Provide Shelter for Backyard Wildlife 

You can leave the tree right in its stand, and set it out in the yard for the rest of the winter. It can fill in a bare spot, giving you something pretty to look at, but, more importantly, it can provide shelter for birds. If you have plenty of trees around consider laying your tree on its side to provide shelter for animals.

Start a New Compost Pile 

The best base for a new compost pile is a layer of thin branches — including evergreen branches. This allows a bit of airflow at the bottom of the pile, and the branches will break down over time. Just trim them down so they fit in your bin, then stack them four to six inches high. After you’ve got them in, go ahead and start adding your kitchen scraps and other compostables as usual.

Make It into Mulch 

And, no, you don’t need a fancy chipper/shredder to do this if you don’t have one. Consider getting into the habit of cutting the thinner Christmas tree branches into little pieces and adding them to the mulched paths between my vegetable garden beds. Simply snip them into one to two-inch pieces and toss them on the path. It’s a cheap way to mulch a pathway, and, as a bonus, this path smells absolutely wonderful when you walk on it!

Use the tree as a stake

Rather than reducing your tree to mulch or compost, you can strip it bare to create a fantastic frame for flowers or beans to grow up. You can use the unwanted pine needles in compost or sprinkle them on a muddy path to provide grip.

Replant it

Environmental Charity Greenpeace encourages people to pot their Christmas trees after use. Many of the trees you buy over Christmas are incredibly resilient, even those that have had their roots chopped off. Although the branches may already be dropping, you’ll be surprised at their ability to recover if planted in a pot of soil and left to establish. You could decorate the tree with food for birds (see below), giving it use in the garden even if the roots fail to take.

After all is said and done, you can also just leave your tree to be picked up by the Government. Find out your collection days here. 

The post 5 Ways to Recycle Your Christmas Tree and Stretch That Dollar appeared first on RG Magazines.

Happy New Year! As the seasonal festivities draw to a close, the last of the Christmas dinner spread is heated, and life returns to normal, the question of when to take your Christmas tree down is one that draws debate.

Tradition vs practicality, real tree vs fake are all factors that weigh in on the argument, but there is no one opinion that crosses all boundaries – it’s really up to you.

Some people can be found packing it away on Boxing Day, others say definitely the 1st of January as we ring in the new year. Some observe the tradition of waiting twelve days after Christmas or the twelfth night which takes us to the 5th of January and ends with the Feast of the Epiphany. This, for many the definitive date and any time beyond signals bad luck to come.

Some of us simply can’t face the task so it changes every year, depending on motivation levels. Others leave their Christmas decorations up year-round for the sheer joy of them.

One of the loveliest things about Christmas is the keeping of traditions that involve your whole family, however customary. Pulling down your Christmas tree may be part of the pleasant rituals you undertake together at this time of year, carefully packing away your decorations for next year’s festivities.

What Happens to It?

You’ve spent many a good time next to a plant that now feels like family. Where is it carted off to once the tear-down ceremony is finished? Once you remove the tinsel, nails, and ornaments and place it outside on your scheduled day (see below), it is then composted to make fertilizer, according to gov.bm.

Your Christmas tree collection days:

EAST END: Collection Day

Wednesday, 17 January, 2019

Wednesday, 23 January, 2019

WEST END: Collection Day

Wednesday, 24 January, 2019

Wednesday 30 January, 2019

Can I compost my Christmas Tree?

Yes! Because the needles are slightly “rubbery” and tough, they’re quite resilient to the usual composting bacteria so take ages to break down, and the trunk can take even longer: cutting up the tree or, ideally, shredding it will help a lot. Otherwise, it could easily be next Christmas or the one after that before you start seeing any progress.

Myth buster: There is a misconception that composting pine needles will result in acidic compost. It’s not true, by the time the needles are composted they will have lost most of their acidic potency.

Composting your tree is great, but there are plenty of other creative ideas to keep that tree around for longer, get more use out of it and more for your money.

Wanna do your part for the environment this year or even just stretch your dollar on that ridiculously expensive sapling? Here are some other ways to recycle your Christmas tree.

The post When to Take Your Christmas Tree Down, and What To Do With It appeared first on RG Magazines.