Are pine tree needles acidic?
Pine tree needles are acidic when they fall, with a pH around 3.5. As they decompose, the pH of the needles raises to more neutral levels. Over many decades, the fallen pine needles may raise soil pH slightly if they are left on the ground. They will have some effect on pH if the fresh needles are dug into the soil.
Are fir needles bad for grasses?
Fir needles cause problems for plants below. Conifer needles are quite acidic, with a pH of between 3 and 4. When these needles fall en masse, they form an acidic mulch. Most lawn grass species prefer a slightly acidic, almost neutral soil, with a pH between 6.5 and around 7.
Are conifer needles acidic or alkaline?
Conifer needles are quite acidic, with a pH of between 3 and 4. When these needles fall en masse, they form an acidic mulch. Most lawn grass species prefer a slightly acidic, almost neutral soil, with a pH between 6.5 and around 7. A thick mulch of Douglas fir needles is a smothering blanket for healthy turf grass.
Is Pine Needle debris a good soil additive?
BTW the soil under years of pine needle debris is rich in nutrients and pretty PH balanced. Not highly acidic at all. If you want a great soil additive go scoop you up some bucketfuls, I agree with the comment about rich soil, but the soil is not “pH balanced” assuming you mean a pH of 7.
What is the pH of conifer needles?
Why are Douglas Firs browning?
What to do with extra needles on trees?
How long does it take for Douglas Fir to break down?
How many years of needles does a Douglas fir tree have?
What diseases do Douglas fir trees have?
Is it hard to maintain a carpet of lawn under a canopy of Douglas Firs?
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Are fir needles good for compost?
Evergreen needles can also be added to the compost pile. Limit them to about 10% of the mixture for faster composting. The evergreen needles have a waxy covering, are very dry and take a long time to decompose, making them great as a mulch, but less so for fast composting results.
What are fir needles good for?
Fir needle essential oil is also utilized in the manufacture of cosmetic products, perfumes, bath oils, air fresheners and incense. Fir (Abies) trees are a genus of 48–56 species of symmetrical, evergreen, coniferous trees belonging to the pine family. The root system of the fir tree helps prevent soil erosion.
Can I use evergreen needles as mulch?
Pine Needles Can Work as Mulch They are light and fluffy, so spreading them around is a piece of cake, and they don't compact much as they decompose, so you don't have to worry about them becoming too thick or forming a rain-impervious mat. Even better, in your case, they're free for the raking.
Can you eat fir tree needles?
Pine, Fir and Spruce Needles. That leaves the needles. Yes, you can eat pine needles, and they do make a pretty good tea, but I've found that the needles of pine's cousins, the firs and spruces, taste less like turpentine and more like citrus.
Can I make tea from fir tree?
Fir Needles to Use for Tea Some great fir species to use for tea are white fir (Abies concolor), grand fir (Abies grandis), noble fir (Abies procera), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea). I will also say that Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga spp.), while not a true fir, is an excellent choice for tea making!
Are fir needles poisonous?
Christmas trees such as firs, pines, and cedar are mildly poisonous. Some plants contain chemicals such as oxalates, solanine, glycosides, or alkaloid lycorine that may cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, swelling and redness of the mouth, throat, and lips, and trouble breathing.
Do pine needles attract termites?
Pine needles themselves don't provide nutrition for termites. However, pine straw will keep the ground below wet. This moisture could attract termites to your home.
Do evergreens absorb water through their needles?
Pine needles also play a role in the collection of moisture. Many drier climates have cooler nights, such as some deserts in the mountains. This creates a lot of condensation on the needles. The pine tree can actually absorb water through the needles and transport the water to the roots.
How long do pine needles take to decompose?
How long pine needles take to decompose depends on whether they are fresh or dry. Fresh pine needles have a thick waxy coating that makes it even harder for the bacteria to penetrate and reach the organic materials inside the needles. Composting fresh pine needles could take from 5 to 6 weeks.
Is there any nutritional value in pine needles?
Aside from being packed with vitamin C, pine needles are a good source of vitamin A. This vitamin is great for your eyesight, helps build your body's defense system, and is important for bone health, according to Healthline. Also good for your skin, Vitamin A is used to treat acne.
Can you eat Christmas tree needles?
Yes, you can eat your Christmas tree needles (assuming it's a spruce, fir, or pine). In fact, once you know how to unwrap the delicious flavors of your Christmas tree in the kitchen, you might just want to start eating edible conifer trees year round.
Are Douglas fir pine needles edible?
You can eat them fresh, freeze them, or dry them. Both hot tea and sun tea are tasty. Needles can be infused in honey or vinegar. They are used as a flavoring for liquors, syrups, and even ice cream.
What are Christmas tree needles good for?
If the needles on your tree are still green, strip the tree and store the needles in paper bags or sachets to use as fresheners. The needles will retain their scent and freshen your home year-round. You don't have to be a craftsman to cut the trunk into one-inch wood coasters.
Do pine needles have health benefits?
Pine needles contain antioxidants. These reduce free radicals, which are harmful to humans and can cause disease. Taoist priests drank pine needle tea as they believed it made them live longer.
What do you do with Douglas fir needles?
They are used as a flavoring for liquors, syrups, and even ice cream. Try finely chopping them and adding them to shortbread cookies and other desserts. Medicine: Like other evergreen conifers, Douglas fir needles and pitch are high in aromatic resins that fight infection and stimulate immunity.
Do pine needles have medicinal properties?
Pine needles contain a compound called alpha- or beta-pinene, which is a natural decongestant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anxiolytic. When ingested, pine can be used to treat colds and coughs, reducing phlegm and helping with sinus infections.
I have many fir trees around my yard. Are fir needles bad for grass ...
Answer (1 of 15): They will help to make the soil more acidic and lawns need alkaline. The best thing is to use a gas powered blower. Then mow. If you are in the northern climes you have cool season grasses and those grasses need to be mowed once per week, sharp sharp blades with a rotary gas po...
50% Compost and 50% Fir needles - Houzz
I want to know if using 50% compost and 50% Douglas Fir needles would work for rasied bed garden soil? The Douglas Fir needle "pile" has been added to for the past 25+ years. It looks like peat moss after you remove the top 12 inches. It seems that this would have naturally composted itsel...
Can I use fir & cedar needles for compost? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): Yes. However conifers do tend to be slow to compost. Combining the needles with other types of compost should speed the process since conifer needles are very acidic. I have a lot of pine needles and compost them all the time. You might find some mushrooms which like to decompo...
douglas fir needles as Vegi mulch?
I have a lot of Douglas Fir trees in the back yard and have to clean up the needles from the drie way all the time. My question is this. Would this type of pine needle be ok to use as a mulch in my new vegetable garden? Thanks for any help.
Why Does Acid Rain Not Acidify the Soil?
Southern Ontario can be considered to be a large limestone rock. Our soil has been created over millions of years from this limestone. Limestone is alkaline and so our soil is also alkaline. Mine has a pH of about 7.4.
What is the pH of soil?
Most plants prefer a value of around 6.8. Most plants will grow just find with a pH in the range of 6.4 to 7.5.
How to make soil more alkaline?
Let’s say your soil is more alkaline than your plants want. The solution seems obvious – add something that is acidic. When you add acid to soil it should reduce the pH making it more acidic. Anyone who has taken basic chemistry in school has probably seen this take place in a test tube.
What is the pH of water?
You might expect it to have a pH of 7.0 since that is the pH of pure water. However, as rain falls, it absorbs CO2 from the air. When you add CO2 to water you create a weak acid (carbonic acid) and that acid has a pH of about 5.6. Keep in mind that this is taking place without pollution.
Can Mother Nature acidify soil?
Even with acidic rain mother nature can’t acidify the soil. Do you really think you will make a difference with a handful of pine needles???
Do pine needles lose their acidity?
After a few days on the ground, they lose their acidity completely. The brown pine needles, also called pine straw, are not acidic. There are two important points here. Since your source for pine needles is probably not green, they are NOT acidic. Collecting old pine needles is pointless if you are trying to acidify your soil.
Do pine needles acidify soil?
Since pine needles are acidic they will acidify your soil. This advice is very prevalent especially for growing acid loving plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons.
What Is Pine Straw?
Pine straw is the name given to pine needles when they are used as mulch. Pine straw and pine needles are the same.
How to make pine straw fluffy?
Shake and toss pine straw, the way you would regular straw so that it forms a fluffy layer. It will eventually settle and stay in place, despite rain or wind. It does this on the forest floor, and it will do it in your garden.
What is the best mulch for a pine tree?
Pine needles are generally a good choice for mulching, especially if you have pine trees in your yard or pine straw is available locally.
Why are Southern Yellow pines making a comeback?
However Southern Yellow is making a comeback, probably because of the market for pine straw, so long needle mulches are once again becoming more available.
How to keep pine straw from decomposing?
Because it is slow to decompose, you will probably only need to top it off with a couple of inches or so each spring. Shake and toss pine straw, the way you would regular straw so that it forms a fluffy layer. It will eventually settle and stay in place, despite rain or wind.
Why are pine needles good for gardening?
Besides the cost savings, there are several reasons pine needles are a good choice. They are lightweight. There’s enough heavy lifting in gardening. Not only are they easier on the back, but they also won’t compact your soil.
What happens if you don't cover pine straw?
If it does not fully cover the soil, you will still get weeds, and weeding in pine straw is not particularly pleasant. It may look light and fluffy, but it is still needles.
What does it mean when needles fall from trees?
The needles that fall from an evergreen tree create a natural mulch, since the needles fall straight down and
How to get rid of fir trees in yard?
If you find them to be a problem and want them gone, call local nurseries to see if they need or want some fir trees for their stock, they can use a tree spade or hand dig some of them. If they use a tree spade, there will be no holes in your yard after the trees are removed, the nurseryman will bring soil from their nursery farm to fill the holes. Nurserymen are picky, because they have to please clients with the appearance of the trees, so they will want trees that are shaped nicely.
What to plant between fir trees?
Depending on the size of the yard, you will probably end up with a walk way between trees, and you could plant beds of trillium, periwinkle, hostas, ferns or other shade tolerant species.
Does dethatching get needles out of lawn?
Regular dethatching will also get much of the needles that drop into your lawn.
Can fir needles smother grass?
Fir needles can smother grass. You can rake them up to use as mulch or put them out of the way at the edge of your yard that’s least visible.
How far away from property line will a tree be from the tree?
It depends on how close the tree is planted to your property, and how critical those roots are to the tree. A trunk 2′ away from the property line will suffer and become unstable if all the roots are severed. During the next windstorm, the tree will fold over and possibly cause structural damage. Your neighbor won’t be happy, and, in some areas, you will get into trouble.
Can pine needles choke out grass?
Fir needles, just like pine needles can smother the lawn. These needles are quite acidic and can choke out the lawn growing underneath. It would be advisable to rake them up as often as possible. They have a very high carbon and nitrogen content, so they don’t decompose very quickly.
How to neutralize pine needle acid?
Decomposition neutralizes pine needle acid naturally. Whether you rake the pine needles over bare soil as mulch or add them to a compost pile, the slow process of decomposition and bacteria in the soil will bring the pH level to a neutral level. When using pine needles as mulch, keep them at 3 to 4 inches deep and pull them at least 4 inches away from the stems or trunks of plants and trees. The loose mulch allows water to reach the soil while slowing evaporation.
What to plant under pine trees?
Successful plantings under pine trees incorporate shade- and acid-loving plant species suited for your hardiness zone. For a woodland-themed garden, add flowering shrubs like azaleas and rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9, depending on the species and cultivar. The Old Farmer's Almanac recommends mulching rhododendrons with pine bark chips or pine needles to help keep the soil evenly moist.
What is the pH of pine needles?
Pine tree needles are acidic when they fall, with a pH around 3.5. As they decompose, the pH of the needles raises to more neutral levels. Over many decades, the fallen pine needles may raise soil pH slightly if they are left on the ground. They will have some effect on pH if the fresh needles are dug into the soil.
How to find the area of ground to be covered?
Calculate the area of ground to be covered. For a circular area beneath a tree, the area is 1.5 times the radius, squared, multiplied by 3.14. For a square or rectangular plot of ground area is length times width. Measure in feet.
What materials raise pH?
Purchase a pH-raising material. Sodium nitrate and calcium nitrate will have a rapid effect on soil pH, and add nitrogen to the soil. Hydrated lime will have a rapid effect on pH without the added nitrogen. Limestone, hardwood ash and steamed bone meal have a slower effect on pH levels.
Do pine trees need acidic soil?
Before attempting to change soil pH, have the soil tested to determine if a pH change actually is necessary. Most pine trees need a slightly acidic soil to grow.
Who is Ruth de Jauregui?
Ruth de Jauregui is an old-school graphic artist and writer who focuses primarily on garden topics. She writes a weekly garden column and authored 50 Fabulous Tomatoes for Your Garden. She continues to write nonfiction articles on gardening and other topics and is working on a second "50" book about plants that attract hummingbirds.
What is the best mulch for a garden?
Although there are many types of conifers, pines are the most commonly used in the home landscape. Pine needle mulch helps retain soil moisture and suppress weed growth while having little effect on pH. When incorporated into the soil, pine needles can improve drainage, provide nutrients for plant growth and have a only a slight effect on pH ...
How much nitrogen does pine needles provide?
University of Florida IFAS Extension showed decomposing pine needles can provide up to 50 pounds per acre per year of nitrogen and five pounds per acre per year of phosphorous. Additional nutrients from decomposing pine needles and straw include calcium (3 to 21 pounds per acre), magnesium (0.6 to 5 pounds per acre) and potassium (0.4 to 2.9 pounds per acre). Keep in mind that excess raking and removal of needles from beneath your pine trees also reduces the nutrients available for the trees, so consider setting a rotating schedule for raking under your trees.
What is the pH of pine needles?
Fresh-fallen pine needles have a pH between 3.2 to 3.8, indicating high acidity. When left on the surface, however, pine needles break down at such a slow rate that they have little effect on soil pH. Incorporated into the soil, pine needle mulch decomposes much faster, releasing their nutrients into the ground, but still only having a slight effect on lowering soil pH. Organisms living in the soil break down the needles into more simple elements, neutralizing the pH of the needles, so the net overall effect on soil pH is minimal according to University of California.
Why are conifer trees so hard to grow?
Soil Acidity and Drainage. While it is commonly believed that it is difficult to grow plants beneath conifer trees due to acidic soil, it is actually due to the tree roots being so numerous and growing so close to the surface that they outcompete other plants for nutrients and water according to University of New Hampshire Extension.
Do pine needles need to be mulched?
The advantage of their slow decay is that pine needle mulch doesn't need to be applied as often.
Do pine needles help soil?
When incorporated into the soil, pine needles can improve drainage, provide nutrients for plant growth and have a only a slight effect on pH according to This Old House.
What is pine needle mulch?
Pine needle mulch is a natural soil enhancer that reduces erosion, slows down moisture evaporation and keeps down weeds. There are many more benefits to using pine straw as a natural mulch; read about pine straw benefits. Pine needles are also known as pine straw. Pine needles usually have a high amount of acid, ...
Why do pine needles interlock?
The interlocking of pine needles keeps them from being blown out of landscapes and gardens during strong winds and storms.
Why do we need mulch in our garden?
Garden mulch helps provide a healthy environment for plants to grow their very best. It also promotes uniform growth and as the pine needles slowly decompose over time they release organic nutrients that enrich the soil.
Is pine straw mulch good for landscaping?
Pine straw has been a preferred choice of landscaping mulch in south ern states and across the United States for over 20 years by landscapers, homeowners and business owners.
Do pine needles have acid?
Pine needles usually have a high amount of acid, so care must be taken when placing them in your whole yard or landscape, depending on pH levels. There are many plants that love all the pine straw acid.
What are the resources that OSU Extension offers?
Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension: Tree Care, Garden Soil and Compost, Gardening Techniques, Insects
What happens if the soil is too high in organic matter?
If the soil organic matter is much higher than ideal (5 to 8 percent), the soil can have too much available phosphorus, which can stunt plant growth and potentially leach into the water table. Also, some composts can be high in salts, which can also impact plant growth. – Weston Miller, OSU Extension horticulturist.
Why do you add organic matter to soil?
Adding an organic amendment to the soil only in the planting hole will tend to reduce growth of the plant. This happens because roots may stay within the amended soil and not grow into the native soil, creating a root-bound plant within the amended soil. If the organic amendment is not completely decomposed it may require nitrogen for further decomposition, which will compete with plant roots for minerals, thereby resulting in reduced growth. And in the case of large shrubs or trees#N#(link is external)#N#, decomposition of the amendment will cause the plant to settle and the root collar will sink below the soil. – Neil Bell, OSU Extension horticulturist
Why are there no plants under my pine trees?
If you are having difficulty growing other plants under your pine trees it is likely due to the fact that evergreen roots are numerous and shallow and compete for water and nutrients. The shady conditions under a tree cans also make growing other plants a challenge. – Amy Jo Detweiler, OSU Extension horticulturist
What is the pH of pine needles?
It is true that pine needles have a pH of 3.2 to 3.8 (neutral is 7.0) when they drop from a tree. If you were to take the freshly fallen needles (before the needles decompose) and turn them into the soil right away, you may see a slight drop in the soil pH, but the change would not be damaging to the plants.
Does composting help plants?
REALITY: Adding organic matter to soil in the form of compost helps to improve soil structure and promote long-term plant health, but adding too much compost at once or over time can lead to problems. If the soil organic matter is much higher than ideal (5 to 8 percent), the soil can have too much available phosphorus, which can stunt plant growth and potentially leach into the water table. Also, some composts can be high in salts, which can also impact plant growth. – Weston Miller, OSU Extension horticulturist
Can brown recluse spiders bite humans?
REALITY: It is commonly thought that hobo and brown recluse spiders cause necrotic bites in this state, when in fact the brown recluse is not found in Oregon and the hobo spider does not cause necrotic bites. The hobo spider was in fact removed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of venomous spiders in 2015. The black widow is the most harmful spider to humans in the state. – Heather Stoven, OSU Extension entomology specialist
What is the pH of conifer needles?
Conifer needles are quite acidic, with a pH of between 3 and 4. When these needles fall en masse, they form an acidic mulch.
Why are Douglas Firs browning?
Oregon State University foresters have been saying that the browning or dieback in Douglas fir this year is due to weather-related stress, sometimes in combination with pests and diseases. Young trees seem to be more susceptible to the stress.
What to do with extra needles on trees?
One thing you could do to take advantage of all your extra needle drop is to run a mower with a clippings bag or catcher over the area, then save the needles for mulch on acid-loving plants such as blueberries, rhododendrons and azaleas.
How long does it take for Douglas Fir to break down?
Douglas fir and other conifer needles break down really slowly, as they have a very high carbon to nitrogen ratio, similar to sawdust. It may take years for them to break down completely. I wouldn’t worry about the extra needles acidifying your soil much, for you are removing them regularly.
How many years of needles does a Douglas fir tree have?
A healthy Douglas fir tree hosts four to five years' worth of needles, while heavily infected trees may carry only one or two years' worth. While Swiss Needle Cast is not generally fatal to the tree, it may significantly stunt growth.
What diseases do Douglas fir trees have?
In the hills around the Willamette Valley, foresters have been seeing stressed Douglas-fir trees come down with a disease called Swiss needle cast.
Is it hard to maintain a carpet of lawn under a canopy of Douglas Firs?
Answer: It is a challenge to maintain a nice carpet of lawn under a canopy of Douglas firs. Why is this so? Dry shade with shallow soil is a tough environment to grow anything, much less grass. Douglas firs have an extensive root system that competes with surrounding plants for water.
