What is horsetail manure?
Horsetail manure is a curative treatment for plant diseases such as vegetables from the garden or even fruit trees and plants.
With, most often field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) – also called Rat tail or Fox tail – which can be easily found almost everywhere and which is recommended for medicinal use, we can make a horsetail manure. However, we can also use marsh horsetail which is gathered near marshes and ditches.
Field horsetail is often favored for its richness in silica, the composition of which can be up to 70%. It also contains calcium, sulfur, potash, copper, manganese, phosphorus and alkaloids, the most important of which is nicotinic acid which will keep pests away.
Horsetail is a perennial plant belonging to the family of Equisetaceae. This wild plant also belongs to the same group as the fern.
Horsetail manure is easily made and can therefore be used whenever you need it. However, be careful not to grow horsetail in your own garden as this plant is very invasive.
Horsetail manure is easily prepared with horsetail that we will chop and cold water (unlike the decoction which uses water brought to a boil), ideally non-calcareous water (rainwater).
What is the difference between horsetail manure and decoction?
The manure is similar to a vitamin cocktail, while the decoction is specific for medicinal use.
The manure
It comes from a maceration of plants or more precisely a cold fermentation which is carried out in water. This is a fermented extract. It contains a mixture of trace elements and vitamins which are excellent for boosting the vitality of the plant and its photosynthesis to help it grow in the best conditions. Its shelf life can be up to 3 years before opening the container if it has been well prepared and filled to the brim and around 3 months when the container is opened.
He can be mixed with all plant manures and achieve synergy.
The decoction
Even if it is also carried out with the addition of water, This time it is boiling water.
This is a process of preparing the plant which has a therapeutic aim. It is used in preventive or curative care depending on the case, particularly to treat fungal diseases (fungus). This decoction is even more effective by adding a little copper.
The decoction does not keep for too long. It must be prepared and used within 3 days, keeping it cool if it is made naturally and therefore does not contain preservatives.
The benefits of horsetail manure in the garden
Horsetail manure is perfect for caring for the plants in your garden and protecting them. It can have different functions:
Boost the plants
It helps strengthen the immune system of plants. It offers them remineralization and promotes plant photosynthesis. Their growth is significantly greater with horsetail manure thanks to the stimulation of natural defenses (SDN).
With the use of horsetail manure, it is possible to significantly reduce fertilizer doses.
Preventing certain garden plant diseases
For prevention, horsetail manure can be used to prevent the main plant diseases that the gardener may encounter, in particular: downy mildew, peach leaf curl, moniliosis, powdery mildew, rust and scab.
If, despite your attention, these diseases are visible on certain plants, we then move on to using the decoction to treat sick plants.
Preventing the invasion of garden pests
Horsetail manure contains nicotinic acid which has a repellent action on garden pests, not to mention that its smell is just not very pleasant and keeps intruders away.
How to prepare your manure?
The preparation of horsetail manure is not complicated but requires a certain amount of care in handling the ingredients and putting the product into cans.
Collection and processing of ingredients
Collect around 1 kg of horsetail and 10 liters of non-calcareous water (ideally rainwater). Use scissors to chop the horsetail and place it all in your rainwater container.
Preparation coverage and wait times
Cover your bucket with a cloth that lets the preparation breathe while blocking insects and leave it for 10 days.
Preparation monitoring
It is important to take the time to stir your preparation every day with a stick. Brewing will allow fermentation to succeed and prevent putrefaction. Ideally, you can stir twice a day. You should see fermentation bubbles appear.
Filtering
Take a strainer that you will only use to make your vegetable manures and filter your preparation. Then use a filterable fabric, low type, to carry out additional filtering of your plant extract.
Transfer your extract into a container
Preferably choose a plastic container (not metal which would oxidize your horsetail manure) that is opaque and well-sealed and pour your preparation into it up to the level of the neck to avoid the presence of air and, consequently, the oxidation of your plant extract.
Store your horsetail manure properly
It is possible to keep the product for a year, provided it is protected from light and in a cool place.
How to use horsetail manure?
The plants concerned
Horsetail manure can be used in orchards, vegetable gardens, ornamental plants, arboriculture, viticulture, market gardening and even on sports fields. It is used on both trees and shrubs.
Alone or in symbiosis
Horsetail manure can be used alone or in addition to other plant manure. In this case, they mutually improve their effects on plants (example: nettle manure, fern manure, etc.).
Frequency of use
In season, it can be used once a week or fortnight. In case of rainy weather, it will be advisable to apply as soon as good weather returns.
Flowering period: choose night use
Even if horsetail manure is not dangerous for animals and insects, the flowering period attracts bees who happily come to fertilize the garden flowers. During the day, using horsetail manure can scare them away. We will therefore make sure, during the flowering period, to use the product preferably in the evening.
Where to find horsetail?
Horsetail is easier to flush out around marshes. Indeed, although there are several species of this wild plant, it is not always easy to locate it.
Belonging to the same category as ferns, it can be found near ditches and water points. If the marsh horsetail particularly likes humid areas, it is not the same for the field horsetail which prefers dry areas or for the wood horsetail which is found exclusively in the woods.
For medicinal use, it is better to favor field horsetail. For agricultural uses, all horsetails can be harvested with the exception of the variety equisetum palustre.
Can we buy preparations?
If you don’t have time to make your horsetail manure, it is entirely possible to buy it ready-made.
They are easily found in garden centers.
To the preparation that will be sold to you, you will just need to add water before using your horsetail manure.
There are also presentations in the form of granules which must then be left to macerate. You can also buy other plant manures because horsetail manure also works in synergy with them.
Is its use dangerous?
There are no risks for humans or animals.
Same thing for plants, since horsetail manure can be used on all plants without danger.
It is classified into the basic substances which are validated by organic and conventional agriculture.
No law prohibits the manufacture of horsetail manure and its use in the garden. Horsetail manure does not require a marketing authorization (AMM) in order to be marketed.
Preserving horsetail manure
To store your horsetail manure, you can use a plastic container but avoid leaving air in the container. by truly filling the container to 100%, that is to say to the brim of the neck.
Homemade horsetail manure can be kept for a year.
For a more “professional” production, horsetail manure can easily be stored for up to 3 years.
To improve the vitality of plants in the garden or to repel pests, horsetail manure can be used alone or in synergy with other plant manure. But if your plants are contaminated by a fungus, horsetail decoction can also help you find a healthy plant!