adding (acid) pine tree needles to compost pile?

[Anthony Olejnik]

Can you add pine tree needles to a compost pile?
Won`t the hi acidity be detremental to the pile?

Between both my neighbor`s and my trees, my lawn
looks brown (from all the falling pine needles).

These are the 3" (or so) needles (I'm not exactly
sure what type of pine trees they are).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

--tony

[Peter Smith]

In <94...@netnews.upenn.edu> to...@scotty.dccs.upenn.edu (Anthony Olejnik) writes:

>Can you add pine tree needles to a compost pile?
>Won`t the hi acidity be detremental to the pile?

I think you can, but it depends on where the compost will be used and
for what purpose. If it is going into the garden, do a ph test on
your soil; then check to see whether it is suited to the things you
want to grow in your garden (refer to a good gardening encyclopedia or
seed catalogue. Then you can decide whether your soil ph is low
and/or could stand to drop a bit.

>Between both my neighbor`s and my trees, my lawn
>looks brown (from all the falling pine needles).

If you were desperate to maintain your lawn near a pine, you could
remove pine needles and try sprinkling the area with lime dust for
instance. However, this would be difficult to do correctly (ie, you'd
have to monitor ph while doing all this).

Furthermore, this process would probably weaken, and eventually kill,
your pine as the shedding of acidic needles creates the acidic soil in
which pines flourish.

[Kent Wilken]

In article <94...@netnews.upenn.edu> to...@scotty.dccs.upenn.edu (Anthony Olejnik) writes:
>
>Can you add pine tree needles to a compost pile?

>Won`t the hi acidity be detrimental to the pile?
>

I too have pine needles and read from several sources (about 8) to
determine whether to include them in my pile. Some sources recommend against
pine needles because of the acid content and because they are very slow to
compost ("yard leather"). Ecology Action's "How to Grow More Vegetables ..."
is the lone source that suggests that the needles contain a substance
that inhibits the composting process. Other sources recommend adding them to
the pile, without reservation. After all this reading I decided to add pine
needles to my compost pile and have had fine results. I think the most
compelling reason for me to add needles to the pile is that the soil
in this region of the country is alkaline and I would like my compost
to come out somewhat acidic to compensate. The needles are slow to
break down, but do help to aerate the pile. Pine needles are at most 1/6
of the material in my hot (150 degree F) pile. (I tried cold piles that were
mostly needles but not much happened.) I also place a 6 in. layer of
needles atop the finished pile to keep the pile from drying out during
our hot summer months.