I'm rich

When I lived in S.C. we would buy bales of pine straw for mulch. Now back in the PNW every spring I rake up ponderossa needles and burn what I don't put in the compost or put in a hugel bed.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Long-Leaf-Pine-Needles-up-to-240-sq-ft-Coverage/1000605943?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-lwn-_-bng-_-PLA_LWN_179_Landscape-Products-_-1000605943-_-Online-_-0-_-0&gclid=a14f8bcdb27b1c2a36f5e805888cec72&gclsrc=3p.ds&ds_rl=1286981&msclkid=a14f8bcdb27b1c2a36f5e805888cec72

I watch my neighbor across the street throw out a few hundred dollars worth of "pine straw" every fall.    One of these days I've gotta get over there and suggest she post it online instead of putting it out in yard waste.   And ask her for some for myself while I'm at it!

The mulch of choice or I guess what is marketed here is bark mulch and I can understand that with the logging industry. It just tickled my funny bone a box of needles for 139.00. Then I looked n Etsy and saw pine needle basket kits going for 40.00.

I wonder how it would do as feedstock for a biochar retort? It sure would be easy to crush after being charred!

Reminds me of Bill Mollison's story about the chestnuts in Melbourne was it? Some guy asked him if he was crazy for thinking of collecting the nuts and selling them to Italy. Mollison said he wasn't crazy at all and the guy apparently went on to do it and made like 3 million in a few years and retired for life.

Connecting supply and demand is how people have made enormous amounts of money throughout history.