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RE: Gathering Pine Needles for Animal Winter Bedding
Great tip! I think it's crazy so many people rake their lawns and put the leaves in plastic bags for the recycling truck to take away. We have 3 monster White Oaks here that produce huge amounts of leaf litter for us to use in our coops, chicken yards and barns. I also add layers of leaves when building compost piles in the fall. I also store leaves in old feed bags to use throughout the year. I could never have enough!
Most people just don't care or are ignorant of the uses it seems. Fortunately there is a green waste stream collection in most large cities so then it does get composted or turned to energy at least.
I have soooo many pine trees on the property that the needles are most prevalent. I also have a good number of maples, birch, and poplar but the sheep devour the leaves so I can't very easily use them for their pen. I do occasionally rake the leaves to feed to them but it is usually low on the priority list.
I hadn't thought of using the feed bags for storage. I will remember that for next year for sure as they would stack really easily and give another layer of protection from winter while under a tarp. Then just pop a bag off pile and use without needing the wheelbarrow in the snow. Nice idea. Thanks!