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Location

Message

Date Posted

Aloha, Oregon

Hey just thought I would ask would pine needles be ok in you patch if thet fall or are mixed in the soil please let me know.
THANKS
Jordan

10/22/2005 6:15:27 PM

Central Oklahoma ( [email protected])

I think that pine needles are very acidic and it depends on if you need more acid in the soil, I am sure somebody else can expand on that

10/22/2005 7:01:15 PM

[email protected]

No to Pine needles....avoid Oak too...add Maple leaves & aged manure.

10/22/2005 9:31:16 PM

Lake Elmo, Minnesota

why is oak bad? I know about pine being bad.

10/24/2005 11:22:09 AM

ENGLAND

Andy
Oak leaves take a very long time to break down and they also contain high levels of tannin which in large amounts can be quite poisionous to the soil.

Regards
Mike

10/24/2005 3:00:44 PM

ENGLAND

In adition to the above this link is very usefull for explaining why not to use oak leaves in the soil. I must also correct my above post, the natural preservative chemical in Oak Leaves is tannic acid. This link explains all. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/organic/msg0820401131529.html

Regards
Mike

10/24/2005 3:21:38 PM

Montoursville, PA

I have a leaf mix, on the property, that includes two pin oak. This roughly provides a 75/25% maple, to oak mix. They all go, in the patch and have been used, for thirty years. They show no signs, of offering any type difficulty, in that mix.

All leaves laying, on the ground, remain mulch until they become compost and finally humus. Any living plant or animal will break down, to a PH of about 7.0. It is true that the oak leaves are slower, to break down, so the blend, in the soil should be minimal. On the soil as a top soil mulch makes no difference. In fact it is positive that they break down slower as a mulch. One need not replace them as much or as soon as other mulching materials.

Their harm, to a soil ballance, is mostly an old wives tale carried forward, by the unknowing. Used in moderation, in the soil is OK. Used, on the soil is excellent, so long as they do not become the major percentage, in the fall, when they get tilled in.

Out there, in nature, they all fall, to the ground and stay there until they become humus or compost. The edges, of the great oak mountains are filled with all kinds, of mixed vines, plants and even fruit trees. Those edges are along roadways, right in the mountain and the farmers fields, at the edge, of the mountains. There is no such thing as posion run off or build up from oak leaves, in their big mountain environment. Those edges are often more fertile than the fields below them.

Any excess oak leaves may go into the compost pile where they will break down providing ballance is maintained with green matter or manures, to keep the pile cooking.

10/24/2005 5:54:47 PM

[email protected]

Composted Oak leaves are OK in moderation. Just make sure to balance them out as Doc has been doing. A year or two in the compost pile will straighten out a multitude of sins including high lignin & tannic acid.

10/24/2005 10:15:19 PM