Ron in Normal has a question for Murph. having heard the host of GLT's Grow espouse the benefits of hardwood mulch, Ron wants to know if it's okay to use pine straw instead.
- Short answer: Yes.
- Hardwood or pine straw...really, it's a matter of aesthetics, either is splendid.
- An organic pine straw mulch will add so much to the landscape -- beauty AND the ability to return organic matter to the soil as it breaks down.
- White pines are native to the Midwest, and lose their needles each year, so gardeners have an opportunity to repurpose the needles that fall from their own trees.
- Just make sure your pine tree is not diseased, because you could transfer the illness in the needles to your bedding plants.