Evergreen Trees Shed Needles – Who Knew?

Every fall my yard becomes a complete mess. It in part has to do with me retreating inside due to the attack of the walnut tree. Because I spend less time outside, I spend less time fretting over how bad my yard looks.

In addition to the walnuts that litter my yard from two Walnut trees, my grass is entangled with these brown strands. The first time they appeared I was rather confused, that was until I looked up at the trees above.

When my wife and I bought this house, I made mention that it was going to be nice only having to rake up leaves from three trees. The remainder on my property, about a dozen in all, are all evergreens. That first fall, I found brown needles all over the yard.

Within a few days, most of my yard was covered in these old needles and my rain gutters were overflowing. This time of year I would kill for regular leaves littering my lawn. Instead, I have these needles that get tangled up in blades of grass and require far more effort to rake up. If left too long, they become matted down in the grass and are ever more time consuming.

The real problem comes in the form of disposing of these needles. I’ve heard mixed things regarding township pickup of this litter. I’m hoping this year I can get a straight answer direct from the township office so that I can pile them up at my curb rather than bag and trash them.

Shortly after writing up this post, I got a direct answer from the township. They will pick them up! No more bagging and trashing over several weeks, now I can be done with them one two to three sessions throughout the fall.