For those of you thinking of extending your season, you might like to give some thought to growing ecologically conscious Christmas trees. From my experience of growing trees for some 23 years, it is a challenging, creative and sometimes profitable venture that fits in nicely with vegetables, fruit and flower production. And once production is in full tilt, you should realize a cash intake of $3,000 to $5,000 per season for a modest 2 to 3 acre plot of trees.

My own operation flies in the face of traditional Christmas tree growing. Sometimes used as a tax write-off by retired country dwellers, most operations embrace the use of herbicides, pesticides, coloring agents and clear cutting. The average tree lot sells trees that were cut sometime in October and transported 500 or more miles.

What I’ve done is take land that’s not much good for growing anything but weeds and planted 2- to 3-year old transplants and seedlings. I try to intercrop varieties and leave untilled spaces so that I can avoid monoculture and encourage insect predators. I also try to plant in April before my vegetable production gets too intense.
Using survey flags, I lay out a 5-foot grid so I can mow in a checkerboard pattern without accidentally running over my trees. The varieties I grow are based on regional adaptability; I can’t, for instance, grow Fraser firs. My best sellers are Douglas firs (the most popular). Colorado blue spruce (which requires minimum shaping) and Scotch Pine (the longest lasting once cut). White pine, once a favorite, is the least requested and I’ve stopped growing them.

I would suggest new growers write away for catalogs from nurseries that specialize in Christmas trees. In our region, the area east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has a bunch of them. You’ll find that you get a significant price break once you order 300 or more seedlings at a time. Keep in mind that even if you space your trees 6 feet apart, you’re talking 1,200 trees per acre.This year, prices range from 18 cents to 84 cents a tree. I prefer 3 to 4-year-old transplants, rather than seedlings, but your best bet is to talk with local growers and extension agents as well as calling the nurseries for advice on varieties and size. The only real equipment you’ll need is a tree planting tool (approximately $30) and “bread knife” for shaping trees once they’re older.

I market my trees through my weekly farm market and in local newspapers. I cut the trees each week, with some extras, based on orders. The best advertisement is my customers and word of mouth. I’ve also picked up a niche market by catering to folks who want lightly trimmed trees so they can use candles. I sell trees at prices ranging from $20 to $65 depending on size and number of years it took to grow. The average sale is $45 per tree. You can also make wreaths and roping, but if you prefer not to, you should find out if anyone in your area wholesales them, and make them available to your customers.

Because I don’t use pesticides, it’s not unusual to find praying mantis cases on my trees. I carefully remove them and place them on other trees or shrubs before harvesting them and urge you to do the same. It’s a mess if a case prematurely hatches in the warmth of a house.

Trees take anywhere from 10 to 20 years to grow to maturity. The most popular size is 6 feet, although I’ve sold them as tall as 10 feet and as small as 3 feet. There’s a growing market for “table top” trees also.
Keeping them alive for the first year or two is the most difficult problem. Deer also can be a problem.