pine cones

Does anyone know whether or not one can use pinecones as a mulch in flower beds? I must have a million of them. They are about 2 inches long, pretty small and I hate having to throw them out. I thought maybe I could use them in the garden rather than waste them.

I wish I was into crafts as I'm sure they'd be useful for that.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you,
Anne

I don't know what your pinecones are like in Michigan? but the ones I'm accustomed to would be really prickly in flower beds when you're working in them.

Also, if seeds are still left in them, down here the seeds germinate and I'm already constantly pulling up tiny little pine tree seedlings that I don't want in the garden. Just another weed to pull up.

Our pine cones take years to decompose, so their annoyance in a flower bed continues for quite a while. I usually just toss them out into the informal "compost heap" that also serves to reduce erosion, while it decomposes.

Do we have an arts and crafts forum?

I do know that they are not rendered down much when they go into the shredder. They usually fly out the other end as dangerous missles, chewed on, but with the large hard core intact.

I don't know what effect the cones have on your soil ph and nutrients. After all these years of using massive quantities of pine straw for mulching (we have lots of it available here), I just recently learned on DG that this increases acidity in your soil. So I guess that might also be a consideration.

I suppose you could mulch around trees with them. God does it all the time in the woods. But I don't think using them in flower beds is probably a good idea.

But I'm certainly no expert on this. I don't like bark and chips for mulch, for most of the same reasons.

Maybe you could find someone in the area who would be happy for you to dump them onto low-lying property, for landfill. That way, they will be composted along with dirt and limbs to improve the quality of that soil.

Someone else likely has a different or more helpful opinion. Interesting question.

This message was edited Apr 12, 2004 4:35 AM

Hi, I used pinecones as a border for my flower beds. Granted they were the huge one's, and it really looked good. Just a suggestion,

Thanks,
Traci S

I read somewhere you can "ring" them around a hosta to keep slugs away.

LimeyLisa Kay

We have 3 slash pines in our small yard. They do generate a lot of pine cones, and needles as well. I use the needles as my winter mulch and any acidity they lend to the soil seems to be a good thing for my plants. The squirrels generally eat the pine nuts from our cones or my dogs do the same.

If there are any left, my DH gathers them as kindling for his chiminea. Another use you might have is checking with elementary schools arts classes to see if they need any, or any senior activities centers you could donate them to for their crafts classes.

Okay, I think the mulch idea needs to be kabashed but since I have several hostas I think I'll use the cones to ring them. I get ALOT of slugs. Thank you Limeylisa for the tip.

I appreciate everyones help on this. I'll check with the elementary school also.

Thank you,
Anne

Thanks for some great ideas, all ya'll.

Never thought of using for borders. Course our squirrels, etc., would probably carry them off, or at least scatter them.

Never thought of collecting them to use in the fireplace though. Sounds logical. And the slug repellant is fantastic. I do have those.

You guys are super!

The acid soil is good for for my azaleas, camellias, and gardenias, I know for sure. And for other acid-loving plants as well.

But I always had no success in trying to grow those who prefer an alkaling soil, like mallows. Even when I add lime to the area.

I've always used pine straw for mulch, and plan to continue to do so, as it seems to do well with the plants I have. But I plan to test the soil in several areas, where I might try some plants needing the other side of the ph. Maybe I can put them in containers, where I can control the soil content easier.

As I said, very interesting question, and informative answers!

Just a note on the potential craft use. I picked up some that were "folded up"-" unripe"?-new dropped last fall. Anyway, I have gotten used to microwaving ( or otherwise sterilizing)stuff before using in crafts. I put these in a ziploc and nuked them-much moisture and loads of bugs. They did expire, the cones opened and I let them dry outside in the freezing air before zipping them into a clean bag. I have learned from past experience-finally- LOL

good idea, we usually just burn ours in the chiminea, so never thought about bugs.