Can pine needles be used as mulch: not all gardeners know the correct answer
You have probably noticed that some summer residents often go to the forest not only for berries and mushrooms, but also for pine needles.
As it turns out, needles have a lot of interesting uses.
One of the most popular is the creation of a mulching layer based on needles, notes the expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", landscape designer and agronomist Anastasia Kovrizhnykh .
Can pine needles be used for this purpose?
Some people are wary of using needles because they believe that it can cause significant fluctuations in acidity levels.
In general, this is true. When needles come into contact with the soil, they can increase acidity. Therefore, without additional manipulations, litter should be used as a mulch layer only for those crops that are comfortable in an acidic environment.
But other crops can also be mulched with needles. You just need to do some additional manipulation.
We are talking about adding regular ash to normalize acidity indicators. Therefore, the needles can be safely used for any crops.
