Did you know that one of the best ways to protect and power your strawberries at the same time this fall is with pine needles?
If you have pine trees growing on your property, then you know just how abundant pine needles can be this time of year. Every fall, evergreen trees start to drop some of their old pine needles to be replaced with new ones.
After a while, these pine needles can start to really pile up. But instead of letting these natural resources go to waste, you can use them to both protect and power your strawberry patch. In fact, other acid-loving plants like blueberries and peaches can also benefit from using pine needles as mulch too!
You may have heard that pine needles are extremely acidic, but that only applies to fresh green needles. Brown, dead pine needles aren’t acidic at all and are great for use around your garden as a natural mulch.
But when you mix dried needles with fresh green ones, you can create a wonderful mulch that can help protect and power your acid-loving strawberries!
How To Use Pine Needles To Protect & Power Strawberries
Strawberries In Fall & Winter
Strawberries are perennial plants that go dormant over the wintertime. However, they can easily be killed by freezing temperatures if they are not properly taken care of. See, “How To Grow Strawberries In Your Backyard – The Simple Secrets To A Great Harvest!”
This is the case whether your plants are grown directly in the ground or in raised beds or containers. Not only can the foliage become susceptible to frost damage, but the constant freezing and thawing that often come with winter can really do a number on their root systems.
That’s where mulch comes into play. A thick layer of mulch can help to protect your plants by acting like a nice, cozy blanket. The key is to choose a mulch that still allows moisture and oxygen to get through to the plant’s roots.
The Benefits Of Using Pine Needles As Mulch
Pine needles are the perfect mulch for strawberries. Due to their shape and structure, you can pile them up high but still allow air and water through to the plants below. This is huge because plants – even dormant ones – still need proper airflow and moisture in order to survive.
Another big advantage of using pine needles for mulch for your strawberries is that they are readily available. This is especially the case in the fall when you need to protect them for winter!
While some evergreen varieties lose their needles in the springtime, most go through this transformation in late summer and early fall. Luckily, this is also when your strawberry plants need the protection of mulch for overwintering.
All it takes is a little manual labor to gather the needles up and you are good to go! Even if you don’t have pine trees on your property, it’s likely that you know someone who does and who will be more than willing to share.
As long as you maintain a thick 5 to 6-inch layer of pine needles, they will also help to prevent stray weed seeds from landing in your strawberry patch. Any seeds that land without the mulch protection can easily germinate and take up residence once the warmer weather of spring arrives.
Giving Back Acidity
But you can also help to power your plants with a bit more acid with just a bit more work. Strawberry plants prefer slightly acidic soil. While red pine needles have neutral pH levels, green ones are highly acidic.
You can use this to your advantage by mixing together green and brown needles and adding them to your strawberry bed. While fresh needles will help to raise the acidity levels of the soil slightly, it’s not enough that it will burn or overpower the plants.
Simply remove fresh pine needles from a live, healthy tree. Most trees have plenty to spare. Add the green needles directly on top of the strawberries and then pile the dead needles on top. As the fresh needles break down and dry up, they will help acidify the soil.
When To Add The Mulch
Wait to add the pine needle mulch to your strawberries until they have started to turn brown in late fall. Look closely at the crown of each plant and make sure there is no new green foliage growing. This indicates that they have gone dormant for the season.
One thing you don’t want to do is prune your strawberry plants in the fall before adding your mulch. At this point in time, the plants have already started the process of growing next year’s fruit.
If you were to cut them back now, almost all of next year’s fruit would also be removed. This is especially the case for June bearing plants. You are better off leaving the plants alone and tackling the task next year.
In addition, the plants actually benefit from the extra foliage during the winter. This is especially true if you live in a place where the temperature drops below freezing. Without the added protection of the foliage – even with mulch – the plants will likely freeze out.
Instead, you should only prune plants right after they are done fruiting. This will allow the plants to regrow slightly before they go into dormancy.
Here’s to using pine needles to protect AND power your strawberries this fall and winter – all without paying a dime!
Simple Garden Life
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