent the formation of uric acid.

Among many useful plants special attention horsetail deserves. This is absolutely unpretentious plant has many healing properties, which gives reason to use it in both folk and scientific medicine.

Plant characteristics

Horsetail is a perennial herb that grows almost everywhere - both on black soil and on sandy soils. Since there are poisonous species of horsetail, you need to be able to distinguish between them. The first difference is the direction of leaf growth - up, not down. In place of the spore-bearing spikelets of horsetail, young shoots appear; in other species they are located at the ends of these same shoots.

Horsetail contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants, have an astringent and antibacterial effect. Horsetail also contains phenolcarboxylic acids, which are known for their antimutagenic properties.

Silicic acid, found in horsetail, is very important for the health of the skeletal system and epithelium. It accelerates wound healing and affects the strength and elasticity of blood vessels. Also, the glycoside luteolin secreted by horsetail has an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effect.

Use of horsetail

There are many beneficial properties of this plant, among which the following are especially important: removing lead and other toxins from the body, improving blood circulation, stimulating the functions of the adrenal glands, cleansing the body, slowing down the growth of tumors. Traditional medicine is rich in recipes for decoctions, tinctures, lotions and ointments based on horsetail for the treatment of diseases of the liver, heart, blood vessels, respiratory system, urinary tract, skin (eczema, lichen, etc.). It is recommended to drink horsetail decoctions for those suffering from hemorrhoids and cholelithiasis.

In scientific medicine, horsetail is mainly used to treat various types of bleeding, diabetes, diseases of the urinary system, joints, blood vessels (varicose veins), lead poisoning, pulmonary tuberculosis, and metabolic disorders. Horsetail is also used in cooking: added to soups, fried, baked with mushrooms and eggs.

Are there any contraindications to the use of horsetail?

Since horsetail-based preparations stimulate kidney function, patients with nephritis or nephrosis should not use it. Those who suffer from hyperfunction of the thyroid gland should also be careful. The use of horsetail preparations is prohibited for pregnant and lactating women. Availability of some chronic diseases It may also be a contraindication to this plant for treatment purposes. In this case, you should consult a doctor and do not start treatment on your own.

You can collect horsetail anywhere where the soil is moist and acidic: along roads and in wet clearings. Collect it in April-May. Use part of the harvest to make a fresh infusion of the plant. Dry the remainder in a dry, ventilated area such as an attic. Keep horsetail out of your garden. It is impossible to destroy it.

A decoction of fresh or dried horsetail is very easy and quick to prepare:

• Coarsely chop the plant stems
• Place 100 g of fresh horsetail or 20 g of dry horsetail in a saucepan.
• Add 1 liter of water (preferably use rainwater).
• Cover the pan and let the mixture sit for 24 hours.
• Boil for 30 minutes over low heat.
• Cool.

Carefully filter the broth using a coffee strainer or a thin cloth placed in a colander. Using a funnel, pour the broth into an opaque plastic bottle(for example, in a milk bottle). Close the bottle tightly and store it in the refrigerator. Even in good conditions This decoction does not last more than 15 days. You can easily tell by the smell that it is outdated.

Instructions for use:

• Before using the decoction, dilute it to 20% (add 4 liters of water per 1 liter of decoction).
• Pour the broth into the container of a garden sprayer.
• Spray onto the leaves of the plants being treated.
• Repeat the process several times throughout the spring and summer.

Horsetail decoction is an excellent fungicide that allows you to fight big amount fungal diseases:

• powdery mildew, affecting vegetables, strawberries, fruit trees and roses;
• downy mildew, affecting grapevine, tomatoes and potatoes;
• scab and moniliosis of fruit trees;
• rust affecting conifers, gooseberries, pears, beans, potatoes, roses,

In its ability to take nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from the ground, horsetail is noticeably superior to other weeds.

We are used to seeing these Christmas trees, but in early spring Horsetail may not be recognizable. Juicy brownish-pink “candles” appear in damp meadows and wastelands, in ravines and abandoned beds. These first spore-bearing shoots are replaced by green, hard, thin branches at the beginning of summer.

Summer grass horsetail has long been used in folk medicine as a hemostatic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory agent.

And yet, despite these advantages, horsetail has a reputation as a nasty weed. In appearance it is inconspicuous and even boring: it has neither flowers nor spreading leaves. Loves high humidity, prefers light soils. However, I am ready to adapt to the most different conditions.

Like most weeds, horsetail is stubborn and resilient. Where the ground has not been disturbed for years by a plow or shovel, it does not send its black-and-white rhizome further than 40-50 cm. In crops, it sometimes goes 1.5 m deep into the soil. Imperceptibly, but very persistently, the weed depletes the bed, accumulating in the rhizome with small nodules located on it, there are reserves of sugars and starch.

Horsetail is especially successful in making its preparations on fallow lands or in a potato field, where it takes a hefty portion of mineral nutrition from the cultivated host.

If you decide to get rid of this green “predator”, do not hope to defeat it simply by weeding. Most likely, in a couple of weeks you will be disappointed to discover that there is even more horsetail on the site than there was.

And this is not surprising: the rhizome nodules remaining in the ground are organs vegetative propagation. By destroying the above-ground part of the plant, you have only forced it to vigorously fight for survival. That's when the weed needed nodules with a supply of nutrients.

How to get rid of horsetail

How to deal with this harmful plant?

Among other things, the presence of this weed is considered one of the signs of increased soil acidity. It can be reduced by adding dolomite flour or crushed slaked lime under digging.

On a note

The herbicide Glyphos can be used against horsetail. It blocks the synthesis of aromatic amino acids in plants, as a result of which the weed gradually dies. It is practically safe for bees, but it limits their flight from 6 to 12 hours.

Biological method of controlling horsetail

Horsetail does not tolerate proximity to cabbage crops (formerly called cruciferous crops). Their root secretions are capable of suppressing weeds. Therefore, in places where the appearance of horsetail has been noticed, radishes, radishes, daikon, rapeseed or mustard should be planted next year.

Horsetail - traditional medicine recipes

In winter, you can prepare an infusion of horsetail to boost your immunity.

Its use will help resist viral infections. 1 tbsp. l. dry herbs, pour a glass of boiling water, leave for 1 hour, strain. Drink this amount of infusion in 3-4 doses throughout the day.

For exacerbation of cystitis, horsetail decoction is used. 2 tbsp. l. dried herb, pour 1 liter of water, boil for 10 minutes, let it brew in a warm place for 20 minutes, strain. Take 150-200 ml 2-3 times a day. Do not throw away the squeezed grass, but place it in a gauze bag and apply it warm to the lower abdomen.

Viktor Anatolyevich Krylov

Horsetail is a very harmful weed. It most often ends up in the garden along with imported or purchased soil. Its “tentacles” and spore-bearing parts easily spread throughout the entire area. If you do not remove it in time, there will be trouble; all plants and even fruit bushes may die. Therefore, you need to understand in detail what measures can be taken to act effectively and not in vain. So, let’s talk a little in our format about the horsetail plant, how to get rid of it in the garden, of course, we’ll tell you in more detail.

There are four main ways to fight:

Use of chemicals;
Application of dolomite flour;
The use of other plants in the vicinity of which it will be impossible for horsetail to grow;
Reducing such an indicator as soil acidity.

So, how to get rid of horsetail in the garden? So that you choose the method yourself, it’s worth talking about each of them in a little more detail.
What chemicals are best to use?

It is known from botany that horsetail is a grassy weed; it has no flowers and reproduces by simple spores, just like a mushroom. Because of this, experts recommend using herbicides to kill the weed. In particular, many of them recommend a drug such as Glyphos.

It is recommended to use it in the evening, preferably when the weather is calm and dry. The drug is relatively dangerous, but it is harmful beneficial insects he doesn't bring it. For example, it is not dangerous to bees.

Glyphos belongs to class IV hazardous herbicides. For this reason, it should only be applied with rubber medical gloves. It is advisable that there are no flowering plants in the garden fruit plants, because if it rains, they may die.

Some summer residents also advise using drugs such as Roundup or Tornado. But they are more effective against flowering weeds, but with their help it will be possible to cope with spore plants only partially: horsetail will soon appear in the garden anyway. In general, Glyphos is the best option.
Is dolomite flour effective?

To prevent horsetail from growing, the soil must be limed with preparations containing calcium. The following lime materials are suitable for this:

dolomite flour;
chalk;
lime;
ash.

Why does the soil need to be limed? This will significantly reduce its acidity, and horsetail is afraid of this like a baby. bad dream. Of all the remedies listed above, it is better to use dolomite flour: it is simply more effective. True, with the help of flour it will be possible to completely get rid of the weed in 3-4 years. So this is an effective, but rather slow method.

What else you need to know about soil liming:

In the first year, the full dose is applied;
The next 2-3 years - no more than half of the original dose.

The dose size depends on the type of soil. This information is best understood using this small table:

In general, liming is a very effective but slow way to get rid of horsetail.
Will it get rid of horsetail? unwanted neighborhood with plants that are dangerous to him?

Any agronomist knows that horsetail categorically cannot tolerate almost all cruciferous plants. These, for example, include the following:

white mustard;
oilseed and winter rape;
oilseed radish.

In terms of their effectiveness, the plants will be approximately the same, but in the CIS countries it is customary to use oilseed radish. Elementary for the reason that it costs the least. After a person notices the appearance of horsetail, the next year one of the indicated plants should be planted in the same place. Thanks to unique system roots, these plants will simply suppress weeds. This practically guarantees 100% elimination of horsetail.

Cruciferous plants, interestingly, are used not only to combat horsetail, but also simply to “clean” the land for a garden of any weeds. And the soil itself is “resting” (there is an old expression “fallow” - it means the same thing). In general, cruciferous plants are indeed effective remedy fight against horsetail.
How to reduce soil acidity?

It was already indicated above that the plant loves soils with high acidity. Ordinary lime will help get rid of it. True, this method will not help immediately: the soil must be cultivated for at least six months, but most often the weed completely disappears after about 1.5-2 years. In the first year it is worth adding 2-3 kilograms of lime per 1 m², in the second - 0.75-1 kilograms per 1 m². If, together with the addition of lime, you regularly weed the weeds, then you can definitely forget about horsetail forever.
Interesting Facts

Horsetail is a weed because it sucks many useful minerals from the soil. In particular, it is rich in the following:

Vitamin C;
potassium salts;
saponins;
carotenes;
tannins.

When weeding a garden, it can not be destroyed, but used to treat a variety of ailments. Horsetail is brewed like regular tea. It can help with diseases such as:

trophic ulcers, eczema, dermatitis and lichen (including colored ones);
the presence of fistulas on the human body;
gout;
rheumatism;
other diseases.

The list is impressive, isn't it? By the way, it can be found in almost any pharmacy. But if there is a lot of it in the garden, then why not take the opportunity to dry this “tea” for yourself? So, on the one hand, horsetail is a harmful weed, on the other hand, it can be used as an effective folk remedy!

It is interesting that the very name “horsetail” is purely official, botanical. And sometimes people just don’t know what we’re talking about. Therefore, we can recall other popular names for this plant:

tin grass;
Horse tail;
mop grass;
Panicle;
Cat's tail.

If you ever hear one of these names, then know that we are talking about horsetail. For women, by the way, it will be interesting to know that, in addition to medicinal properties, weed is also quite good cosmetic product. It helps against acne. Moreover, since it contains a lot of calcium, taking a decoction of this plant will promote the growth of beautiful and shiny, strong nails that will not peel.
This weed is so unusual!