The next internet recipe we plan to test is “peanut butter pudding” (one part peanut butter mixed with five parts cornmeal stuffed into pine cones or tree crevices) to attract woodpeckers, titmice, and warblers. To my relief, I learned that birds supplement their regular diet with our treats, so if our feeder goes empty from time to time, luckily, they won't starve.
With great care, shortly after Thanksgiving, a fresh, fragrant pine tree was brought into your home. It was lovingly adorned with festive lights, garland, and ornaments. For many of us this stirred (hopefully) fond memories of Christmases past, family, and friends. This tree was the centerpiece for exchanging brightly wrapped packages in all sizes and shapes. Now it is time to safely stow away the ornaments, garland, lights and tinsel. This year, rather than putting your tree out with the trash, you can create more fond memories of your tree by giving it a new purpose, such as:
A resting and nesting place for birds, rabbits and other small creatures. Just lay your old tree in a remote corner of your yard. You may not see activity there, but you can watch for tracks after the next snowfall.
Mulch, if you have the equipment, or if your municipality collects them for that purpose.
Contact your town hall or county Extension office to see if they need your tree for a project. Some communities will collect spent Christmas trees to make their own mulch.
A birdseed buffet: Just decorate your Christmas tree for your feathered friends. It provides shelter from birds of prey. First, be sure to place it in a spot where you can enjoy the birds from inside your home. To secure it, either plant it temporarily or tie it to a fence or another tree. Decorate it with easy-to-make bird treats: just hang stale cookies, donuts, slices of bread, pretzels, apples or oranges by string or leftover Christmas ribbon. All of these can be coated in peanut butter and pressed in birdseed (just like pine cones when we were little). Click here for more ideas. Remember to refresh and replenish your decorative treats until the winter weather breaks.
Also, your lovely Christmas wreaths and roping (minus the decorations) can be simply hung on a nail on a tree outside. It makes a nice perch for birds to dine on bird treats (like pincones in peanut butter and birdseed).
Once ponds are safely frozen (definitely not yet around here), your tree can be dragged out onto the ice. When the ice melts, the tree will sink to the bottom and become a new habitat for the fish.
Prolong your poinsettias' blooms by giving it around six hours of daylight. If that's not possible, just give it as much bright light as you can.
Keep it away from drafts or excess heat.
Every day check the soil. Give it water as soon as it feels dry to the touch.
If you want to keep the decorative foil or plastic covering over its pot, just cut some holes in the bottom, and sit it on a pie plate to catch excess water. Just don't let it sit in extra water.
After it's done blooming (once it loses the yellow part of the flower), give it a dose of a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer.
As soon as you can, transplant your Poinsettias into a pretty ceramic pot (not larger than 4” bigger) that will help it retain moisture and give it room to grow.
In late March or early April, cut your poinsettia down to 8” tall, continue watering and fertilizing every few weeks. By the end of May, you should see lots of new growth. Prune it until September to keep it bushy.
To ensure blooms for next Christmas, beginning October 1, keep your Poinsettias in complete darkness for 14 hours each night. If you don't feel like moving them in and out of a very dark closet each day, cover them at night with a large box. Also, from October to December they need 6-8 hours of bright sun each day.
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