Size of cypress in mulching?

[LionelD]

Can I mulch the size of cypress, alone or mixed with hay?
I also have a large amount of dry pine needles, but no grinder, can I use them for mulching (instead of BRF) for strawberries for example. Is there a recommended type of grinder for pine needles.

[Christophe]

Hi and welcome here!

I think that no plant shredder grinds fine enough for conifer needles and too fine grinding is probably not good, the water must still be able to pass ...

On the other hand, needles are acidic ... so see the chemical compatibility, I let the specialists answer ...

[Ahmed]

These are several very different questions.

Cypress branches can be part of the composition of the BRF (possibly mixed with the hay), however in a modest proportion (10-15%), but you say you don't have a mulcher ...
There is also the possibility of a "Jean Pain" type pre-composting, but it is quite restrictive.

Pine needles can be used for mulching, but are a poor material very different from BRF. It is not certain that they cause acidification: we must not confuse what happens in the forest, in certain silvicultural conditions and in a garden, environment leads very differently. However, do not forget that the rule remains to favor mixtures of carbonaceous inputs...
As for crushing pine needles, what would be the need (except in the case of pine with particularly long needles)?

[LionelD]

Ahmed just a clarification: it is the size of the cypress trees with the shears of the green part which has just grown, and not of branches. As it dries, it turns brown.
As for pine needles, they are long and in practice only rot very, very slowly. It seemed to me that by grinding them it would promote degradation.

[Ahmed]

Yes, I hesitated on this point which was ambiguous ...
So there is no harm in mixing a little bit with hay, but it is better to avoid too large doses.
Regarding pine needles, if they are very stable over time, they should be reserved for anti-grass * use (under trees, for example or in very specific locations), without aiming to feed the organisms of the ground; I doubt that grinding changes this characteristic (at least on dry needles, which you do not specify).

* Like the crushed maritime pine bark ...