Is there any practical use for pine cones?
Is there any practical use for pine cones?
I now live near a pine tree and don't know what to do with all of the pine cones. Decorations? Just burn them in a fire pit? Any ideas welcome.
Fire starters. We collect them all from our property ahead of winter too help with starting the fire.
Twisted firestarter (hey, hey, hey)
Do they have to be open for this or is closed fine?
I only really collect the ones that look like they’ll burn, so I can’t really say.
The seeds from some kinds of pine are edible. e.g. pine nuts are used as an ingredient in pesto.
Chuck them in an open fire then get out your paraglider for a quick ascent
JustInTheTrees on youtube has a good video about making pinecone syrup like that. Looks good!
If you have access to a wood chipper or similar, they're great for mulch, and as substrate component for some orchids.
Depends on the type of pine tree. Lot of the uses mentioned by others are dependent on the type. If you can identify the type, I’d try searching it.
In addition to the uses some have mentioned, some have medicinally useful compounds that can be extracted by alcohol.
Use them to predict the weather! Their scales close when its humid (predicting rain) and open when its gonna be sunny.
I'm pining for an answer to this question myself.
I think that pine trees find them useful for dispersing seeds :P
Make hooch
Organic enemas?
I'm using them as Christmas tree decorations, but you can use them in multiple ways. You can hang them by a string, you can spray paint them and/or put them in a terrarium, etc.
Dip them in water and watch them close up tight.
Foot massage.
Make a scented potpourri? Idk, I’ve never done that. But it seems easy to do!