Q: Is there a season for pine straw? We use pine straw in our yard and have noticed that sometimes it is full of trash: lots of small limbs and pine cones in it. Other times it is really nice with all pine needles.

A: David Mulkey, sales manager at Corbin’s Pine Straw, says pine needles descend in early spring and again in fall. At their collection sites in northwest Florida, crews hand-rake the straw into baling machines and then hand-tie the bales.

He says the quality of the bales depends on the quality of the crew. A good crew with a conscientious supervisor rakes only the newly deposited needles. A sloppy crew rakes up everything. My advice is to check the bales in the straw trailer before you purchase.

If the quality is not to your liking, inform the garden center manager and take your business elsewhere.

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