An example of the sort of rustic trellis you could make with two Christmas trees and an assortment of tree branch trimmings.
So Christmas is over and once again, it’s time to un-decorate the tree and haul it out to the curb. Or is it? It can take eight to ten years to grow a Christmas tree for the purpose of cutting it down, taking it home to sit in the house for a couple of weeks and then simply disposing of it – like so many things in our lives. This is the sort of mindless “solution” that has to stop if we’re ever to move toward meaningful sustainability. While I’ve no doubt that Christmas trees can be sustainably grown and harvested, can’t we also be just a little more creative and “green” with their “disposal”?
Following the permaculture maxim that waste is a resource, I say yes. Here are eleven fun ideas for reusing and recycling that Christmas tree while keeping it right on your property. A Christmas tree is a resource – let’s use it!
1. Build a hugelkultur! A hugel…huh? Hugelkultur is a gardening technique that translates as “hill- or mound culture”. To build a Christmas tree hugelkultur, you place the tree at the base of a mound – say, 4′ – 6’ in diameter – of woody debris and tree trimmings. Lop off some of the branches if you must, tromp the whole pile down to flatten it some, then pile additional organic matter like grass clippings and leaves on top. Water well. Cover with a good layer of soil, add some finished compost and plant. As the mound slowly composts in place, it will hold moisture and produce gentle bottom heat that will enable early plantings of things like potatoes.
2. Create a woody swale. A swale is basically a level ditch on contour, designed to prevent storm runoff by holding the water in place and allowing it to slowly percolate into the ground. Adding wood at the bottom of the swale, then back filling with soil makes an excellent planting bed for moisture loving plants. If you use a Christmas tree, you’ll be creating a more acidic moist environment for acid-loving plants like blueberries or cranberries, which occur naturally in boggy areas.
The nice thing about these first two solutions is that your Christmas tree will then be providing food for you and your family for years to come. And while you’re waiting for warm weather so you can build your hugelkultur or swale, consider these other recycling options.
3. Make rustic log bird feeders. This one’s fun for the kids. Have an adult trim the branches off the Christmas tree, and cut the trunk into foot-long (or so) sections. Drill several large holes, using a 1” spade bit, around the log but not all the way through. Put a large screw eye in one end of each log for hanging. Let the kids fill the holes with peanut butter or a peanut butter and suet combination and then hang the log feeders in easily viewed locations in your yard. Here in central NY, this sort of feeder will attract woodpeckers (hairy, downy and red-bellied), nuthatches (our only bird that can walk down a tree trunk head-first) and chickadees. Make sure you have a good basic bird identification book – suited to your region – available for the kids!
4. Strip the needles and make a fragrant pillow or sachet. Every time I go to the Adirondacks, I see expensive pine pillows and sachets in the stores. These are traditionally made with balsam needles but any pine needle can be used. (Long needles like white pine or Scotch pine may have to be broken up a bit.) Even those of you with the most rudimentary sewing skills can easily whip up a small pillow from scrap fabric. Stuff it with the pine needles and stitch shut. If you use something like burlap or 100% cotton, the whole pillow can be composted or hugelkultured after it’s lost its scent.
5. Make up some potpourri. Use stripped pine needles, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in an attractive dish with other scented items. Again, this can all be composted after the fragrance fades.
6. Mulch. Trim the branches off your tree and use them to create winter mulch over your bulbs or other marginal-for-your-zone plants to prevent the soil from frost heaving. Trimmed pine branches can also be used as year-round mulch on acid lovers like blueberries, lingonberries, rhododendrons or azaleas, no chipping necessary.
7. Create wildlife shelter. This is probably the easiest solution. Just plop the tree down in an out of the way corner of your yard and it will quickly become a wildlife haven, providing shelter from weather and predators for small birds and rabbits. If you want, you could hang a small feeder in the tree as well. Hugelkultur it come spring.
8. Salvage a second tree and make a trellis. There is no shortage of Christmas trees sitting at the curb this time of year; grab an extra one and you have the makings of a nice trellis. Trim the branches, then use the two trunks as the sides, and cut two cross bars for the top and bottom. Cris-cross smaller branches back and forth between the two and tack in place.
9. Salvage several trees and build a bean teepee next summer. Grab a bunch of extra trees from the neighborhood curb, trim the branches and use elsewhere in the garden. Save the trunks and next spring, assemble them in a teepee configuration for growing beans or other vines. Lash together with compostable twine. They may need to be re-lashed each spring but the trunks should be serviceable for several years.
10. Chip the tree for mulch in paths or garden beds. This idea does have a carbon footprint from the gasoline powered chipper, but it’s still an option.
11. Create fish habitat. If you have a large pond, drop the tree in – perhaps weighted with a rock or two. Or if your pond is frozen, just leave it on the ice as wildlife habitat for the winter. In spring when the ice melts, the tree will sink to the bottom and provide fish habitat.
Okay, last resort and number 12: Put the tree out for pick up by the local sanitation bureau or municipality for recycling. This is certainly better than sending it to a landfill, but still involves large trucks, lots of diesel fuel, municipal crews and taxpayer dollars. Can’t we do a bit better?
So there you have it twelve (okay, eleven) suggestions for reusing your Christmas tree! Did I leave anything out? What ideas do you have? Let me know!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed this post, please share. Thanks!
{ 1 trackback }