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Few people know that pine or spruce needles can be used as a valuable material for mulching the soil.
However, thoughtless mulching with coniferous litter will not be beneficial.
This matter should be approached knowing all the subtleties of the process.
Pine needles should be applied to garden and vegetable plants for several years.
This will result in mulching with pine needles making heavy soils lighter.
It will be easier for air and moisture to enter them, and in addition, more beneficial soil microorganisms will settle in such soil.
Moreover, such mulch can change the acidity of the soil. This is due to the lignin and cellulose content in pine and spruce needles.
To avoid unpleasant consequences when mulching plants with coniferous litter, for acidic soils it is recommended to add chalk or dolomite flour along with the coniferous litter.
It is also important to remember that the decomposition of any mulch, whether coniferous or not, leads to a lack of nitrogen in the soil. Therefore, mulched plants need to be fertilized with nitrate or urea.
