Custom Pine Straw The Official Blog

Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on April 23, 2012

One question that comes up a lot is “What is the best time of year to buy pine straw mulch to use in a garden or landscapes?” It is so easy to see the value of using pine mulch, but when do you use it and how does it help your garden each season? Most people begin by adding pine straw mulch to landscapes in the spring.

Mulching with pine straw is one of the best ways to keep weeds out of your landscape from the start. If you have not mulched yet and summer has arrived it is not too late to add pine straw and get the great benefits it provides. The pines needles help keep weeds down by filtering out the sunlight.

The pine mulch itself will not stop weeds from germinating but it serves as a natural barrier between the weeds and the outside world above. However you must ensure your pine mulch comes from a company with clean straw to avoid contamination from weed seed. To find out make sure you ask if the straw has been cleaned, Custom Pine Straw product has definitely been cleaned and raked for the best quality.

In the summer months heat pine straw mulch will help slow down the evaporation of moisture from the soil. Mulch keeps the soil from completely drying out and losing key nutrients. You can also rest easy when inevitable summer storms blow-through, pine straw does not wash away like some other mulch when it rains.

In the fall and winter seasons a layer of pine straw mulch will insulate the soil preventing it from the severity of repeated patterns of freezing and thawing. Mulch will insulate sensitive plant roots through the cold season. Pine needles help prevent the heaving or buckling upward of the soil when spring returns. Soil covered with pine straw will thaw out more quickly in the spring allowing for healthy new growth.

Whatever season you add pine straw mulch, it will naturally go through decomposition that naturally adds valuable organic nutrients to the soil. As pine needles break down they help to beneficially acidify the soil which makes this superior mulch for acid-loving plants, trees and shrubs. However keep in mind that it does not increase acidity in a negative way for other plants, which is an old wives tale.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on April 20, 2012

The best pine straw in the south is perfect for mulching flowers and shrubbery in the springtime or summertime and is a very good technique to minimize landscaping upkeep plus keep plant life healthy and well-balanced. Mulching with the best pine straw available will help preserve moisture content, about ten to twenty-five percentage decrease in ground moisture content loss from evaporation issues. Mulches like pinestraw aid in keeping the ground nicely oxygenated by cutting down garden soil compaction that results when rain-drops strike the ground.

Pine needles will also decrease water run-off and garden soil erosion. Pine needle mulches protect against soil and probable fungus from splashing-up on the leaves as a result cutting down the chances of soil-borne conditions. They help sustain a much more consistent garden soil temp, warmer in the winter months and much cooler in the summer season, and encourage the development of garden soil microbes and earth composting worms.

Pine mulch eradicates mowing and trimming close to bushes and shrubbery and present an actual physical barrier that puts a stop to harm from lawn-mowers or grass trimmers. A two to four inch covering just after settling is sufficient to protect against most weed-seed from growing again. The very best pine straw will need to be placed into a weed-free soil area. Just covering existing unwanted weeds will not prevent their development even with the best pine straw.

Now the pine mulched location will need to consist of as much of the root area as is feasible. For garden beds mulch the entire area well. For particular plant life, such as trees and shrubs, the mulched spot will need to stretch at the very least three to six feet out from the foundation of the plant.

It is highly recommended to move the pinestraw mulch one to two inches from the base of plant life to protect against bark decay issues. The depth of your pine needle mulch is dependent on the variety of materials utilized and the water drainage and moisture content retaining capability of the dirt. Soft sand soil dries out rapidly and frequently benefits from a somewhat deeper mulch level three to four inches.

Pine mulches can be placed any time of the year in any season. Of course it is suggested that the ideal time to mulch is late spring-time just after the garden soil has warmed up as well as in the fall to protect roots from freeze. Earlier springtime use may postpone garden soil warming up and quite possibly plant development. It is not required to clear away the mulch when you apply fertilizer. Use the eco-friendly fertilizer over the mulch and vitamins and minerals will shift with water to the plant’s roots down below.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on March 31, 2012

Want to spruce up your garden this spring? I have the answer for you that will not only not break your bank but will not break your wallet either. The answer is simple and very economical to your pocket book and the environment, pine straw mulch! Yes, as simplistic as it may seem, pine straw is one of the easiest ways to give your growing garden the makeover it has been begging for.

By using decomposing pine needles, pine straw, to mulch your garden you are not only giving it a facelift but are also giving it a spa treatment. Pine straw has a brilliant dark reddish brown coloring to it, which has this eye-popping affect on the greens of leaves and the gorgeous colors of flower petals. Pine Straw will replenish some of the major nutrients needed, give better insulation and will help the soils beneath retain more moisture longer. Mulching your garden correctly is a very important part of organic gardening. Using this oh so simple, under used natural resource, pine straw, instead of using rock, rubber, bark, or other types of mulches you will be giving your plants, shrubs, and flowers a better life.

Most people do not know that a waxy substance coating on the pine needle helps retain moisture and nutrients to the plant life below and around it. This comes in very handy in the heat stricken days of late spring, all summer and the early days of the fall months. Other mulches are not so lucky to share this quality. Rock or pebbles do not generally retain any moisture to put back into the earth. Once you have watered, it just runs down into the soil with out saving any for a later drink. Yard clipping and bark do almost the opposite. Once watered they filter it down into the soil and then what is left over they retain and soak up. Both of these and many others just will not make the cut for the makeover you need.

Price, Money, Moola! We all think about it so do not be ashamed. Pine straw is one of the cheapest mulches you can buy. Rock, wood, rubber and others can run extremely high when compared to the price per bale of pine straw. This is due to the abundance of it. Moreover, I know, you are thinking, “Well how much would I need to buy to cover my garden floor?” That is simple to, find a pine straw company and see if they have a pine straw calculator. I found a place here in Florida, Custom Pine Straw out of Branford, FL that delivers and has a pine straw calculator right on its website. It is very user friendly and will take you no time at all to calculate.

In addition, as spring begins and you look outside to a garden full of fragrant flowers blooming and rich green foliage sprouting and you hear those planting whining, weeping and begging to be pampered, ponder on the affects pine straw mulch may have on your garden. You can give your garden a much needed facelift, nutrient soak, and glorious spa makeover by simply adding a little gorgeous reddish brown pine straw to its décor.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on March 21, 2012

The debate has been waged on for many years regarding the acidity of pine straw mulch and the effects the potential acidity may have on the soil acidity and subsequent plant health when used as a mulching product. Now I am here to tell you what I have found through some extensive researching. I have found that pine straw mulch is acidic but not as previous reports may allude too. As it breaks down it becomes less and less acidic over time and has no real negative effect on soil acidity or plant health.

In a test, I found while researching the acidity of pine straw, were five different tests which were conducted about several different compositions of pine straw at various times in their decaying process.

1. Test One: consisted of green pine needles, pulled fresh from a tree. The pine needles were soaked in distilled water for a period of ten minutes, acting like a spring rainfall, and then a drying cycle of seven days. They tested the ph for a period of 46 days and concluded that yes, in the beginning the needles were somewhat on the acidic side of the line. However, by the end of this trial the ph had set into the normal range and was completely safe for using with other plants. Of course if you are going to use pine straw to mulch your garden or yard you would not green/ new/ or fresh pine needles anyway. They are not even sold when they are green as pine straw mulch.

2. Test Two: consisted of freshly fallen needles, more on the lines of what might be gathered and baled for use to mulch with. During this test, they were soaked for a period of twenty minutes and then a drying cycle of seven days. This test concluded that the pine needles had reached the same acidity level as that of distilled water. Again, safe to use as a mulching agent in and around your gardens.

3. Test Three: used a combination of whole and broken pine needles, which were bagged and kept dry, and out of sunlight since their collection over a span of about six months. The ph throughout this test concluded that the pine needles were not to acidic and fine for using as mulch.

4. Test Four: this last and final test, utilized decomposed pieces of pine needles that were approximately three months to two years of age. Those pine needles were taken from the bottom of a five to six inch deep pile of pine straw mulch in a garden. This mulch had been continuously added to over time so that the entire pile was in different stages of the decaying process. The pine needles were taken out and soaked again in distilled water for thirty-minute duration. The ph was tested and the ph had actually dropped. It did not drop so low to be harmful but a significant amount from the original ph level when the first test was conducted on the green pine needles.

In conclusion, if you hear someone denoting the benefits of pine needles used as a mulching agent in ones garden reflect back to this test I discovered and correct them. Tell them that NO, pine straw mulch is great for mulching, they are not to acidic, and that the ph in their garden will be just fine.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on February 28, 2012

Through my searches, I have come across some misconceptions about using pine straw as mulch for your gardens and they puzzled me, so I dug in for a closer look. The most common of these misconceptions is that pine straw is too acidic to be used as mulch and will kill your plants, flowers and shrubs. Not true and this is why;

When pine needles drop to the ground below their home up in a pine tree they usually have begun to turn from a bright greenish color and more into a reddening brownish color. However it is these green pine needles which are to acidic to be used, for they will cause a slight drop in the nitrogen available to your plants. Pine Needles have a chemical in them called Terpenes, this chemical is what gives off the glorious pine aroma we all love, however it is this same chemical, Terpenes, which elevates the pH level given off by the pine needle.

Once the pine needle has begun to turn brown and begins its’ road to decomposing is when the Terpenes have started to go away. This chemical action lowers the pH level to a level tolerable by most plants. The pH level in which is ideal for plants to thrive is approximately 6.5.

While dried pine straw needles indeed create an acidic affect when strictly used for compost piles, the same acidic affect is not a bad thing when used as mulch. Now that the pine needles have begun to decompose, they become even more useful. Pine needles are covered in a waxy substance that increases as it decays. This waxy substance resists bacteria and fungi, which try to nest themselves in our gardens, and gives off an excess of carbon relative to nitrogen.

Another misconception is that when using pine straw as mulch for your garden you are encouraging the destruction of our pine tree forests. Again, not true. Pine straw mulch is completely 100% organic, meaning no trees were harvested in the process. Pine needles fall from the pine trees twice a year and are collected at those times.

I am sure there are other misconceptions out there about the lovely organic pine straw mulch, however that is all I can cover for today, but I am not finished digging up the truths. So if you liked this fact-finding mission tune into me next time for more foiled misconceptions about pine straw.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on February 24, 2012

Is your garden “GREEN”?

To some of us our gardens have become a work of art or labor of love as some might say, and my beautiful garden is no different. I have long since wondered about what would be the best way to keep my garden at the forefront of being “GREEN” and staying close to nature, while being beneficial to the plants, flowers and shrubs throughout my garden and the maintenance I will thrust upon myself with upkeep. While pondering this great question I stumbled upon the greenest of answers. “What did I find?” you ask yourself, I found organic pine straw mulch. Organic Pine Straw Mulch has such a great big name for such a simple, abundant, and useful resource.

Pine Straw or Pine Straw Mulch is one of the most organically beneficial mulches you can use in your home gardens. Pine Straw itself is the leaf of a pine tree. The needle falls to the ground in great abundance all around the base of the pine tree. The needle itself is covered in a waxy substance and because of this waxy coating along the entire pine needle, the pine needle becomes a useful tool in two ways and here is why.

The waxy coating allows water and condensation to bead up and slide off the needles and into the rich soil beneath instead of being soaked up into the needle. It also helps lock excess moisture not soaked up quickly by the soil and helps store it for another day. By creating this organic barrier in which the water and nutrients can be preserved you have now helped keep the ground moister, which keeps your plants happier, longer.

The other reason this waxy substance is beneficial is that weeds and other unwanted guests cannot get great grips on, in or throughout it. For instance weeds generally grow where we do not want them to because there is a bald spot Mother Nature feels needs filled and so it sprouts up here and there and everywhere. The pine needles wax coating makes it hard for weeds to make strong root systems, which makes them easier to pull out for us and harder to thrive for them. This great chemical compassion made up by Mother Nature now has made a labor-intensive chore we dread, pulling weeds, become more like a two to five minute task.

These simple yet effective and beneficial facts about organic pine straw mulch is why I do not have to wonder what the greenest mulch for my garden would be. Actually soon after, I found all this out I located Custom Pine Straw near my home in North Florida. I used their easy to use pine straw calculator, totaled up the number of pine straw bails I needed to correctly mulch my gardens and, well, I am telling you it was the best choice I ever made. And thank you organic pine straw mulch for making my garden “GREEN”!

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on January 31, 2012

Pine straw is an excellent landscape mulching material. It is commonly baled and sold in the southeastern U.S., and is the No. 1 mulch used in landscaping. Since pine straw is actually a leaf (needle), it benefits the landscape in much the same way decomposing leaves benefit the forest floor by recycling nutrients and maintaining soil organic matter. Hardwood bark mulch, on the other hand, when used in excess, can cause a buildup of calcium and potassium in the soil, increasing pH and causing an imbalance in soil minerals that can interfere with nutrient uptake. The minerals in pine needles are balanced so their decomposition does not create an imbalance in the soil. Hardwood and pine bark mulch can wash away in a strong rain. Pine straw knits together and holds in place during heavy rain, helping to prevent soil erosion.

Pine straw is very beneficial when used as a mulch cover and can provide supplemental income to forest owners during years that no timber is harvested. These publications discuss the uses of pine straw, the gathering, bailing and selling of pine straw, and the environmental effects of removing straw from forests. Our homes are among the most important financial investments we’ll ever make. While we often spend time and money upgrading appliances, painting the exterior, fixing roofs, and remodeling kitchens and baths, we often end up neglecting our landscapes. The times are forever changing and with housing values at there lowest in many years having a beautiful landscape could make the difference between breaking even and making some money on the sale of your home.

There is a close association between the yard and the home. “People associate a beautiful garden with a warm and inviting home,” says Craig Humphries, Director of Consumer Insights at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. A well-maintained yard also reflects well on the owner’s values. “It gives the impression the inside of the home is as well cared for as the outside,” he says.

Nearly all the homeowners surveyed (94 percent) appreciated the benefits of a well-designed and maintained landscape. The most common benefits cited were that it provides a place of beauty and relaxation for the family, beautifies the neighborhood, reflects positively on the homeowner, and adds real estate value and curb appeal (first impression from passersby) to the home.

What defines a well-designed and maintained landscape? Think of your yard as a room. Furniture and attractive walls define the room, and accents express your personal style. You might personalize the garden with water elements (fountains, waterfalls, and small ponds) and garden art that provide a sense of drama or whimsy. Or, have some fun and put pink flamingoes and plastic alligators on your lawn! This is your yard, landscape to increase the value of your home, start by surrounding your plants with the healthy choice for your gardens with pine straw. It is your place to live and enjoy.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on January 24, 2012

Winter is here, but no worries Pine Straw is near!

Winter is here and full swing and for most gardeners this means pack up your shovel and your spade. But NO! This is not the time to pack it in; this is the time to nurture your plants and gardens. To help ensure a lush crop or a breath-taking landscape come spring, you must protect your plants from the frigged cold air with pine straw.

Pine straw needles are preferred by many gardeners to mulch their glorious gardens because they are a natural, readily available and inexpensive way to mulch garden plants. Mulching around your plants helps to contain soil erosion, helps the plant retain moisture in the soil and also provides a steady supply of nutrients to a plant as the needles decompose. Pine mulch, or pine straw, has a rich, earthy color that many gardeners employ as contrast against the bright blooms of annuals, perennials and green-leafed plants. Acidic-loving plants respond particularly well to pine straw mulch.

Blueberries, Hostas, flowering annuals, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, flowering perennials and Camellias are just some of the plants, which benefit greatly from getting extra care through the help of pine straw during the winter.
Blueberries prefer acid soils with a pH level of about 4.5 (soils with a pH of 7 or less is considered acidic). Pine straw spread around the base of blueberry plants helps them maintain a proper pH value as the mulch gradually decomposes.
Broad-leafed Hostas—also acid-loving plants—do well with a thick layer of pine needles spread around the base of each plant. Not only will the mulch keep the soil moist, but it will also provide a pleasing contrast to the lush blue-greens, greens or yellow-gold’s of different Hosta varieties.

Flowering Annuals this is because annuals mature and bloom relatively quickly during the growing season, pH levels in soil aren’t as critical to them. Pansies, zinnias, snapdragons, dahlias and marigolds respond well when mulched with pine needles, especially since pine straw is light enough for young annual plants or bulbs to push through as they grow toward the sun.

Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias these vivid pinks, reds, whites and orange shrubs add a dramatic beauty to any garden. These largely evergreen shrubs thrive in damp, acid soils. Mulching with pine needles ensures proper pH soil levels for azaleas and rhododendrons throughout the growing season. Camellia growers in the Gulf States of the U.S. spread pine needle mulch around their prize-winning camellia shrubs not only for soil nutrition and temperature maintenance, but also for aesthetic reasons.

Flowering perennials such as daylilies, Shasta daisies, coreopsis and canna lilies grow well when mulched with pine needles. Pine straw also prevents mud from spattering on plants after a heavy rainfall.
Winter is not over and has barely even begun, there is still time for you to brave the cold and nurture your garden. Custom Pine Straw in North Florida is who came to my rescue and saved my garden from these cruel temperatures and I know they can help you too.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on January 14, 2012

I fill my life with projects galore, from the simple to the extreme. Lately I have wanted to revamp my garden to withstand the elements and yet still remain eye-catching. In this quest I found the use of pine needles and pine straw to be the esthetic I had been looking for.

To my great surprise there are many different types of pine straw to be had. I never knew the possibilities of different colors, textures, and in some cases longevity. I have found three major pine straws to choose from when changing the look of your garden and they are Longleaf, Slash, and Loblolly Pine Straws. I also took the time to learn about the different plants, shrubs and flowers which will grow well through Pine Straw and the durability of Pine Straws through different elements of weather such as wind and cooler temperatures.

Longleaf Pine Straw is also known as Long Needle Pine Straw and to our scientists’ Pinus Palustris. Longleaf Pine Straw is the longest and thickest needle and carries the heaviest wax outer coating which helps with its extreme durability and longevity. Longleaf is also considered the premium pine needle in its category and is widely used for landscaping.

Slash Pine Straw is known for its cleanliness, durability, and affordability. Slash is also known as the Yellow Slash Pine Straw and Standard Pine Straw. Scientists know this as Pinus Elliottii. Slash is the most popular pine straw I found for use in gardens and landscaping.

Loblolly Pine Straw is the third most widely known and used of the pine straws. Loblolly is also named the Short Needle Pine Straw when categorized with other pine straws. Scientists call this one Pinus Taeda.

A wide array of plants, shrubs, and flowers thrive in the hands of using pine straw as gardening mulch. Such as azaleas, hostas, ferns, hydrangeas, magnolias, bleeding hearts, rose a sharons, and several berry bushes. Planting the flower, bush or shrub of your choice and then covering the foot wide diameter around with pine straw helps to keep pesky insects at bay. Pine Straw will also help keep moisture around longer for your plants benefit. And as long as you keep the pine straw at least at a depth of about 3 inches, the pine straw will help protect against intrusive weeds and other pesky problems.

Placing Pine Straw or Pine Needles around the bases of yours trees, shrubs and other plants can be effective in protecting various and vast root systems from cooler temperatures. Pine Straw will also withstand high winds and protect your plants during storms from wind damage. However if you live in a part of the country where high winds are a regular occurrence you will want to specifically use the longleaf pine straw and keep it at a depth of 6inches with a two foot diameter around your bases.

Wow, who would have thought choosing a simple Pine Straw to use in beautifying your garden could be this vast in possibilities. After learning all this information I decided to go with a Slash Pine Straw mainly for its wide use and positive feedback from its users. I hope in reading this you will find your way through the path of pine and be more rest assured when the time comes for you too to unleash the beauty Pine Straws can bring to your garden.

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Posted By Pine Straw Mulch on January 7, 2012

Pine Straw… what a useful commodity! When most of us think of us think of Pine Straw or Pine Needles we think of using it in gardening and landscaping projects. I am here to tell you there are even more uses and to give new light to this natural resource. Pine Straw is used throughout the United States and is found on the floors of pine forests, in our yards and garden landscapes, and used for decoration during the holidays. I have found several innovative ways to use this product in our everyday lives including crafting beautiful weaving decorations.

Throughout my searches I came across a little known treat using fresh pine needles, pine needle tea! Who would have thought? Using freshly cut and /or newly fallen pine needles you can make, what some say to be, a delicious homemade brew said to help with respiratory benefits. By steeping the pine straw in piping hot water for several minutes, draining, and then sweetening it with either honey or sugar to your liking you can make a tasty treat. Pine Needles/ Pine Straw are very high in Vitamin C and are thought to be beneficial in treating sinus symptoms such as a cough (chronic or acute), sore throats, and even nasal congestion according to the Practical Survivor website.

Who Knew?

Using pine straw and pine needles in making craft projects have also become popular over the years. Basket and other weaving crafts using pine straw date back to the American Civil War. Crafters use them to make such decorations as holiday wreathes baskets and other collectible art. Pine Straw or Pine Needles are a practical way of designing on a dime, a wholesale company like Custom Pine Straw, cleans and bales the straw making it perfect for uses even beyond the garden. Baskets and wreathes can be made in many different shapes and sizes and would be great time filler for children during holiday breaks with nothing to do. Pine Straw weaving uses age-old techniques and yet has been modernized slightly through the years, but still keeps its old world beauty.

So the next time you look at pine straw, take a moment to ponder the possibilities of this great and somewhat underappreciated natural resource. From harvesting the needles for gardening and landscaping, to sweet medically beneficial tea made with fresh needles, to the plethora of possibilities and endless fun for crafting, this natural abundant resource is just perfect to use so many ways!

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