Christmas Trees
There is a debate around Christmas trees this time of year with us environmentalists. To have a real tree, or a fake tree?
I stand firmly on the 'real tree' side of things. I understand that cutting down a tree for decoration may seem to some like a huge waste, but the fake trees are produced with PVC and all other kinds of toxins and hardly ever last more than five years... after which they end up putting all of that nastiness into the landfills.
I also live in the Pacific Northwest. I may have a very different opinion if I lived somewhere where we had to truck trees hundreds of miles to be used as decor... but here, I can cut a Douglas Fir off of a farmers property from less than fifteen miles away. I consider it supporting a local farmer. (It always reminds me of the pumpkin patch. After all, very few people considers jack-o-lanterns a waste.) Our winters don't leave us much of a vegetable or fruit crop, so many farms put a few trees on the land to subsidize their lean months. Most farmers use sustainable methods of growth to grow their trees, and it has been said that Christmas trees actually produce a bunch of the earths oxygen in the wintertime. They are evergreens and so unlike their deciduous cousins, they still work when the weather is cold.
There are a few farmers that use a bunch of pesticides to grow their trees... so always talk with your farmer if you can. Get to know his practices. Then it will be an easy choice.
As far as the waste is concerned; after we are done with our trees, they get picked up by the city and chipped for either paper or for the yard waste disposal compost. After a few months, they can use it as premium compost for gardens all over the city. In my area, it makes perfect sense to have a real tree in my holiday traditions.
What is your opinion? Real tree or fake tree?
Comments
And like you we also have our tree chipped (courtesy of a neighbor) and for the past two years we have used those chips in one of our gardens.
It is actually kind of cool to know that everything you go to your garden you are celebrating a little of Christmas!
Now, the whole flu vaccine is a whole other story, but still a cool idea!
To Gardentyme: I have seen people use a rosemary topiary shaped like a tree. Certainly it isn't as big, or as piney smelling (although rosemary is nice too) it serves the purpose. And since it's a live plant it's useful year-round in your kitchen.
I can adjust the limbs for the decorations, take the top off and put the lights on sitting on the couch, and bend the top so the star fits. Just my cup of tea. I don't miss the dust, spilled water and pitch on the rug.
Just put mine up and it looks great and will last until the 6th of January with no problem.
I like the smell of the real trees too and like to support the farmers but the trees we get are cut in October and are dry before you even put them up. We had three houses on fire last year from "real" trees.
NW yes CA no. If you live where you can cut your own that is different.