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Once the holidays are over, many of us drag our live tree out of the house and put it at the curb. A municipality will haul it off, grind it up and then allow the residents to take the resulting mulch and use in their landscape.

Now that's all well and good and certainly much better than taking the tree and putting it in a landfill. However fuel is still being used to haul the tree away and grind it up. Instead consider keeping the tree right on your property.

There are a couple of things you can do with it.

One is to cut the boughs and use the boughs as mulch. They make good cover for things like mums that you might've planted last fall. Mums and other perennials can be harmed by freezing and thawing conditions. You put the boughs over those freshly planted perennials and that will help keep the soil frozen throughout the winter protecting the plants.

As for the tree after the boughs have been removed, use it as a trellis out in your garden for pole beans and other vine-type plants. Use old Christmas trees instead of buying stakes.

Leave the boughs on the tree for a third option, just jam the tree in a snow bank, hang suet balls from it and it provides a perfect bird feeder for the winter months. The birds also like the protection.

About Going Green:

Going Green is produced in cooperation with the College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Learn more about SUNY ESF by visiting their website, esf.edu.