Belated introduction and pine needles

16 years ago

Well, you guys have already helped me out a bit, and I was rude to just burst in and ask questions without properly introducing myself! Hello everybody! I was lurking here for a while, just reading and I've really enjoyed it.

I live north of Ardmore, have a couple of acres I just bought in the fall. I work full time but I spend spare time doing piddly little home repairs on my place and gardening. We always had a big garden when I was little and I'm trying to re-create that, but on a much smaller scale.

Two dogs, two cats, one 8 year old daughter- I stay busy!

Now, here's my pine needle question:

I have 7 pine trees on my land. I spend a lot of time picking up pine cones and raking pine needles. Does anyone know of any uses for the pine needles, particularly as mulch? I've read that they are too acidic, but as a newbie gardener I don't know what this would hurt or help.

Anybody need any? Come and get 'em! :)

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Comments (6)

scottokla
16 years ago
I suggest you get a few blueberry plants. They will love the pine needle mulch (or pecan shell mulch). You can't beat blueberries!
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
16 years ago
Semiorganic,

Well, it wasn't really rude to ask questions and do the intro later. We do enjoy the introductory info, though, as it helps us understand people's location, situation, etc.

I do not think pine needles are too acidic AT ALL in our part of the state, because we tend to have neutral to alkaline soil and water. They might be too acidic for some people in some locations that have such drastically acidic soil that they have to amend the the soil to make it less acidic. Here, though, they are just wonderful as mulch, especially as they break down so very slowly.

I don't know what the pH of your soil and water are in Carter County, but here in Love County just a hop, skip and a jump south of you, our soil tends to be in the 7 to 8 range, and my amended garden soil is around 6.5 to 6.8. In this kind of soil, therefore, pine needles' acidity is probably a plus.

If you have more pine needles than you can use (and that is possible since they break down very, very slowly) and no one local on GardenWeb wants to come get them, you probably could give them away via the Ardmore Freecycle website.

Dawn
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rjj1
16 years ago
If you do incorporate the pine needles into your soil or use as a mulch on beds, it would be a good idea to have a nice snug pair of leather gloves to wear when doing any hands on work in that area. I've had the luck of getting pierced more than once with still sharp and rigid needles.

randy
okprairie
16 years ago
I beg pine needles from my neighbor and love putting them in my flower beds. They smell so great. Somewhere I read that they are a good mulch for around the house because they don't attract termites like wood chips do. I have no idea where I read that.
susanlynne48
16 years ago
I have tons and tons and tons of pine needles, and use them to mulch my hydrangeas and azaleas. As Dawn said, they really are not that acidic. They make for great mulch on just about anything.

If someone wants to come get a sack or so of them, please feel free to drop by. Send me an e-mail.

Susan
Annie
16 years ago
When I can get it, I use "pine straw" just about everywhere.
It is especially great in the strawberry beds - great as a mulch and the pine straw adds a wonderful flavour to the strawberries like that of wild strawberries.

As was said, it is great around acid loving plants like gardenias and rhododendrons and azaleas, and gives your prized Hydrangeas that heavenly blue colour, but I use them around my tomatoes too. The best tomatoes, strawberries, green beans and etc. that I ever grew was the year I got bags and bags of pine straw and pecan leaves from a curbside rubbish pile to be picked up the following day by the trash truck. I asked the lady of the house if I could have them and she grinned at me like I was an idiot and said, "Sure! Take 'em!"

Pine straw is great to put in your veggie garden or flower garden paths. Certain perennials and annuals like the acidity of them as mulch.

In the South you can buy it in bales at nurseries to use in your gardens for mulch.

You can build a compost pile made entirely of pine needles to use for all your acid loving plants, including house plants, Jasmine, ivy, ferns and other such plants.

~ sweetannie4u

Belated introduction and pine needles

Comments (6)

scottokla

Okiedawn OK Zone 7

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rjj1

okprairie

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