What to do with Douglas fir pine cones

William Bronson wrote:I think I would burn them in a TLUD, to create biochar.
If this wasn't viable I would try soaking them to softened them up, then blend them with a drill mounted cement paddle.
A garbage disposal might work too.
The resulting mess should be pretty nitrogen heavy, so compost accordingly.

Jay Angler wrote:I had the same thought as William, but Loretta mentions a "fireplace insert".  We make biochar in a "warming tray" (think self-serve restaurant stainless rectangular tray) that we put in the fireplace when there's a good bed of coals and leave it until the fire cools. I put whatever I have in the tray - usually a mix of things like pinecones, plum pits from jam making, sawdust from firewood cutting, certain weeds after they're dried that are hard to compost etc.

Nicole Alderman wrote:I don't have any Douglas Firs on my property, but my parents do. They collect a bunch of them to use as kinding when starting a fire in their woodstove. I've used them that way, too, and they work pretty well. My parents also fill an antique bucket by their woodstove with the doug fir cones, and that works nicely as decoration, as well as a handy source of kindling![/quote}

I HAVE used them sometimes like that - fill about 1/2 a paper shopping bag, roll up the top, and use as kindling.   That just barely touches the amount of pinecones we have, though.

Anne Miller wrote:Why not recycle them into something useful?  Or maybe you could sell them something like these cute ones:

Jonah Bassman wrote:What I might do is propagate a bunch of trees from the dried/opened cones and sell/trade on local craigslist type sites. Healthy saplings will sell, at least where I am. I might even try my hand at some beginner bonsai techniques- meditative, fun and potential for side income.

For cones that are still green, maybe look into making a syrup of them if you haven't already? I know it works with the douglas fir tips (can even make jelly from this), and pinecone syrup is something I've seen people make and have been wanting to try myself.

Loretta Liefveld wrote:I tried to post a picture that I uploaded to a blog, but when I preview the message, the picture is gigantic!   You can't even see all of it.   How do I make the picture smaller?  I tried to edit the [img] tag, but was unsuccessful.

Nicole Alderman wrote:

Loretta Liefveld wrote:I tried to post a picture that I uploaded to a blog, but when I preview the message, the picture is gigantic!   You can't even see all of it.   How do I make the picture smaller?  I tried to edit the [img] tag, but was unsuccessful.

What you want to do is add      width=500     (or whatever width you want) inside the [img ] tag.

The image code would look something like this:

[img]https://permies.com/mooseImages/betaview/permaculture-gardener-edited.png width=500[/img]

Loretta Liefveld wrote:
If they were the 'normal' pinecones that have 'petals' that stick out, I think they might compost.  But that's not what these are.

The big one is about 2 or 2 1/2 inches long.    The smaller ones are about 1 1/2 inches long.   There are many, many more of the small ones.

Jay Angler wrote:
If you get the warming tray, for biochar you need to get the lid without the "spoon hole". We had more trouble getting the lids than the trays, so I thought I'd specifically mention that. If you trust the shop you mentioned above, I'd be tempted to call and see if they'd let you pre-pay over the phone so they'll set it aside for you. If the cost isn't unreasonable, I recommend two sets - that way you can get a couple organized at a time. If they don't cool completely in your insert, make sure you plan for a safe place to put a hot pan down as well.

Richard Henry wrote:That is a good pile.  By chance do you have a tractor?  Spreading those out and running back and forth, especially if you run a path regularly and raking them back into the wheel track should allow you to break them down nicely.  Once they are crushed well, they can then be mixed with other compost and used around shrubs or even other Douglas fir you want to keep.  Any acid loving plant should find them tasty.  Mixing in some gypsum (which can be found in used drywall board with the paper removed) will add calcium and magnesium without increasing the alkaline levels.  I would bet that ground fir cones would work wonderfully for garden paths to walk on once reduced by your wheels.  A vehicle will perform similarly, although you might want to spread the cones in a thinner layer to reduce bouncing.

Dave Way wrote:If you're thinking of making biochar, I wouldn't personally bother buying a new steam table bin or any new item. Just go to your local thrift store (or big garage sale) and pick up an old Dutch oven or other cast iron pot with lid. I've been given 3 for nothing and rotate them into our woodstove.

Loretta Liefveld wrote:Didn't even think about a cast iron Dutch oven.   I have a gigantic one that was left in our tack shed when we bought our house.  I will definitely try that, since I already have it.   I also have a small one that is new, but wouldn't want to put a new one in the wood stove!

when I first read your post because I thought, "Huh, I have quite a lot of Douglas firs and I rarely see them just laying around in a thick layer on the ground.