The Rural Voice, 1987-12, Page 22AN EVERGREEN CROP
SERVING THE HOLIDAY SEASON
or those who believe an
old-fashioned Christmas
4). is the best of Christmases,
Neil Edgar of Whitechurch cultivates
one of the most important trimmings.
He's one of the increasing number of
Christmas -tree growers in Ontario.
He's also a member of the
Christmas Tree Growers' Association
of Ontario, which was formed in 1955
and which has its headquarters in
Angus, Ontario. In 1975, there were
25 members. By December of 1986,
there were 206. The association's
objective is to promote good will
between growers and their customers.
Growers also share their experiences
to solve production and marketing
problems. Workshops and field days
are held to demonstrate management
techniques and put members in touch
with market outlets.
There are three ways of marketing
Christmas trees: wholesale, retail, or
through the "choose and cut" system.
The marketing system chosen by a
grower depends on the number of
trees available for harvest and the
location of the farm. Farmers with a
large number of trees generally sell to
the wholesale market. A smaller
grower located reasonably close to an
urban area would probably sell his
trees on a retail basis. Many small
growers combine retail sales with
"choose and cut" selling — customers
come to the farm to select and fell
their own tree.
Growing Christmas trees is a
long-term project, and seven years
separate planting and the first harvest.
The trees are a labour-intensive crop;
simply planting seedlings and watch-
ing them grow will leave a grower
with a crop not worth harvesting.
Planting, pruning, and controlling
competing grasses and weeds as well
as insects and pests are essential to
success.
Edgar has been growing Christmas
trees for ten years now. His start in
by Iris Brown
the business happened quite by acci-
dent. Shortly after purchasing a 100 -
acre farm, he discovered a number of
spruce trees on his property. One
became the family Christmas tree, and
several others were sold to friends and
neighbours. The idea of making an
income from trees intrigued the
Edgars, and after investigation they
decided to plant seedlings the follow-
ing year. Today the Edgars have four
acres planted with spruce and Scotch
pine.
The Edgars do all their planting by
hand, and purchase seedlings from the
Ministry of Natural Resources. (As of
the spring of 1989, the Ontario gov-
ernment will no longer be producing
Scotch pine seedlings, so growers will
have to find an alternate source.)
One acre, says Edgar, can produce
1,000 trees planted six feet apart. "If
you are lucky, approximately 600
trees of those 1,000 will be saleable."
One of the most critical aspects of
growing Christmas trees is pruning.
Without pruning, the branches grow
too far apart for sale as Christmas
trees. Pruning begins when the tree is
three to four years old and continues
every year until harvest. Care must be
taken that the trunk remains as straight
as possible.
Scotch pines are pruned in late
June or early July. Spruce don't
require as much pruning, and are
usually barbered during the dormant
season from September to April.
The Edgars market all their trees
on a retail level. Their farm's con-
venient location on Highway 86 just
east of Whitechurch is a drawing
factor for customers. In fact, the
demand for the Edgars' trees is greater
than their crop. As a result, they have
been buying trees from a nursery in
Alliston to supplement their own
harvest.
Customers can choose from Scotch
pine, spruce, and balsam. The demand
for balsam has increased in the past
few years, Edgar notes. (The balsams,
which the Edgars buy for resale, are
grown in Nova Scotia.) The Scotch
pine, however, remains most in de-
mand, outselling the spruce ten to one.
When sold, the trees are four to ten
feet and priced between $12 to $25
depending on size and quality. "Peo-
ple," Edgar remarks, "have become
very selective when choosing their
trees and demand a top-quality tree."
A crucial management decision at
harvest time is the number of trees to
cut, he adds. "You can't sell any trees
on Boxing Day."
Marvin Smith, a forester with the
Ministry of Natural Resources, says '
that the number of farmers asking for
information about growing Christmas
trees has increased in recent years.
As farmers look to boost their income '
and make the best use of their land,
many are turning to this alternative
crop. Time will tell what effect this
accelerating interest will have on
future markets for this Christmas
staple.0
20 THE RURAL VOICE