Collecting and Using Pine Needles

Regardless if you’re interested in starting a home-based organic business or you enjoy pine needle tea, knowing all about collecting and using pine needles is part of satisfying either objective.

There are numerous pine needle uses in an outdoor area such as mulch, weed repellent, line paths, soil stabilizer, and mild soil acidifier. Read on for some suggestions on collecting pine needles for medicinal, outdoor, or edible garden use.

Pine Needle Uses
Gardeners with pine trees in their yards might feel the mess from dropped needles is a headache. Though these conifer leaves are quite useful in various ways.

The Many Usages of Pine Needles
The needles make excellent flavoring for kinds of vinegar and teas, grill smoke to season meats, fire starters, mulch, and air fresheners. They possess numerous medicinal properties too.

Collecting pine needles and processing them accurately can help you use any of these natural properties. Pine straw is frequently sold cleaned and bailed to use in an outdoor space. Care must be used when collecting pine needles to keep them free of debris and weeds.

Layers of the straw mulch will aid in reducing weed growth, improve the soil, and sustain moisture. Also, they assist in improving the soil’s acidity for several plants, including holly, hydrangea, and azalea.

Likewise, the scent can aid in repelling certain pests from digging in your yard. Outside of garden use, a tea created from the leaves is not only tasty, but the fumes can clear sinuses. Cooled, the tea can be used as a deodorizer and cleaner. Possessing antibacterial properties, the needles assist in fighting numerous skin diseases when used as a foot soak. These tree cast-offs are suitable for some household uses.

How to Harvest Pine Needles
If you plan on composing pine mulch, keep the space under the trees free of debris and weeds. That way, when you rake and collect the needles, they will be reasonably clean. You can always hire a tree care company to do the raking and gathering for you.  

Pine needles gradually break down and can be used as line paths that won’t need replacing as frequently as other organic amendments. Put some of the needles as a bed bordering the tree roots to aid in nourishing your trees, hindering excessive weed growth and moisture loss. 

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