Mares tail

[Mark Bolam]

He meant grass.

 

He’s confused.

[peds]

1 hour ago, sime42 said:

Mare's Tail is good for making glass. If that helps at all?

 

34 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Mare's Tail is quite high in Silica, you can feel the grittyness when you cut/crunch/rub it. Silica is the main component of glass. I'm sure I once read or heard somewhere that because of that it was used in the glass making process. Frustratingly, I can find no reference to it now though. Maybe I dreamt or imagined it ........ Unless anyone else can bail me out here.

 

Well I'm invested now, so you better look harder or there'll be consequences. 

 

The silica from horsetail is used to minimise blight on potatoes, which I'm sure in the sort of thing you'd already know. I'm just making conversation. 

Harvest the horsetail in late summer, dry thoroughly, and ferment in water to tea. Use as a foliar treatment in times of high blight threat.

 

Edit:

While we are on the subject. The silica, I believe, is a defence mechanism, designed to slowly erode the teeth of any organism habitually feeding on it, leading to their eventual demise. Playing the long game. 

 

The young shoots, before siliconisation, are technically edible... but are they worth it? There's recipes out there...

Edited 21 hours ago by peds

[sime42]

That's all good stuff, I didn't know either.

[sime42]

I wish I'd never mentioned the bloody glass now! It's doing my head in.

 

54 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

He meant grass.

 

He’s confused.

 

I'm very confused, I'm sure I read it somewhere. It was years ago so I may well have had grass on the brain when I conceived the idea, maybe that was the problem.

 

 

[Yournamehere]

26 minutes ago, peds said:

 

 

Well I'm invested now, so you better look harder or there'll be consequences. 

 

The silica from horsetail is used to minimise blight on potatoes, which I'm sure in the sort of thing you'd already know. I'm just making conversation. 

Harvest the horsetail in late summer, dry thoroughly, and ferment in water to tea. Use as a foliar treatment in times of high blight threat.

Have only checked the indexes but nothing regarding Equisetum/Mares tails in Winbolt, Wealden Glass; nor in Kenyon, The Glass Industry of the Weald.

Winbolt mentions potash being produced from burnt bracken being used as a flux.

[peds]

He lied to us! Lied!

[daveatdave]

this is what you want it's not cheap but works 

Kurtail Evo | Mares Tail Horsetail Herbicide & Weed Killer

WWW.PROGREEN.CO.UK

---

The trusted brand for marestail and horsetail control  Available in 0.5 L, 1 L & 5 L - options below Need advice? The ProGreen Team has years of extensive knowledge on mare's tail / horse...

 

[Stere]

 

Flog it! 🙂

 

Quote

#599960
Scouring Rush, whole, bundle

horsetail, bundle of whole pieces, handpicked

 

 

Just a moment...

WWW.KREMER-PIGMENTE.COM

 

 

[peds]

Ahh yes. It can be used as a cleaning rag for all sorts of things too. Great little plant. 

[PeteB]

Rampant in the wench's spot. Dialling up the glysophate to industrial levels next - bin the B and Q rubbish!