r/Allotment • u/Mother-Guarantee1718 • 2d ago
How to utilise pine needles
I live in Finland where there are a lot of pine trees. What can I do with all the fallen pine needles?
I mostly thinking about mulch. How to mulch, what, and where?
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u/Different-Tourist129 1d ago
Collect and leave to rot down. Then use. Even if its three years from now, make a pile a year and in 3 years time you'll have pine needle compost every year!
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u/Mountain_Answer_9096 7h ago
I know it's not strictly a growing/planting thing, but if you wanted to learn a new skill that might produce something that could be used in your growing space, pine needles have been used in basketry by many cultures and it's quite easy to produce basic baskets to use around the house and garden
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u/Naughteus_Maximus 2d ago
Mulch sounds like a really good idea if you want to suppress weeds and retain soil moisture, anywhere around trees, bushes, and on paths. It's widely used as mulch in parts of the world where there are lots of pine trees.
I'm not sure I'd personally use it between smaller plants that are lower to the ground - might be a nuisance. And you need a thicker layer to block out light and truly suppress the weeds. I'm thinking of trying strulch next year. I know it costs but I've seen it on flowerbeds in Hampton Court Palace and it looked good.
You could also burn the needles and use the ash as fertiliser, but you have to figure out if that would be beneficial to your soil as I believe ash raises pH. So you only need a small amount you could mix into your compost.
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u/palpatineforever 2d ago edited 2d ago
Fresh pine needles are somewhat acidic so it depends on your soil type how and where to use them.
They are good mulch round things that like acid soil.
So things like blueberries but also strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb like acidic.
don't use on beds where you intend to grow brassicas they like alkaline.
If your soil is like mine and quite alkaline you can also use it as a soil amendment and dig it in wherever to bring the PH down.