Gather ye Christmas trees while ye may

Plan your raids now: all the cut pine trees your unknowing neighbors have set at the curb to be hauled to the landfill: they make incredibly wonderful winter mulch, as well as keeping slugs away from their favorite food!

I gather 10-12 discarded Christmas trees every year, cut the branches and use them over my more heave-prone plants, as well as the evergreen perennials that get wind-damaged. Strawberry, Erica carnea, Andromeda, verbascum, especially are prone to this in my area.

In the spring, I gather the big branches, cut them into very small pieces, and use them as pine needle mulch. It really prevents slugs from encroaching into their favored eating areas, like hostas. Bagged pine needle mulch is available, but it is $6 for a 2 cubic foot bag. Much better to get my own!

Last but not least, pine needles are acidic, so in my very alkaline garden, every little bit helps! My azaleas thrive when given a 3" pine needle mulch every spring.

Edited to say your neighbors will REALLY know you have flipped when they see you picking up all the old trees in the neighborhood!

This message was edited Sunday, Dec 29th 8:50 AM

Yep...and if you prop one up in your veggie garden this spring they are great for growing cucumbers on! And for those of you with ponds (or who have boats and go on the lakes) they are great for sinking to the bottom to make fish habitat areas...remember where they are and you'll always catch loads of fish there!

Around here they are taken to the cogeneration plant and burned for electricity. The drop off site is open till dark and people just pull up, dump and go. But then I don't think there are more than a dozen folk in this whole county who don't have a pickup truck for hauling...might be a bit of a drive to get there for most of you too...but bring it on anyway...we need your tourism money ;~)

There is a group in Nashville that places discarded Christmas trees in area lakes. If you're not inclined to recycle your own, check to see if there is a similar alternative in your area.

In contrast, when we lived near Tulsa there was an annual "12th night" when the city burned the discarded trees in a huge bonfire. I always found that practice a little odd, considering the huge amount of smoke produced by this fire, and the myriad other uses for the trees.

We went the artifical tree route many years ago, and some years I wish for a real tree again :)

Here we have a drop off at the city Marina and the trees are taken out in the bay near Pelican Island so the fish can play in them.

My goats are enjoying our neighbors tree. They think it is delicious. LOL

I bought a potted tree this year so I now have a new 6 foot Jeffery pine tree planted in my yard! More shade for hostas in the spring!