For many gardeners, horsetail is an annoying weed. However, the plant has many valuable ingredients that make it a valuable medicinal plant. Not only is it beneficial for humans, it can also strengthen your plants in the bed and protect them naturally from diseases and so-called pests. Horsetail broth is also a good fertilizer for your plants. Instead of fighting horsetail, you can make horsetail broth or tea from it. In this article, you can find out how works and how to use the brew in the garden.
Field horsetail(Equisetum arvense L.) is a subspecies of the horsetail family(Equisetaceae). The herb is known by many names: Horsetail, field horsetail, horsetail-grass, cat's-tail, shank hay, panhandle and scabious. Horsetail is the most common type of horsetail in Germany and can be found in many gardens. This makes it all the more practical that it has many valuable ingredients such as silicic acid, saponins and nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. You can dissolve these ingredients in a decoction, broth or tea and use their effects in your garden.
Horsetail decoction or tea is mainly used by gardeners to strengthen plants against pests and thus as preventive plant protection. When extracted with water, mainly silicic acid dissolves in the water. The silicic acid is mainly responsible for the effect of the shaft neck broth. This acid strengthens the cell tissue of the plants, making it more difficult for pathogens and diseases to infect the plants. Horsetail broth can help prevent fungal diseases and sucking pests such as aphids in particular.
The effect of such plant extracts and also of slurries is generally still controversial and should always be accompanied by additional crop protection measures (pheromone traps, glue rings, money boards, etc.). Especially when plants are already diseased, horsetail broth is only of limited help. However, if you recognize the infestation or disease early and act immediately, you may still be able to save diseased plants! Unfortunately, there is no guarantee.
To exchange ideas with other gardeners and benefit from their experience, you can visit our Fryd community. Maybe someone has already grown horsetail and can give you some tips.
Join our communityTip: Horsetail likes to grow and thrive on damp forest or meadow edges and can also be found in many gardens.
If you don't have time to make your own horsetail extract, you can find it in organic quality in our Fryd store! Here you will also find numerous other plant extracts, such as nettle, which strengthen your plants and can be used as organic fertilizer!
A decoction or tea of horsetail has a limited shelf life and should always be made fresh when needed. You can store the decoction/tea in a closed container for a few days, but then it will start to ferment at some point. This is not so tragic, because then you can simply use the product as a slurry. Due to the fermentation, the liquid manure also contains many microbes that revitalize the soil and thus indirectly improve the availability of nutrients in the soil. Plant liquid manure is therefore generally better suited as a fertilizer than a broth!
| Horsetail decoction | Horsetail tea |
|---|---|
| undiluted or diluted with rainwater in a ratio of 1:5 for pest control and soil care | diluted with rainwater in a ratio of 1:10 - 1:20 as preventive plant protection and foliar fertilization |
Horsetail teas and decoctions are mainly used as foliar sprays to strengthen plants. A horsetail slurry is more suitable for fertilizing with horsetail. This is because a slurry dissolves more of the ingredients, especially nutrients! You can find out how to make and use a plant slurry in our article using the example of a nettle slurry.
You can find more tips on using plant teas and de coctions in the article on plant tonics. In addition to organic plant tonics such as plant juices, teas and decoctions, this also covers inorganic agents such as rock flour. You can also make your own extract from compost or humus. You can find instructions for compost tea in the article on this topic.
If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at [email protected].
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Marie studied agricultural science at the University of Hohenheim. Her main focus is on ecological agriculture and permaculture. She writes articles for Fryd to educate people about ecological interrelationships and alternatives to current land use. Our current economic systems, especially in agriculture, have numerous negative effects on nature and destabilize our ecosystems. We need a great diversity in our gardens and beds again to counteract the extinction of species. Every gardener can contribute to creating and maintaining habitats and food for a wide variety of creatures. With her articles, she would like to pass on her experience in dealing with natural systems and give people the opportunity to contribute to a stable ecosystem and thus also to securing our livelihood.
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Show 2 answersWhat does horsetail decoction do in the garden?
It strengthens plants against pests and diseases, especially fungal diseases, and promotes resistance through silicic acid.
How do you make horsetail broth?
You need 100-150g of fresh or 30-50g of dried horsetail per liter of water, which is soaked and then boiled.
How do you use horsetail decoction?
Spray undiluted or diluted, every 2 to 3 weeks or more frequently if infested. Read more in the article.
What is the shelf life of horsetail broth?
A decoction has a limited shelf life and is best used fresh. A slurry has a longer shelf life.
