Needles as litter

We hope that you had wonderful holidays – no matter if it was Hanukkah or Christmas or a different celebration. For those of you who received a Christmas tree from Santa, the Christkind or Père Noël, we hope that it came with this beautiful scent, the comforting green, and a peaceful atmosphere.

Eventually, the holidays will be over, and you might be wondering what to do with your tree afterwards. Some people will use the branches to cover the flowers and protect them through the rest of the winter, others come together and light a great fire of Christmas trees.

Today, we’ll talk about a different form of using the resources of your conifer. If it’s a fir tree or a spruce, you could shred it and use the chips in different settings. One idea is to mulch those flower beds with it, which can handle acidic environments, for example rhododendron, azalea or other Ericaceae. Some sources also recommend fertilizing the soil with some nitrogen.

An important aspect is that you don’t use yew tree chips. Most of their parts are toxic for mammals and therefore you may want to refrain from mulching with it.

The second idea is more closely connected to our field of activity: you could use the shredded chips as litter. While this may be a less common form, there are reports that it works nicely in a henhouse. Once again, it’s important not to use the yew tree chips. Especially for spruce chips, you can enjoy the nice scent it will create in the coop. It is recommended to dry the shredded material before using it.

So depending on how nice your Christmas season has been, choose for yourself how to reuse your seasonal tree.

For more ideas on recycling, get connected and join us for a better resource use.

Sources: https://www.huehner-info.de/forum/showthread.php/72280-H%C3%A4ckselgut-von-Tannen-als-Stalleinstreu

https://www.gartenpflege-tipps.de/gartenfragen/mulchen-mit-tannenschnitt