JW: I'm Judy Wagley-- this is “From the Ground Up!” Recently we learned about some good ways to recycle your fresh Christmas tree. But for those who still have a pile of pine needles, is it a good idea to spread them on your garden beds? Brent Crain is a Consumer Horticulture Educator with Michigan State University Extension, and he has some expert information for us. Thanks for joining me today, Brent.
BC: Hey, I'm very happy to be here, Judy. I appreciate it.
JW: Brent, I understand that you know quite a bit about Christmas trees!
BC: Well, you know, I actually did my PhD work in Christmas trees.
JW: I love that! Brent has a PhD in Christmas trees!
JW: Brent, I think pine needles may have the reputation of being too acidic or not good for your garden. Is that true? Should we use pine needles on our yard and garden plants?
BC: You know, there was some work that was done years ago, looking at what happens to the to the soil pH. But when they first looked at it, it was using potted plants. And the chemistry is completely different from field soil. So there was a little bit of a change in chemistry in potted plants. But when we I say we-- other researchers started looking at what happens in field soil, they discovered that there really is not any sort of appreciable change in soil pH. Pine needles, they're a fantastic choice for mulch, and you could use them throughout your yard, I might avoid using them in a food garden, just because they may have been sprayed with pesticides, or sometimes they're painted. And that might make it not suitable for some food gardens-- kind of depending on what was put on them.
JW: Is this a good time of year then to use those pine needles and spread them out into the yard or the garden?
BC: Oh, sure, yeah, this time of year would be just fine. A lot of times, we recommend that people withhold mulch until after the first good freeze. And we've had we've had the first good freeze. And that just has to do with well, you know, one of the great characteristics of mulch is that it insulates the soil. So you can prevent the soil from getting as cold in the winter and as hot in the summer. And you also stop these big temperature fluctuations which are really bad for roots. So waiting to put on mulch until after the first hard freeze just kind of make sure that trees are able to get the signals that they need to enter into dormancy and to really get that full winter hardiness. So this is a great time to put it on.
JW: Are there any advantages of using pine needles over say--- like leaves?
BC: Yeah, I mean leaves make a nice mulch too-- especially if they're if they're mulched. If you have like you know, a mulching setting on your mower and you mulch those up. The issue is leaves can form dense mats. And those dense mats can block water and air infiltration. And leaves can also blow around and they may not make your neighbor happy if they blow into their yard. Otherwise, they have the same typical benefits they insulate the soil they help with erosion on slopes, help retain soil moisture, you know, decrease weeds, things like that.
JW: What about mixing the pine needles with leaves or other things that you might use as a mulch?
BC: You know, it's funny that you mentioned that Judy, because I was actually thinking about that earlier today. And thinking, you know, I bet if we mixed in the pine needles with mulch leaves, it would prevent some of those that caking that we can get with the formation of those mats and the leaves. So that's actually a really good idea!
JW: Yeah, it sounds good, doesn't it? We just came up with a new thing, Brent! So you think it's a good idea then to gather those needles and spread them out there and maybe mix them with some leaves? And then that'll be great when spring comes around again?
BC: Yeah, I mean, every year we take ours and we put them out in the flowerbed for mulch. You know, I will say take a look at your tree. Like if it looks like it's diseased or has, you know, needles that are infested with insects, you know, something like that, then maybe you don't want to use it. Oh, funny story. So remember, I did my research in Christmas trees? So I always take my family out to this local choose and cut Christmas tree farm. And a couple years ago, we went out when it was dumping snow. And we found the perfect tree. So when we got home one of my kids, I have three kids, one of them said, “Hey, Dad, why is there still snow on this tree?” Lo and behold, the bottom half of the tree was covered in white. And when I looked closer, I saw that it was pine needles scale, which makes it look like there's snow on the tree. So yeah, so I did not use the needles from that tree for mulch. You know, it's not going to hurt anything in your house. But if you use that as mulch, then you have scale insects that comes out in the spring and that can infest other trees that you might have in your yard. So if your tree is diseased or if you see insects on them, you know, maybe don't use them. If you bought one of those purple trees. The paints are supposed to be non-toxic, but I can't really speak to the safety of it, but I would not put in a food garden for example.
JW: Well, that PhD came in handy in that case, didn't it Brent?
BC: Yes, indeed. I knew what it was!
JW: Yes! Well thank you for all your good advice!
BC: Hey thank you so much, it was great to be here.
