I thought I would give you all some insight into what it takes to grow Christmas trees as seen here on Theconcordinsider.com. Believe me; it was as much as an eye opener for me as it will probably be for you.
Picking out a family Christmas tree can be a fun, but sometimes challenging tradition. A lot of people like to go to a Christmas tree farm near them and walk around trying to find the perfect one to cut down.
Normally, there are a good number of well-pruned Christmas trees to choose from which can be overwhelming. However, most of the time tree choices are typically narrowed down a little bit by what height someone prefers, the tree’s shape and lastly cost.
As it is August, not many people have any interest whatsoever in Christmas since its still months away. However, unlike most of us who only start thinking about Christmas trees and decorations when it is just around the corner, it’s not the same for farmers.
The people who supply us these holiday tradition favorites spend quite some time getting everything ready for those few weeks of the year. Don Ross, the owner of Rossview Farm, is among the few farmers who expect over more than 700 Xmas trees for customers to choose from this holiday season. He went on to say that his Christmas tree selection for the coming holidays will be much better than last year’s pick.
During spring, Ross regularly sprays the trees for pests and fertilizers the ones that have begun to mature. From now on he expects to spend a lot of time among the trees. First, he will have to mow the rows around each tree base on multiple occasions to get rid of weeds and then proceed to the pruning stage.
Ross added that if he started the entire process this week, he would be lucky to be finished by September. When picking out a tree from his farm, there’s normally one beautiful topper branch where you can place your angel.
This is really because Ross works hard to eliminate others that have grown over the years to leave the perfect ones. From then on, he will focus on shaping the trees to make them look like something that everyone would like to take home.
What follows is the process of prepping the soil, removing the stump from the previous year’s harvest and planting a cover crop in the area that will be used again in two years for another acre of trees.
In Penacook, the River Road Plantation Farm works similarly to the Rossview farm in that you get to go out and pick your preferred tree to cut it down. However, unlike Rossview, the River Road Plantation farm only sells Christmas trees so you might only notice the farm during the Christmas season.
Betty Paine from River Road Plantation says that a lot of the farm work depends on the elements and once the heat breaks, they will go out to the farm to mow and begin the process of pruning. They plan to have 300 trees that will be ready for the coming holidays.
However, if you are one of those people who get excited about the upcoming holidays, you can go there and check out the selection available and even tag one of your own before Christmas day comes.
Both Rossview and River Road price their trees individually and while they currently don’t look at their best and you don’t know how much it will actually cost until you pick it up. It might be worth a visit to one of the farms.
If you are located in that area, to try and beat the Xmas rush by making your choice in advance. Just don’t forget to bring bug spray and wear long pants.