Use Pine Needles as Organic Mulch
May 18, 2008 by Peggy
Pine needles as organic mulch can be a great low-cost alternative for some plants. If you happen to have a pine tree around, it’s free!
Using mulch helps plants retain water, which helps you conserve water. Plants that do well with pine straw mulch are plants that love acid. These include azaleas, blueberries, rhododendrons and hollies, among others. It’s best to leave a free area around the plant stems to avoid mold.
Pine needles provide good insulation, water retention and weed control. They also look natural and last longer than many alternative mulches. Best of all, no tree deaths are involved.
Have you tried pine needles as mulch? What did you think?
Image via flickr.
We have what we believe to be a big Jack Tar pine in our backyard. We use the needles all the time! There are so many we’ve managed to carpet most of our beds w/it. It seems to keep down a lot of little weeds, but we still get big prickers as we call them. Overall we’re happy b/c it’s free! They do take a long time to break down, so it’s not something we put in the compost or garden intentionally.
Hey DramaMama. I hope my next house comes with a pine tree so I can do the same! I have heard the pine needles are better suited for flower beds. I imagine it would be quite annoying in the veggie garden.
Hello! I am working on a Ponderosa Pine Project in Spokane, Washington where we have hundreds of thousands of pines. There is a terrible misconception that the needles are too acidic to use – I am trying to break this myth. Do you know of any studies regarding this – or other information you might have gathered about this topic? Thanks for your help! Any photos of how you mulch along with how long you have been doing it would be great!
Beth Mort
Beth – when I bought blueberry and blackberry plants (I already have raspberry plants), the people at the garden center told me they NEEDED the acidity! They encouraged me to dig a big hole, line it w/2 inches of pine needles and then even put some on top of the newly planted plant’s base. So far so good =) I couldn’t say how the plant would have done w/o it since I have no comparison. I wasn’t kidding in my earlier comment where I said that we totally cover flower beds w/the needles in fall. I’d be happy to send photos – where? Feel free to check out my blog or email me. Thanks!
My neighbour is cutting down his Ponderosa Pine tree. Would the green needles be worth harvesting form mulching purposes? Since they take so long to break down, would it be advisable to chop them up first before using?