Pinestraw

Any of you PNW gardeners use this stuff? Seems to be big back east and down in the southern states. My gardening experience is only here in the PNW. It is used as a mulch but I have read that it can raise the ph in your soil. Any of you use it here?
The reason for the question is I bought some daylilies and one is not doing well so I posted pictures. The response was mulch with pinestraw.

I knew a lady who used fir needles for mulch throughout her garden. Didn't hurt anything. East and south have a lot more pine trees around than we do here. I believe the best mulch is compost and that certainly would not hurt the daylily. Keep it moist and as soon as it starts raining it will probably get better. Could shade it.

I agree with you Willow. Then as you weed that gets tilled into the soil to make it better. I planted them in really good dirt mixed with a bit of compost. Not to sure what those needles would do mixed in.

Yes, back east and other places they need to make their soil more acidic.

Well that is not the case here.

I use pine straw over my raspberries and blackberries for winter mulch and for my blueberries. I usually lay down a good 3" of compost once everything has died back and it has turned off cold then mulch with the pine straw. rake it off a little in the spring.

Hi Nancy, Happy you dropped in. Welcome! I use sawdust or saw shaving for my blueberries. Where do you get your pinestraw? There are no pine trees where I am living now.

Is Pinestraw the same as just using pine needles for mulch? I've never seen it for sale around here. We do have mostly pine trees in the forest around here and my soil is extremely alkaline. Maybe I should make a trip up into the woods with a wheelbarrow next spring. Of course you probably need some kind of permit, I don't think you can even pick up a rock anymore without buying some kind of permit from the Forest Service...

It is the same, pineneedles or pine straw. They may have a different looking needle back east.

Well this is good information. I'm having an "Aha" moment. I'm surrounded by pine forests and have alkaline soil. I also have a yen for acid-loving plants at times, being born and raised on the coast. Seems like a simple solution, easily solved with a free afternoon in spring, a wheelbarrow, and a rake.

Sounds like a good project. Wish I had pines. But I do have a very large maple, small leaved. That works too.

Wow! I have loads of pine trees and pine needles, of course...and alkaline soil! I do mulch my blueberries and strawberries with it and they seem to like it. And now I am digging a new shady bed, as the plants on the north side of the house seem to flag in the heat of the morning (hot) sun in the summer.

Julia ~ Thanks for the thread!

Willow, we have loads of ponderosa pines in neighborhoods near us, and they shed like mad alll winter. So the homeowners are happy to give them away
(pinestraw)

You have it good then. I used to have one pine tree at the other house. Not much but I made use of them.

This thread caught my eye...Several years ago, I was looking for info on strawbale gardening......... I found Kent's thread on a North Carolina forum ( he's a member here too) Anyway, in reading that thread, I ran across a reference to pinestraw.........??...................So, I signed up and asked........

" One more thing. Just curious, I'm in Oregon, been around ranchin', farmin' and loggin' all my life. What is 'pine straw'? LOL, you should have seen the looks I got when I've asked some friends....We have pine trees, pine wood, pine nuts, heck even pine cones....But am not sure what pine straw is (there are several people curious)"

At least it got a 'giggle' (and an answer)....... I have yet to see any here (still in Oregon) but there are plenty of trees available close, should I want any ;)

Pine needles!

I use ponderosa pine needles in my berries, they do not have much sap on them, most of the time. In central Oregon there are tons of them, don't know about your area, sw Oregon

Yes, I put pine needles on my STRAW berries...I was wondering why they called them straw berries. Could that be the reason?? I read in a booklet on growing them that the pine needles are the best environment for them and I was curious about their name...

I put them on my blueberries as well.

Here is a Snopes discussion on the possible origins of the name, strawberry: apparently, nothing to do with being grown with straw. Possibly, the name has more to do with the way they grow or are cultivated.
http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/strawberry.asp

Thank you, mbabbitt.

Almost too funny..... I am CO born and bred........ Graduated from Redmond, most of my family is in Prineville, worked for the 'sale' in Madras, went to Church in Bend and worked for Leavitt's in Sisters (it get's 'better') Lived in Gilchrist ( long enough to see it SNOW ('real snow')) EVERY month of the year, my kids played LL in La Pine................. If you are a 'long time' Madras family, I bet we probably know some of the same people :)