Christmas trees have many post-holiday uses

With a little creative thinking, you can turn your Christmas tree from a problem into an asset.

JEFFERSON CITY -- The best thing about a natural Christmas tree is the smell. The worst thing is disposing of it when the holidays are over. It doesn't have to be a problem, though. The Missouri Department of Conservation has several ideas for turning old Christmas trees into fish and wildlife assets.

One easy option is to turn old Christmas trees into bird feeders. Birds like to have protection from predators and weather while eating. Hanging food items in an old Christmas tree gives birds a sense of security while they eat.

Place the tree near a window so you can watch. You can leave it in the stand you used inside, a bucket of sand or bury the trunk a few inches in the soil. Then "decorate" it with strings of popped popcorn or cranberries.

Cutting beef suet into half-inch cubes and stringing them between the cranberries creates a bright contrast while providing a food item that nuthatches and woodpeckers will adore.

Fruit-eating birds appreciate hand-me-downs from your refrigerator. Apples or oranges that are past their prime make a feast for waxwings, bluebirds, robins and mockingbirds.

You can also cut apples into wedges and string them with needle and thread, alternating with raisins or Cheerios. When you're finished scooping sections out of a grapefruit, fill it with corn or sunflower seeds and hang it from a limb. Carrots and other vegetables add color and nutritional variety.

Don't throw out stale bread. Use a cookie cutter to make festive shapes and hang them on the tree with thread. Old doughnuts or bagels can be hung on the tree just as they are. Edible "ornaments" can be made by smearing peanut butter on pine cones and rolling them in sunflower seeds.

Another idea is combining equal parts of melted suet with corn syrup. Cool the mixture and form into balls before rolling in a commercial bird seed mix.

Your tree still has value, even when the food is gone. You can build a rabbit condo in your back yard by collecting neighbors' trees and piling them two-deep.

A brush pile built with Christmas trees should be placed on large rocks, logs or other bulky material to leave open space for small animals to move around underneath. Augment the Christmas tree with branches pruned from trees throughout the year.

If brushpiles don't fit your landscape plan, let the tree dry in the back yard for a week or two, then shake off the needles and remove the branches with pruning shears. These make excellent kindling for your fireplace. The left-over trunk will make a good tomato stake for your garden next spring.

You can also use your Christmas tree underwater. Brush piles that are built properly and placed in favorable locations provide excellent fish habitat. Fish will linger there, making them easier to find with rod and reel.

Don't sink your tree too deep. To do the most good, underwater brush piles should be placed in 5 to 10 feet of water, and the top of the pile should be only 2 to 4 feet underwater.

Some areas are naturally attractive to fish. Your underwater brush pile will be most effective if you build it in a sheltered cove or where a point of land juts into the water. Another natural fish gathering point is where a gently sloping bottom takes a sudden drop-off into an old creek channel. In small ponds, the corners near dams are fish magnets, too.

Anchor fish attractors with concrete blocks or coffee cans filled with rocks. Polypropylene rope, plastic banding or aluminum wire are the best materials for tying trees to weights. Where possible, place groups of three fish attractors in a triangle.

You'll be glad you recycled your tree when you catch a nice crappie over your fish attractor or watch a flock of cedar waxwings feeding at your outdoor Christmas tree.

-Jim Low-
 

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