Prepare and use Horsetail against orchard and garden fungus pests

Did you know that Horsetail is an excellent fungicide? This plant, with the scientific name Equisetum arvense , is our ally when we want to prevent or treat fungal diseases in orchard and garden plants.

In this post we will show you how you can make a biopreparation or vegetable maceration with horsetail against fungi and how to apply it. This way you will be using a natural and environmentally friendly remedy while taking care of your plants.

What is the Horsetail Macerate for?

It helps us to prevent and fight fungal diseases. Fungi can easily appear on our plants (whether horticultural or ornamental) for different reasons.

The most common fungi are Mildew , Botrytis, Roya , Alternaria, Powdery mildew and Septoria. These fungi produce dark or whitish spots on the leaves on the plants, they can rot the fruits, flowers and new shoots and cause wilting of the plant.

Horsetail is a particularly beneficial plant to treat and control them, since it has in its composition Equisetonin , a compound that is toxic to fungi and also has a high content of silica.

In addition, the Horsetail preparation works by preventing the access of fungi to the interior of the plant.

And as we already mentioned, you can use it to prevent the development of fungi and to treat plants that already have fungus.

horse tail

Macerate against Horsetail Fungi

You need:

100 grams of fresh horsetail leaves
1 liter of water

Preparation of the Macerate:

Ideally, the water to be used should preferably be rain or spring. If we use tap or tap water, we must let it rest for 24 hours so that it has less chlorine.

Cut the horsetail into small pieces and put it in a bowl with the water. Cover and reserve in a dark and cool place for 24 hours.

Once this time has elapsed, we put it on low heat to heat for 20 minutes.

We let it rest until it cools down and then we filter.

We already have the mash done.

If you need to make more quantity, the ratio that you should have as a base is 100 grams of fresh horsetail for each liter of water.

How to use the Horsetail Macerate

First, before applying it to the plants, we dilute the macerate at the rate of one part macerate to three parts of water (1/3).

Apply the preparation with a spray, sprayer or sprayer throughout the plant: aerial parts (underside and upper part of the leaves, fruits, flowers, etc.) and along the trunk or stem and on the ground.

As a preventive, use this mash once a week or every 10 days, especially after storms and rain, which is when fungi are most likely to appear due to humidity.

When your plants already have fungus, use it every other day.

Once you have the mash prepared, you can store it in a cool and dark place and you can use it for a period of up to two months.

Did you know…?

We can not only take advantage of the virtues of this plant in the orchard and garden.

Horsetail is one of the plants used in traditional medicine for its therapeutic applications.

If you want to know them in depth, I leave you the link to my post on the Properties of the Horsetail and I also invite you to watch this video in which I tell you the most remarkable ones.