Not a good idea. Pine needles have a chemical (I forget the name)
which retards growth. I learned this the hard way when I mulched my
acid-loving blueberries with pine needles and wondered why they would
not grow. Once I learned about the pine needles growth retarding
properties I removed the mulch and replaced it with compost. Nice
healthy blueberry bushes now.
JMHO
John
On 4 Apr 2004 11:58:28 -0700,
(simy1) wrote:
"junkyardcat" wrote in message ...
We are getting ready to plant our veggie garden. We are thinking of using
pine needles to mulch around the plants to control weeds. Is this a good
idea? My husband is afraid the veggies will taste like pine, but I don't
think so Are pine needles a good mulch to use for veggie gardens? We have
hundreds of pine trees on our land, so it's readily available.
Thanks for your input
Angie
If your soil pH is 6.5 or above, they will be great. If not, you may
want to correct the mulch by adding lime or wood ash, I am guessing
two lb of wood ash
per 100 sqft, if you have 2 inches of mulch. As others have pointed
out, this mulch will work only for established plants, if you plant
seeds in pine needles, even if properly composted, they will not
sprout. Too young seedlings will have similar problems.