Pine Straw Spreading (Atlanta, Eastman: costs, deal, free)

[Mattie]

No, that's the number on the guy's business card. We have left messages, but they have always been returned.

[ffej]

Had 80 bales placed today by the landcaper who takes care of the yard for $5.50/ea. Yeah, I could've saved a few bucks, but I preferred to keep the entire property under their care. Also had 20 bags of mulch in a few years at $5.75/ea. Looks great.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Herr_Brush

The PineStraw Depot

That's funny! Our next door neighbors just had a Pine Straw Depot truck stop by yesterday and spread some new pine straw around, and it looks nice. I have no idea now much they paid, though...

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

That's funny! Our next door neighbors just had a Pine Straw Depot truck stop by yesterday and spread some new pine straw around, and it looks nice. I have no idea now much they paid, though...

$5.50 a bale. They were the first place we called. As it turned out, we could not find anybody to spread it on such short notice so we just ended up getting it from HD and paying some kids to spread. HD is not the worth the hassle!

[from PA]

We recently returned from a trip to GA and really liked the look of the pine straw widely used there. We are thinking of having pine straw shipped to our home in DE.

I have a few questions. Which type is best, 9" needle or 14" needle? We want it in place of hardwood mulch for dressing and to help with weed control and moisture retention. I've read that our shrubs will like the acid but wonder if we will we have any problems with bulbs and perennials and do they just push through the 3" layer.


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[Mattie]

I can't answer whether longer is better, but bulbs have no trouble pushing up through the straw. Just know that it really needs to be redone yearly, at a minimum. We do it both spring and fall.

[from PA]

Thx Mattie, I think we'll give it a try. Would be an entirely different look for this part of the country. Is it difficult to spread and since it is very dry in Atlanta, has the straw been a factor in any fires?

[Mattie]

Difficult, not at all. Messy, dirty, sweaty, oh yeah. Be sure to wear gloves, as the needles can be sharp.

It hasn't been dry at all this year! The pine straw does a good job of keeping the moisture in the soil too. Just look for "clean straw", without sticks and pine cones in the bales.

[from PA]

Thx again. I'll let you know how it works out!

[mfronzak]

Hello all. I just used the pinestraw source (John at North GA Pinestraw 706-410-6710) referenced above. My experience has been less than satisfactory.

I called him on Saturday 9-17-11 and inquired about prices and availability for 100 bales of pine straw. He told me that it was $3.50 delivered and $4.50 installed (same price since 2009!), and that he could be at my house as early as Monday 9-19-11. Shortly after, he called back and told me he had a crew out who could be to the house in a few hours. Even though I was not home, I told him to send them out. I also advised him to tell the crew to go heavy in the front yard (~2,000') and light in the back (~5,500'). Meanwhile, I packed up what I was doing and headed home, to at least be able to pay them before they headed back to the Athens, GA area.

I arrived home and found the job completed mostly satisfactorily. I would describe the thickness of the pinestraw as average or better (3-4") everywhere, including the back yard. They did not roll/turn the edges of the pinestraw along edges of the islands and natural areas.

When I asked the foreman (Shane) how many bales they had actually used, he advised me that it was 313! Since I was not there when they arrived, I had no choice but to accept that number. I asked him how many bales of straw he had left and he said 25, which I agreed to also buy. What his crew stacked under my porch was 7 whole (string still intact) bales and pieces and parts from another 15-20 bales, the sum of which was supposed to add up to 25 full bales (but did not, in my opinion).

Since then, I have measured my total pine straw area (7750'), verified it against my plat (~15,000' lot with a house, driveway and ~ 6500' grass), and then determined how many "normal" sized bales I should have expected to have used. That number ranges from 130-185, with the latter assuming that it was being spread over bare dirt. Keep in mind that my pine islands and borders are full of flowers, bushes and trees, so the area I measured is an extremely conservative number.

My conclusion - if they did in fact spread 313 bales of pine straw in my yard, the bales themselves are 1/2 the size of "normal" pine straw bales. Alternatively, someone miscounted and I get the privilege of paying for the mistake.

My advice - if you are going to get pinestraw from North GA Pinestraw, make sure you are present when the straw arrives, count the bales carefully and check out the size of the bales before committing to the job.