There’s nothing quite like going to pick out the family Christmas tree.
If you’re like us, you prefer to go to one of those farms where you walk around looking for the perfect one. And then cut it down yourself.
It can be a little overwhelming with hundreds of nicely pruned trees to choose from. The good thing is that your choices are usually narrowed down a little bit by what height you’re looking for. Then it just comes down to what kind of shape you want.
We know that most of you have zero interest in this year’s Christmas tree right now; it is only July after all. But unlike the average person who only starts thinking about their tree when Thanksgiving is over, those who supply us with the places to pick our own spend a lot of time getting ready for those couple weeks of the year.
At Rossview Farm, owner Don Ross expects to have more than 700 trees in four varieties available to choose from this holiday season.
“I have a great selection for this year. Better than last year,” Ross said.
In the spring, he will spray for pests and fertilize the existing trees. Then until right about now, the trees stay surrounded by weeds and ferns, as the those little spring buds turn into more branches for you to hang your ornaments on.
“After I fertilize, we almost turn it into a sterile environment,” Ross said.
But from now until the Saturday after Thanksgiving – when Rossview opens for tagging and picking – there’s going to be a lot of time spent among the trees.
First, he will have to mow the rows and around the base of each tree a few times to get rid of all the previously mentioned weeds. Then it’s pruning time.
“If I started (this week), I’d be lucky to be done by the end of September,” Ross said.
When you go to pick out a tree, there’s typically one nice topper branch for your angel, but that’s because Ross will eliminate the others that have grown over the years to leave the perfect one.
From there it’s all about shaping it to look like a tree that someone will want to take home.
“The tree talks to you and tells you its personality,” Ross said. “You want to think conical, like an upside down ice cream cone.”
And that’s just for the trees that will be sold this year. In both the spring and fall, he plants more trees.
“I’m planting 3 or 4 years olds that will take eight to 10 years to be a 7- to 10-foot tree,” Ross said.
There’s the process of removing all the stumps from last year’s harvest, prepping the soil and planting a cover crop in that area that will be used again in two years for another acre of trees.
At River Road Plantation in Penacook, the operation is the same in many ways as Rossview, in that you get to go out and pick your tree to cut down.
Unlike Rossview, the only thing that Betty Paine and her son Stacy sell are Christmas trees. So for many months out of the year, you might not even know there was a Christmas tree farm located at 5 River Road.
We drove right by it when we went to see the operation, but we can only assume there will be signs once it opens for cutting the day after Thanksgiving and when it’s open weekends through the holiday.
Right now, though, it is overgrown and likely a great hiding spot for ticks.
But soon, once the heat breaks a little bit, the Paines will go out and mow and begin the arduous process of pruning all 300 or so trees that will be ready this year.
“The fields are so hot this time of year,” Paine said. “So a lot of the work depends on the weather.”
Yet if you’re one of those people who can’t wait for Christmas and want to check one thing off your list, you can actually go out right now and tag your tree.
“People can tag at any time,” Paine said. “Anywhere on the farm, they can tag.”
They don’t look their best and you won’t know how much it costs until you pick it up (both River Road and Rossview price their trees individually), but if you want to beat the rush, by all means get out there and make your choice. Just remember to wear long pants and bug spray.
“When we go out there to price them, we’ll put a sold tag on it,” Paine said.
If you do go out to choose one, just remember to bring your own tag, and put your name and phone number on it. If they see one that is tagged, it will not be pruned.
“A lot of people don’t like them trimmed,” Paine said. “So we assume they like it the way it is.”
