Three wise men and one wise Doberman.
Every year in late March or April, you can find us in the field planting a new crop of seedlings. We usually plant a thousand trees a year. If all goes well, in 8 years, that seedling will be cut down as a beautiful Christmas tree.
But that tree is not just planted and forgot about. The first year of growth is dependent on the weather, too much or too little rain, or extreme temperatures can kill a seedling before it has a chance to grow. The field has to be mowed around the trees to keep the weeds from overtaking the trees. Mowing continues through October.
In June, shearing the trees begins. Any tree over 3 years old gets trimmed. The top leader gets cut and with the help of a gas powered backpack, the rest of the tree gets trimmed. Unfortunately at this time of the year, the temperatures and humidity are usually high and wearing the backpack and a pair of overalls can lead to rapid dehydration of the worker.
The rest of the year, the branches on the tree harden off and buds are set for next years growth.
Hopefully by November the tree looks great, gets cut down by one of our customers and becomes a beautifully decorated tree that gets proudly displayed in their home.
