You have spent many a day raking up pine needles and pine cones, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You love your pine trees, despite all of the work they create. While you generally set the pine cones aside to use for composting over time, a friend has suggested you take an alternative route this year and turn them into kindling for your fireplace.

When dried out, pine cones make great fire starters. You may treat them with various chemicals in order to produce various colored flames. You may use table salt to create yellow flames, salt substitute to create purple flames, and alum to create green flames. You may use strontium chloride or boric acid to create red flames.

To treat pine cones, soak them in half a gallon of hot water with a cup of the chosen chemical for eight hours. Remove them using tongs and let them dry on paper towels for three days. Separate the pine cones by chemical treatment and burn them two to three at a time. Don’t burn any more than that or mix chemical treatments. It could cause a dangerous reaction.

If chemically treating pine cones does not appeal to you, you could create scented pine cone kindling. To do this, fill a spray bottle with water and 20 drops of cinnamon essential oil. Spray the pine cones and store them in a garbage bag for 24 hours. Remove them and use them as kindling, burning two or three at a time.

Put your old pine cones to good use this year. Turn them into kindling for your fireplace. Fill a few baskets with them and give them to your friends as gifts.

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