I am so disappointed!

Danielle Smith

Danielle Smith

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Whitehaven, Cumbria
So, we recently did some work in the garden; we essentially gave over 3/4 of the lawn to raised beds with woodchip paths but kept back a quarter of the lawn so the piggies could graze. I was so excited about finally having the piggies out on the grass, we've even (mostly) sorted out the fact that our garden was being used as a litterbox by the neighbourhood cats! Plus imagine all the veggies I can grow for the pigs (it costs about £18 in veg for our lot [9+2 fosters] per week, so it would save quite a bit]! :yahoo:

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Today, while I was pottering around, I noticed that horse-tail/mare's-tail (Equisetum arvense) was coming up in our gravel patches at the side of the garden. Fine, I'll try to keep on top of pulling it so it doesn't look too bad. Then I noticed it was growing in our brand-new raised beds; again, :cen:, but we can keep on top of things with careful weeding. Then I looked at the grass, which had grown a lot in the week we were away.

There is mare's-tail all through it. It'll keep coming through and growing, nothing can get rid of it without killing the grass. The worst thing? It's poisonous to animals; as far as I am aware this includes guinea pigs. No grass-time, the run I bought is useless, and I could just cry :(. I know I can grow grass indoors and feed it to the pigs, but I wanted them to have the experience of being outside, in the sunshine, in a run.

Sigh.

Mare's-tail below for those who haven't seen it.

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Mum and Dad had loads of Mares Tail in their garden in the village where they lived. It's a complete nightmare to get rid of too. Just because he was my Dad, Dad decided to see how far the root went down one day he'd dug dow about 3 feet and still hadn't found the end of the root and there were little Mare's Tails coming of it in all directions. You have my sympathy.
 
Oh no! Your garden looks sooo lovely. I really hope you manage to get rid of the mares tail.,
 
You have my full sympathy. I ended up slabbing my back garden because it was inundated with the horrid stuff. Fortunately the front's not affected. Betsy's right. The roots can go down up to a metre. I hope you find a way around it. What about raising the beds and covering the bottom with something impermeable?
 
We've been trying since we moved in a year ago to get rid of the couch grass, but I fear it'll spring up again soon. In the long term we may need to do something with the back garden, our neighbour has gravel and it looks pretty low-maintenance... I reckon that'll be quite expensive though.

@Reenie, we have four raised beds but we did not put impermeable material on the bottom because we wanted the worms to be able to get into the soil in the beds :no:. When time comes to refresh the compost I'll probably line the beds with some thick membrane.

OH wants us to grow grass in trays big enough that they can stand and eat in it... so "they can still feel grass under their feet". Bless him.
 
Probably no use for them going out this year but when we had a bindweed infestation I used spot on weedkiller. At first I esstntially tied a plastic bag around the base of the plant then open the other end then sprayed the plant in the bag and closed it but now I use the gel - so long as it acts on the roots it won't harm what is around it. That got rid of some bad bindweed.
 
Marestail wouldn't be stopped by a landscaping membrane, only slowed a little, it can push through concrete over time unfortunately. Also, due to the changes in regulation being tighter on pesticides and weed killers making them more environmentally friendly and therefore less effective, there are no legal treatments that will kill it either.

The only way to get free of the stuff is to dig ever bit of it out by hand, but miss even the smallest bit, and it's game over. Hate the stuff....

Your garden looks lovely though with what you have done
 
Mine is starting to come through my stabbed garden. I pull every bit out as soon as I see it, in the hope that it will give up over time.
 
The problem with mares tail is that every little link on the stem is a seed, so if one piece falls off the main plant, it will grow into a new plant!
 
It's awful, isn't it! Just found a tiny bit of bindweed creeping through my gate too :eek:

Just keeping on top of it and pulling every bit I see out as and when.

Glad folk like the garden! It's certainly keeping all the piggies in lettuce.
 
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