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[Jim F <bonfire58_2000@yahoo.com>]

     It would appear that I should have added more subject matter to my letter about pine needles and soil acidity:  Needles from conifers do not make their soil acidic, however, these plants are extremely adaptable and will thrive in almost any soil, even in soil that is so acidic that nothing much else will grow there.  If we add lime to soil, the pH may rise and the pines will still thrive.

     It is a shame that whomever started the rumor about needles and acidity failed to test the needles to verify the hpothesis because needles are such a wonderful mulch!  Needle are slow to get wet and, so, allow most rainwater to penetrate down to the soil, whereas, most other mulches need to become saturated before the soil gets wet.  A second 'plus' is that needles are slow to break down so the gardener doesn't necessarily need to keep adding every year.

     A third point comes in the form of complaints that little or nothing will grow under conifers.  It certainly isn't because the soil is too acid.  It is because the conifer canopy tends to shut out all direct sunlight from reaching the ground.  Nothing(?) will grow because there is no sunlight to nurture life.

Jim Fruth

Pequot Lakes, MN  

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