- Author: Tina Saravia
I simply love that we have so many pine trees in this neighborhood. Yesterday, I gathered my lawn rake and tied a 20-gallon nursery pot to my little hand truck and walked a few blocks to gather pine needles to mulch my blueberry bed.
Pine needles are a great mulch for acid-loving plants like blueberries because of their acidic nature. They are slow to decompose so the effect of acidifying the soil can take many years.
That's not the only reason I use pine needles for my blueberry bed. I use them because the mulch protects the soil from losing water to evaporation from the sun and wind, reducing the frequency of watering and the amount of water. (We are in a drought.) It also controls weeds by blocking sunlight that weeds need to grow, and when it breaks down it adds its nutrients to the soil, reducing fertilizer needs.
It saves me time and money. How could I not love that? And did I mention it's free for the taking? And close to my house.
For more information on mulching and watering, check out this link to a delightful web page — the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden - A Valley-Wise Garden.
http://www.arboretum.ucdavis.edu/downloads/storer_exhibits.pdf