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Old 08-31-2020, 04:02 PM
 
525 posts, read 332,796 times
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Is it safe to use pine straw under a bird feeder? What is the difference between using wheat straw and pine straw? Right now I am using natural wheat straw but the problem is that it gets dirty fast especially after a week of rain then something grows out of it that looks like fungus or mold. What I do is every week I add a noticeable higher layer of wheat straw on top of the old so the birds can't eat from the old wheat straw and do this every week for a month then clean all of it and replace it with new wheat straw. The bad thing about this is that the natural wheat straw can be expensive. I found a place that sells pine straw which costs way less. They say it's natural pine straw. Do most places sell natural pine straw with no chemicals added to it? And why don't they advertise it as natural pine straw? Will mold or fungus also grow from the pine straw? Can pine straw cause plants, grass, or weeds to grow? The pine straw costs way less but I have to make sure it's 100% safe and really natural pine straw. This is why I am asking these questions here.
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Old 08-31-2020, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Lost in Montana *recalculating*...
19,363 posts, read 22,309,954 times
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Wheat straw will inevitably give you a wheat grass. Lot's of it. I use straw as a last resort or as an insulator to garden plants in cold weather- but we're pulling grass left and right when we do use it. We have pine trees so I rake and save my pine straw for general mulch. No seedlings sprout.
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Old 08-31-2020, 04:37 PM
 
Location: NC
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The names are perhaps confusing you. Wheat straw is cut from wheat plants that have been dried from wheat grass after the seed has been harvested. Trouble is, there is sometimes a little bit of seed that escapes and then can germinate later.

Meanwhile pine straw is simply pine needles that dried on the pine tree then fell on the ground and were raked up. No seed. Well dried. Full of tannins that inhibit mold.

You would be happier with pine straw.
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Old 08-31-2020, 05:34 PM
 
525 posts, read 332,796 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luv4horses View Post
The names are perhaps confusing you. Wheat straw is cut from wheat plants that have been dried from wheat grass after the seed has been harvested. Trouble is, there is sometimes a little bit of seed that escapes and then can germinate later.

Meanwhile pine straw is simply pine needles that dried on the pine tree then fell on the ground and were raked up. No seed. Well dried. Full of tannins that inhibit mold.

You would be happier with pine straw.

Is it safe for birds to eat from pine straw and possibly even eat it? Birds eat from wheat straw. Also, is there a way to know if pine straw is really natural and doesn't contain chemicals? I don't know why companies don't advertise it as natural if it is.
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Old 08-31-2020, 05:53 PM
 
Location: on the wind
22,807 posts, read 18,101,386 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ritzui View Post
Is it safe for birds to eat from pine straw and possibly even eat it? Birds eat from wheat straw. Also, is there a way to know if pine straw is really natural and doesn't contain chemicals? I don't know why companies don't advertise it as natural if it is.
Pine needles are pine needles. Shouldn't hurt any birds. The grass around the area you spread them won't like them.
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Old 08-31-2020, 07:30 PM
 
525 posts, read 332,796 times
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Originally Posted by Parnassia View Post
Pine needles are pine needles. Shouldn't hurt any birds. The grass around the area you spread them won't like them.



why?
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Old 09-01-2020, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Floribama
18,923 posts, read 43,211,623 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ritzui View Post
Is it safe for birds to eat from pine straw and possibly even eat it? Birds eat from wheat straw. Also, is there a way to know if pine straw is really natural and doesn't contain chemicals? I don't know why companies don't advertise it as natural if it is.
Birds are everywhere in pine forests, they will even use the straw to build nests.

Pine straw baling is a big business in my area, and there are normally no chemicals used. It's usually either Longleaf pine or Slash pine. They simply rake up the straw, pack it into a baler, and tie it up. Some people do roll it up, rather than make square bales.

I suppose it's possible some glyphosate may get used in some areas to control weeds (landscapers hate weeds in their straw), but by the time the straw is baled it's likely all gone.
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Old 09-01-2020, 09:44 AM
 
Location: Floribama
18,923 posts, read 43,211,623 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ritzui View Post
why?
Pine needles are acidic, which is why acid loving plants like azaleas, rhodies, and blueberries grow better around pine trees. Some grass may not care for the acidity, but for our grasses here in the South (centipede and St Augustine) it's doesn't bother them.
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