What to purchase, what to serve, which occasions to attend — December is usually full of selections. Right here’s yet another so that you can ponder: What are you going to do along with your Christmas tree?
In keeping with the Nature Conservancy, some 10 million live Christmas trees find yourself in landfills yearly. There, they’re lined with soil, which ends up in anaerobic (oxygen-deprived) decomposition reasonably than the cardio (oxygen-fueled) course of by which they might break down in a pure setting, akin to on the forest ground.
Anaerobic decomposition will not be solely very gradual (a tree can take years to interrupt down) nevertheless it additionally generates greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, which can contaminate groundwater.
Should you’d wish to keep away from this, you have options that not solely will keep away from harming the atmosphere however may additionally assist enhance your backyard, and all of them start with eradicating ornaments, tinsel or “flocking” (spray-on faux “snow”) from the tree.
On the finish of each vacation season, my late husband, John, used to take away our Christmas timber’ branches — one after the other — utilizing backyard pruners proper in the lounge. As he minimize every department, he would drop it into a big trash bag at his toes.
When the bag was full, I’d take it open air and distribute the branches throughout the garden to insulate the soil and defend bulbs and perennial root crowns from heaving out of the bottom through the freeze-thaw cycles of winter.
In the meantime, John would get to work sawing the trunk into segments, then would convey them open air, the place they might treatment over winter. After six months of drying, we’d burn the dried wooden in our fireplace pit. Ashes to ashes, as they are saying.
In spring, I’d revisit my backyard mulch and minimize the brittle branches and stems into smaller items, leaving them in place to additional decompose with out interfering with the rising springtime backyard. Pine needles don’t considerably decrease soil pH, regardless of what you might need heard, so they won’t imperil your vegetation.
The observe not solely offers free winter mulch and firewood, but additionally lets you take away the tree from the home with out leaving a path of needles from the lounge to the door. Win-win!
If in case you have a big pond, contemplate sinking your tree to create shelter for fish. They’ll respect their new hiding place.
Or depart the tree in its stand and set it out within the yard. Safe it, if obligatory, to keep away from tipping in sturdy winter winds. Then watch as nonmigratory birds make a home in it. A hen feeder hanging from a department will assist entice new residents much more.
If that’s not attainable, simply drag the entire thing outdoors and lay it down in an out-of-the-way nook of the yard to supply shelter for birds and different wildlife.
Some communities maintain special tree collections after the vacations and use them to fortify sand dunes, counter erosion or present shelter for wildlife. Some municipalities chip collected timber after which provide the ensuing mulch freed from cost to householders.
To seek out packages in your city, county, or state, name your native places of work or search on-line.
You may even donate your tree to a neighborhood farm; many will welcome your contribution to their livestock’s food supply.
___
Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dust E-newsletter. You possibly can enroll here for weekly gardening ideas and recommendation.
___
For extra AP gardening tales, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.
