Garden Checklist: Recycle Christmas tree into mulch
Tired of that Christmas tree? Saturday, Dec. 26, starts Sacramento’s annual holiday tree recycling season.
Now through Jan. 31, City Services will turn that evergreen into mulch with free curbside pickup for residential customers. Trees should be free of all lights, tinsel and other decorations, with the tree stand removed. Flocked trees will be accepted, too.
Leave the tree curbside in the street for pick up along with leaves and other green waste. Don’t block bicycle lanes and make sure there’s enough space between the tree and the curb to allow water to flow to storm drains.
Or you can drop off your tree for free at either of these locations:
▪ Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station, 8491 Fruitridge Road, Sacramento; trees will be accepted 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
▪ Elder Creek Recovery and Transfer, 8642 Elder Creek Road, Sacramento; trees will be accepted 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy this final week of the year:
▪ Outdoors, prune deciduous trees now while you can see their true shape and framework. (The exception are apricot trees, which are usually pruned in August.) Remove crossing branches and dead wood. Make cuts outside an outside bud or existing lateral branch.
▪ Bare-root roses, fruit trees, cane berries and grapes can be planted now. Before planting, hydrate the plants by soaking roots in water overnight.
▪ Shield frost-tender plants such as citrus and succulents on cold nights with a cloth sheet – not plastic. If a plant has already been burned by frost, leave the damage alone until spring. That brown foliage can protect the plant from further harm.
▪ In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
▪ Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
▪ If an onion sprouts in your vegetable drawer, pot it up and place it in a sunny window. The bulb will soon produce bright-green tops; use them in salads, on baked potatoes or anywhere you want the taste of fresh green onions.
This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Garden Checklist: Recycle Christmas tree into mulch."