Pine Straw?

[bkrell]

Anyone mulch with pine straw? Grapes or muscadines? I have a lot of pines on my property and had a terrible time with weeds last year. Soil pH is currently around 6.5.

 

[grapeman]

Using enough pine needles to be effective at keeping weeds out would likely result in lowering your soil pH. I am not sure if it would be enough to be detrimental or not.

 

[bkrell]

Well, I'm not aiming for total control. Just something better than last summer's weed fest. I cleared out a large block of pampas grass where I've established many of my vines. Seems there were a lot of weeds underneath, waiting for their moment in the sun.

 

[Maxime Leblond]

I have read that pine needle do not acidify the soil. They are acidic when green but by the time they are broken down, they are neutral. We have numerous pine trees on our vineyard. No PH issues... Bkrell, did you proceed with your experiment? I'm curious as I'm looking into testing pine mulch under vines.

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/myth-vs-reality-whats-truth-behind-some-common-gardening-practices