Georgia is famous for it’s peaches, pecans, and pine trees — the latter getting a bad reputation for dropping excessive amounts of needles all year round, but particularly in the fall and winter months. However, pine needles have many beneficial qualities as well!
Before removing the unwanted piles of debris from your property completely, try to repurpose the straw as compost to be used at a later date, or as a natural weed barrier and insulation in your shrub beds or around the trunks of the trees they have fallen from. Pine straw’s naturally-interlocking structure makes it an ideal ground cover that, in the right proportions and locations, may protect your landscaping from cold-weather damage.
Pine straw is also slightly acidic, making it naturally compatible with most plants, including blueberry bushes, gardenias, camellias, and azaleas.
Spreading an initial 4-6 inch layer of fluffed needles will allow for the rain and weather to settle it down to an end result of 2 inch coverage. This coverage can either be renewed as required throughout the following year, or it can be turned over and allowed to compost into the existing soil in the springtime.
With a little extra thought and effort, you can repurpose or recycle your pine straw into a useful addition to your landscaping!