Spruce and pine needles are widely used in summer cottages. This is not only an excellent mulch and natural covering material for the winter, but also an excellent fertilizer, as well as a remedy for pests and garden diseases.
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Pine needles for mulch
Pine needles are an excellent source of organic matter for the garden, without the need for harsh chemical fertilizers.
They can be used as mulch , for this it will be enough to make a layer of 5-8 cm, which will reduce the appearance of weeds, maintain soil moisture, and enrich the soil.
Here are four reasons to start using needle mulch:
The needles remain on the surface for a long time
The needles do not decompose for a long time , do not float from the rain and are not washed off, which allows you not to change the mulch for a long time, this will save your time.
Retains moisture
During rains, the needles act as a protective carpet , which allows moisture to penetrate through the needles, while soil erosion does not occur and the moisture is retained in the soil for a long time.
Inhibits weed growth
One of the functions of any mulch is to retard the growth of weeds; they cannot germinate without sunlight .
Improves soil
Like any organic material, pine needles decompose, but it does so more slowly than, for example, leaves.
The soil breathes better when covered with needles rather than grass mulch , due to the fact that the needles do not become compacted.
But after decomposition, when the needles fall into the soil, they not only fill it with nutrients, but also improve aeration and drainage.
Liquid fertilizer from pine needles
Conifer needles can be used not only to prepare humus, but also as a base for liquid fertilizer. After all, pine needles contain a large amount of micro- and macroelements, vitamins, essential oils and other useful substances. Raw materials for this purpose can be prepared in the summer or after the New Year holidays, when pine and spruce trees that have served their purpose become useless to anyone and are thrown away in armfuls in the trash.
It takes much less time to prepare liquid fertilizer than to ripen humus. The process of preparing liquid fertilizer from pine needles consists of several stages:
- The needles need to be finely chopped and placed in a suitable container, leaving a few centimeters to the edge;
- Pour the raw material with water and bring to a boil. Boil over low heat for 5-10 minutes and set aside;
- Infuse the pine needles for another 2-3 days in the same container, then strain;
- Pour the liquid into bottles and store in a cool, dark place.
Concentrated pine needle fertilizer is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the plants are watered with this solution. In the same concentration, the liquid can be used for foliar feeding.
To neutralize acidity, you can add crushed eggshells to the solution and leave for 7-10 days in a dark place. An even better effect will be obtained if you add an EM drug to the solution according to the instructions. But it should be remembered that not all plants like the phytoncides contained in the needles.
It takes much less time to prepare liquid fertilizer from pine needles than to ripen humus. © The Horticult
Pine needles for soil acidification
Needles, contrary to popular belief, do not acidify the soil.
More precisely, the situation is like this: if you take fresh green needles (which have a pH of 3.2 - 3.8) and mix them with soil, a slight acidification will occur for 3-4 months, which is very convenient to use for annual plants.
But dry yellow needles will not acidify the soil at all; they have an almost neutral pH.
This way, you can safely add pine needles to your compost or mulch without worrying about damaging your plants or acidifying your soil.
If your soil is limestone, you may not be able to lower your pH using pine needles.
Pest and disease control
Infusion of pine needles has long been known as a bactericidal and disinfectant. It can be used to prevent diseases and fungal diseases, in particular when growing seedlings.
To do this, the concentrated solution is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:2 and young plants are sprayed every 10-14 days. The same product is used to prevent late blight on tomatoes and potatoes, as well as against powdery mildew on melons and melons.
Liquid fertilizer in concentrated form can also be used as an insecticide by treating plants with a spray bottle. Unlike chemicals, pine needle infusion is safe and environmentally friendly. It works well against damage to garden crops by codling moth and moth, and is also used against aphids, flea beetles and other small insects.
Some gardeners use pine infusion to combat the Colorado potato beetle. Cabbage seedlings are sprayed with a solution of pine needles in a concentration of 1:2, starting from the moment they are planted in the ground, and this procedure is repeated every 10-12 days.
To repel pests and prevent egg laying, you can sprinkle chopped pine needles between the rows of onions, carrots and cabbage. This procedure is carried out once every two weeks. When planting potatoes, they also add a few needles to the hole to repel wireworms.
Winter protection
And in winter, such mulch can be used as insulation for plants.
The needles act like a mini greenhouse , retaining heat and preventing the soil from freezing while protecting the root zone from extreme cold.
To do this, add 7 to 15 centimeters of pine needle mulch to your beds in the fall.
Spruce branches as a covering material
Many gardeners use spruce branches as a covering material. The structure of the material allows you to effectively retain snow cover. In addition, the prickly needles reliably protect wintering plants from rodents.
An important advantage of spruce branches compared to many artificial covering materials is its breathability. That is, your wards will not face any damping-off during the winter thaw.
This mulch is suitable for covering strawberries, various perennials, and tree trunks of garden shrubs and trees.
Pine needles for compost
The needles themselves are resinous and have a waxy coating that protects them from the cold.
Therefore, the needles dry out and decompose in about two years.
Which is not very convenient for composting, but there is a way out of this situation:
- Needles in compost should make up 10% of the total mass.
- Mix pine needles with other greens for more effective composting.
- To help the needles decompose faster, chop them up before adding them to the compost.
Needles as a basis for warm beds
To make a warm bed, you need to dig a large trench, lay a thick layer of pine needles on its bottom, a layer of manure on top, then a layer of soft plant debris (weeds or vegetable tops) and cover it all with a layer of fertile soil about 20 cm thick.
You need to lay the bed in the fall or winter so that these layers settle before spring, and with the onset of warm days, all the components will begin to actively overheat and release a large amount of heat.
You will plant the seedlings in fertile soil, which is heated from below, and this can speed up the harvest by a month.
Fertilizer for the garden
Needles perform well as fertilizer. Used to accelerate the development of tomatoes and potatoes. Preparation of the mixture: pine needles are mixed with ash in a ratio of 2:1, and then boiled in water. The contents are filtered and mixed with water 1:5. Treat the bushes 2 times at intervals of a week. The bushes withstand pest attacks more easily, growth accelerates, and the yield increases.
You can speed up the growth of potatoes by adding pine needles with sand, compost, and ash in equal parts. For better growth of strawberries, a mixture of needles, bark of these trees, ash, and compost in equal quantities is used. The composition is placed under the tubers in an amount of about 1 liter per 1 bush. Diseases and pests almost completely recede after using this mixture. The yield increases by about half, the taste of the fruit improves.
Needles can be placed with other types of fertilizer in a general compost pile. After reheating, a mass comes out suitable for any plant. The properties of the soil after application are improved, as if regular compost was used. It can be used as fertilizer and in liquid form. The effect of the infusion: enrichment with vitamins, disinfection, removal of bacteria from the culture.
Pine needles as fertilizer are prepared as follows: branches with needles are finely chopped and placed in a 3-liter jar. Cool boiling water is added there, the mixture is infused for 4 days. Before use, the composition must be diluted with water in equal parts. Water any plants in the garden or vegetable garden with liquid.
Improving soil quality. Compost
Chips from branches are good to use on depleted soils. Shredded branches are mixed with the top (5 cm) layer of soil and after 3-4 years the yield increases significantly.
Chopped small green twigs, as well as pine needles, can be added to barrels when preparing green fertilizers. It is also good to put them in compost. To make it high quality, you need to know some subtleties:
- Coniferous litter contains resin, the excess of which is not to the taste of many plants: the roots suffer from it,
- The needles take a very long time to rot – from 3 to 5 years.
The ripening of humus can be accelerated and ready-made fertilizer can be obtained in 1.5 years (recipe from Irina Kudrina):
- pine litter,
- fresh mullein - 100 kg per cubic meter of litter,
- vegetable tops, weeds, kitchen waste,
- some garden soil
- optionally, wood ash or a purchased deoxidizer.
The components are stacked in layers. Afterwards, the gardener advises to pour everything generously with a solution of any microbiological fertilizer according to the instructions and cover the pile with a thick film.
Next season you will need to water the compost with this solution 2-3 more times. Also, ripening humus must be ventilated and moistened with a hose from time to time.
In this way, pine litter rots 2 times faster.
If there is no mullein , needles and plant debris mixed with garden soil are placed in a heap. Each layer is spilled with urea solution (200 g per 10 l).
Due to the presence of a large amount of essential oils in the needles, the humus will be free from insect pests and pathogenic microflora.
Due to the slightly acidic reaction, it is recommended to add ash (1 tbsp per bucket) before applying it to the plants.
Pine and spruce needles
Larch needles are effective as fertilizer. Certain types of needles are used in the fight against diseases and pests. Needles can be fruitfully used for the following purposes:
- Fight against snails and slugs. It is used without complicated preparations - the plant is surrounded by a large number of needles, and a “fur coat” of needles is made around it. Pests are afraid of terpenes.
- The needles are used as fertilizer. Applicable for crops growing in acidic soil to increase the indicator.
- For mulching. For a normal effect, you need to use a huge number of needles.
- Use as a support for strawberries or wild strawberries. If you raise the berries higher, the bushes will grow more actively and, as a result, bear fruit better. Attacks by mole crickets and other insects moving underground are significantly reduced.
- For faster rotting of other fertilizers. By covering the leaves used as fertilizer with pine leaves, they will not fly away so much. Moisture will be stored better in the compost, and rotting will increase.
- As a means to combat insects. You can prepare a solution by infusing it with water and use it pure or diluted. Many plant diseases recede after using the prepared liquid. Various areas of crops are sprayed. A strong infusion is sometimes dangerous for plants; it is recommended to either dilute it with water or use it only between rows, without direct application to the crop.
- To repel insects. Having a specific smell, the needles drive away pests.
Advantages and disadvantages of using pine needles in the garden
Needles are an environmentally friendly material that does not pollute the environment and does not lead to the accumulation of harmful nitrates. It is available, the required amount can always be collected in the nearest forest.
Disadvantage: pine needles increase the acidity of the soil in the garden plot. Because of this, many gardeners categorically refused to use it. However, adjusting the balance is quite easy - you need to add a little ash, chalk, fluff or dolomite flour. With systematic use, the pH level is checked annually, directing it in the right direction.
What does mulching do?
- 1 What does mulching give you?
- 2 Benefits of mulching strawberries
- 3 Coniferous mulch - effect on the soil
- 4 Benefits of pine mulch
- 5 Other types of organic mulch for strawberries
- 6 Inorganic mulch for strawberries
Weeds and their growth rate are our main headache. This unites gardeners from all countries and they begin to think about how to make sure that weeds no longer take up our precious time! And this is what they came up with - to mulch or cover the soil with various materials so that sunlight and heat no longer reach the weed seeds and they either do not germinate at all or wither and die! I have been using mulching methods on my site for four seasons and can already tell you a lot about mulch from different materials.
And the mulch can be from mowed grass, leaf litter, moss, stone, cardboard, sand, bark or artificial black non-woven material. All types have pros and cons! But in this article I will talk about mulch from pine or spruce litter.
