How do we get rid of horse radish?
by
Jane
We have had good luck gardening, but our garden has been slowly taken over by horseradish plants growing wherever they want, and spreading each Summer. It can only be dug in months where there is an ‘r’, thus there are always teams of young entrepreneurs wanting to dig and grind the roots in September. Every year it seems we have more, and the plants are taking over our garden area. How can we get rid of them? It’s getting out of hand, and I’d much rather have the space for tomatoes or something else. Just a word of caution, I will not use gas or blast the plants!
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Hi Jane. I'm Cindy. You need to remove as many horseradish roots as you can. In the Spring before you put your garden in, til the soil and remove as many roots as possible. It may take a lot of time, but it will be better in the end. After the roots are completely gone, till in some sand in your garden. Sand is great for water retention, but it is also great for removing root systems. If any horseradish plants sprout, grab the plant at the base and pull the entire root system out. You might have to wiggle it a bit, but it will eventually let go. I add a mix of equal parts of soil, manure, and sand every Spring. I also self pollinate my plants and use a deep-root watering method. Very happy at harvest time. Good luck Jane.
Just a word of caution you have big problem....Highly, highly invasive plant.Needs planted in containers with NO drainage holes to be contained. Removal tips https://homeguides.sfgate.com/rid-horseradish-67593.html Spray them with glysophate/Round-Up or just Dig,Dig,Dig & Dig some more to get them up & get every piece(every little piece will regrow) or you will never be rid of it. Maybe the "young entrepreneurs" should come back other times thru out the year to help clean it up making it part of the great dig,harvest,grinding you are allowing them partake in,in your garden.When they dig it up and they don't dig around plant far enuf to get whole root intact they are promoting new plants/growth each time they remove some.
tilling them is the worst thing you can do they are cultivars ;This means that the smallest piece of root can yield plants. Controlling horseradish is difficult because of this hardy trait.One final note on how to kill horseradish plants: do not try using a rototiller to eliminate horseradish plants. Rototilling doesn’t work because it just makes a whole bunch of root pieces in the ground; each makes a new plant and makes it easier for the horseradish to spread.Read more at Gardening Know How: InformationOnHowToControlOrEliminateHorseradishPlants