8 Brilliant Uses for Fallen Pine Needles (2024)

FAQs

What can fallen pine needles be used for? ›

These needles are safe to use as mulch around most plants and especially perennial plants in your garden. Because pine needles contain high levels of resins, they repel water and decompose much more slowly than leaves from most deciduous trees. Their shape also helps them avoid becoming moist and composting rapidly.

Believe it or not, you can put those pine needles to good use. Fresh or dried, you can use pine needles for everything. For instance, you can eat them, you can make medicine with them, even use them for your chickens!

“Pine needle mulch is especially effective in areas where other mulches tend to slip, as the long needles nest together and interlock to create a mat,” he says. It's like the springy floor in a pine forest. Since it breaks down and adds nutrients to the soil, pine straw can also help plants that need a boost.

As pine needles break down and are incorporated into the soil, decomposing organisms gradually neutralize them. Thus, there is no harm in using pine needles to mulch shrub borders, flower beds and vegetable gardens. Even a 2 to 3 inch layer of pine mulch will not change the soil pH enough to measure.

Repel Insects with Pine Needles

Most insects do not care for the smell of pine and so pine needles can be used to repel problem bugs and pests, too. For widespread repelling, spread a layer of pine straw all over the ground throughout your garden, targeting areas where insect pests are especially a problem.

Pine needle tea also contains high levels of Vitamin A, which is good for your eyesight, improves hair and skin regeneration and improves red blood cell production. It can be used as an expectorant for coughs and to help relieve chest congestion; it is also good for sore throats.

Nutritional Value

It is said that Pine needles can be used as a natural remedy for up to 80% of human diseases. Pine needles are high in vitamin C; a tea made with the needles of the Pine tree has been used to stave off scurvy when no other sources of vitamin C were readily available.

While many species of pine trees have needles that can be toxic to consume, burning the needles is not shown to be poisonous to humans. Smoke from any fire can irritate the mouth, throat, and lung tissues, so it's wise to avoid directly inhaling smoke from pine needle fires.

Add pine cuttings to your mason jar and pack in enough so that the jar is full, but you can still put on a lid. Fill the rest of the jar with white vinegar, covering the pine needles. Add 5 drops lemon essential oil and screw on the lid. Shake to mix, then place in the pantry to steep for at least 2 weeks.

What happens if you don't rake pine needles? ›

If left in place they choke the life from grass or flowers planted beneath a tree. Leaves can be composted easily while needles seem to take forever to break down. For many gardeners pine needles have a place in the forest, but not in the garden.

Coniferous needles contain nitrogen and substances called terpenes which are highly toxic when burned, making the smoke in your fire pit unsafe for you and others around your fire pit to breathe.

Pine straw mulch: Pine straw mulch is also vulnerable to co*ckroaches. It provides roaches what bark mulch can give them. It traps moisture underneath and provides shelter. However, this mulch is so ideal to roaches because it's made from lightweight pine needles the co*ckroaches can dig through easily.

American Indians have used pine needle tea for its healing properties. Pioneers reportedly drank pine needle tea after a long boat ride to replenish their vitamin C. Pine needle tea has 4-5 times more vitamin C than orange juice or a lemon. It is also a good source of vitamin A and is an expectorant (thins mucous).

Pine needles are one of the most widely used herbs in the world. They have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, and are a great source of vitamin C and can be used to treat many ailments, including headaches, stomachaches, arthritis pain, inflammation (including swelling) and much more.

Coniferous needles contain nitrogen and substances called terpenes which are highly toxic when burned, making the smoke in your fire pit unsafe for you and others around your fire pit to breathe.