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formerly RGG

Hey Todd, I noticed you use pine straw. I have been using wheat straw for a long time and I am wondering if there are any advantages to the pine or if perhaps you just get a good deal on it.Of course I will be happy for you other growers to weigh in on this.

6/14/2011 9:36:55 PM

Muddy Waters

what is pine straw??

6/14/2011 10:32:25 PM

sevierville, Tn

pine needles mark.

6/14/2011 10:47:49 PM

Bowdon, GA

Must be a southern term never herd em called anything else LOL

6/14/2011 11:22:45 PM

Garner, NC

Hey TD, I ordered a trruck load for the house and ordered extra for the melons. Just thought it looked better, my melons are grown near the road, and everybody noctices my melon patch. Last year it was a disgrace to all melon growers so I'm trying to improve appearance. Plus at the end of the year I can rake it up and reuse some around the trees in the yard.

6/15/2011 8:19:45 AM

Garner, NC

Dennis, I'm wondering which last longer and gives better weed control, wheat or pine. Plus do you ever get any seeds from the wheat that come up?

6/15/2011 9:55:02 AM

Garner, NC

LOL at Mark! Ain't you about ready to come on down...Life is Good in the South!

6/15/2011 9:57:09 AM

formerly RGG

Todd, I have never used pine & was just thinking about trying it. I have had a few wheat weeds come up in my patch in years past; but it wasn't much of a problem. I think you get a little better weed blockage with wheat straw to begin with but I believe it rots faster and that pine straw may provide better long term protection. That's mostly just an educated guess.

6/15/2011 10:26:14 AM

Muddy Waters

Hey pine needles in the north ,never heard pine straw,but these city slickers up here call a bale of straw, Hay lol
49 years never heard pine straw!well I do know this, north or south your pine straw will be more acidic then Wheat straw!I baled hay & straw as a kid ,had pigs,horses,chickens,etc,I dont think pine straw is in any books!It must be a southern thing!!Like sheetrock & drywall!!

6/15/2011 9:42:05 PM

formerly RGG

Now Mark, don't get your blood pressure up over semantics.Here in the south we know pine leaves are called needles.Always have been and always will be. It's the companies that sell the needles baled up that call them "straw". We never used the term down here until it was introduced to us by the sellers. I am sure they figured the product would sound a little more polished and sell better if they renamed pine needles pine straw.

6/15/2011 10:09:08 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

I always thought hay was a grass or clover type thing, and straw was the shafts left over after wheat was harvested. Remember now, I lived most of my life in the North. LOL Peace, Wayne

6/15/2011 10:30:39 PM

Muddy Waters

That dont sell much up here!Never seen it!!They dont sell many Grits either!!lol

6/16/2011 6:36:08 AM

Muddy Waters

Why would I buy pine needles,there free.under a Kazillion trees!!lol

6/16/2011 6:37:19 AM

Muddy Waters

I couldnt handle the heat,I love the 60s to 70s weather,My melons are cold though,Ice Man!!!lol

6/16/2011 6:39:49 AM

formerly RGG

Try putting some pine straw over them Mark;that might keep them warm. LOL

6/16/2011 6:54:56 AM

Southeast Texas

it takes pine needles a long time to break down.

6/16/2011 9:08:02 AM

Muddy Waters

I will keep the straw in my head like all good scarecrows TD

6/28/2011 9:56:15 PM

formerly RGG

LOL Mark. Well I think I will keep using wheat straw as it's cheaper and I like the color better. My head is so full of air I don't think there is any room for straw. lol I was out of electricity for 6 days and no internet for 8 days after a storm on June 21. You should come down to Knoxville and enjoy some of our 100 plus miles per hour wind gusts. It does wonders for tender young melon plants.lol

6/28/2011 10:22:16 PM