An Uninvited Guest!

[File HandleParticipant @filehandle]

I just pull it up when I see it. it never gets a hold.

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

is SBK the name of a commercial product or some as yet unexplained acronym?

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by Frances IoM on 28/10/2021 09:47:41:
is SBK the name of a commercial product or some as yet unexplained acronym?

Just ask google Frances

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 26/10/2021 17:58:18:

Posted by Dave Halford on 26/10/2021 17:47:01:

SBK will do it

.

You seem to know your weedkillers, Dave

… is it any good on horsetails ?

We have some growing up through a rockery which appear to have re-grown from root-fragments in the clay, and probably date back 100 years or more

MichaelG.

Missed this, sorry Michael,

Maybe it will, they treat Japanese Knotweed around here in the autumn because thats when the plant actively sucks the sap back into the roots and therefore sucks the poison down as well.

[John HardingParticipant @johnharding75458]

Follow the gardening adage " never let the weeds see Monday morning"

The best herbicide would have been Amcide, Ammonium sulphamate.

It wasn't banned; it was the cost of registration thet caused its withdrawal..

So raid the scrap box and make your self a hoe, apiece of 3mm steel ground to

achisel edge makes an ideal blade and handle to suit the circumstance.

(Hide it in case swmbo discvers how useful it is!)

jh

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by pgk pgk on 27/10/2021 16:28:23:

I have dealt with some problem invaders by painting them individually with concentrated glyphosate, but I believe it’s now illegal to buy unless you have a spraying licence. Another option for vine type things is to coil them up and dump the oil into a washing up bowl of weedkiller for a goodly soak. Apparently adding wallpaper paste to the mix can help identify which strands have been treated if there's lots to do.

pgk

All the garden shops I visit are full of glyphosate based weedkillers for domestic use.

It's not as innocuous as we were led to believe in the 80s/90s when we used it a lot in conservation for spot treating invasive plants.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Frances IoM on 28/10/2021 09:47:41:
is SBK the name of a commercial product or some as yet unexplained acronym?

Both.

SBK Soluble Brushwood Killer.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 26/10/2021 13:18:57:

Hi there, all,

Posting these photos is inviting scorn but I hope there'll be some sympathy too.

How do you tell when it's been too long since you had any workshop time?

As they say 'Life happens!'.

Identification will be welcome.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Get it quick before aphids drop honeydew on your tools.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Dave Halford on 28/10/2021 10:23:14:

Missed this, sorry Michael,

Maybe it will, they treat Japanese Knotweed around here in the autumn because thats when the plant actively sucks the sap back into the roots and therefore sucks the poison down as well.

.

Thanks, Dave

I am still trying to get-to-grips with the life-cycle of the horsetails [we appear to have more than one species] … but it is clearly a ‘survivor’ … What was once the front rockery has already been stripped back to at least 8” depth, and if I dig deeper, I rapidly reach the undisturbed clay layer.

There are fragments of root there which look dead, but which will suddenly sprout new growth … and it’s also bursting-up through the Tarmac on the drive !

There must have been something special about the climate this year … we have never had this much trouble before.

A decent win on the Premium Bonds is probably my best hope. [so we can move]

MichaelG.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Frances IoM on 28/10/2021 09:47:41:
is SBK the name of a commercial product or some as yet unexplained acronym?

.

There is a link to the product page in my post timestamped 26/10/2021 18:53:59

MichaelG.

.

One might reasonably assume that the initials stand for Stubborn B’stard Killer  

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 28/10/2021 20:04:14

[colin wilkinsonParticipant @colinwilkinson75381]

Ammonium sulphamate will kill it and horsetail etc. It is still available on eBay and is sold as a compost accelerator but instructions for dilution rates for different weeds come with it. Very effective and the bonus is that the soil is ok to replant in after a couple of months.

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

I think you should leave well enough alone, it looks very well, gives a nice "Natural" look to the place, much better than all that dirty swarf.

In time you could have a few nesting birds in there, chirping their pretty little songs while shitting all over your gear. [have seen it happen ! ]

I think I might talk to that thing with a blowlamp.

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by larry phelan 1 on 29/10/2021 17:03:31:

I think you should leave well enough alone, it looks very well, gives a nice "Natural" look to the place, much better than all that dirty swarf.

In time you could have a few nesting birds in there, chirping their pretty little songs while shitting all over your gear. [have seen it happen ! ]

I think I might talk to that thing with a blowlamp.

I'm with Larry wait till you catch it oiling the lathe, then worry

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

A search/question on the RHS website can help provide info as in this one for Oxalis (I’ve got grass/moss not a lawn).

RHS

 

Edited By V8Eng on 29/10/2021 19:46:35

[TomfileryParticipant @tomfilery]

Re Michael G's horsetail problem:-

We moved into our house 5 years ago and had major building work undertaken to both house and garden (including retaining walls to terrace the garden). During the building phase, we allowed the horsetails in the lower part of the garden to get really well established – definitely a bad move!

Once building works were complete and we got around to sorting out the garden (primarily for lawn with borders) we dug over the ground to a depth of 8 -10 inches and tried to remove every last bit of black horsetail root (as well as all the larger stones, bricks, etc.). As you'd expect, it was impossible to get every piece of root and some of them were literally feet long!

So, we still get a few horsetails popping up through the lawn, but pull them out whenever we see them. They still return, but are getting noticeably weedier (no pun intended). Some had been like thin asparagus, but we seem to have stopped them coming back. I can't imagine we'll totally eradicate them, but we're definitely winning. It is the "hoeing" principle – keep cutting them down and depleting their root energy supply. They are really sneaky though, and like to hide in the midst of other plants.

Good luck.

Tom

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 28/10/2021 19:45:45:

Posted by pgk pgk on 27/10/2021 16:28:23:

I have dealt with some problem invaders by painting them individually with concentrated glyphosate, but I believe it’s now illegal to buy unless you have a spraying licence. Another option for vine type things is to coil them up and dump the oil into a washing up bowl of weedkiller for a goodly soak. Apparently adding wallpaper paste to the mix can help identify which strands have been treated if there's lots to do.

pgk

All the garden shops I visit are full of glyphosate based weedkillers for domestic use.

It's not as innocuous as we were led to believe in the 80s/90s when we used it a lot in conservation for spot treating invasive plants.

Neil

Sadly a truism for most innovative achievements whether talking lead water pipes, cane toads, artificial sweeteners or simply weeding. Some toxicities are obvious, but most take longer than their trial periods to appreciate subtleties, and any interference with the Darwinian balance of nature has unintended consequences. At least for use by the masses the glyphosate sold is pre-diluted – reduces risk to individuals but then they end up applying more iterations and the environmental damage may well be the same. It poses an argument for offering the concentrates and thinning out the stupid and uneducated…..

pgk

pgk

[Author]

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