Christmas tree farming: Important message for those who have just started a Christmas tree farm.
Hello rob here from the flanigan Homestead and owner of east fork Christmas tree farms Uh if you’re a christmas tree farmer Stick with me four or five minutes you Need to hear this Okay i started my channel just a few Months ago and i’m getting a lot of Subscribers and i’m noticing a lot of Them are here because i am a christmas Tree farmer and Uh there people are following me because Of that uh This is not a video on how to do Something in the field i do have About 20 videos out now on how i do Things specifically in the field and I’ll link those somewhere here and you Can find that List and watch those videos but this is Something that you just need to know About christmas tree farming Itself but before i go on and say Something that might sound a little bit Negative I want to know if i could go back in Time and start a christmas tree farm Again or not do it i would definitely do It the financial rewards that i’ve had And the benefits of working with my sons And teaching them how to work And and working as a family it’s all Been awesome And the only thing i’d change is i’d
Probably start my farm a little bit Sooner Okay so christmas tree farming is great But you know Christmas trees farming in general is Hard because you’re working with Living organisms it’s not an inanimate Object where you can take Part a and part b slam them together and You have a finished product These are living organisms some are Strong some are weak Some kind of have a mind of their own And some are going to get attacked by Predators So just like when you’re raising your Kids and things are going great just Keep it going And then when things are getting a Little off off the Path redirect it and get it the way you Want it to go So uh christmas tree farming Specifically is a little bit harder than Other farming Because you know you’re not planting in The spring and harvesting that fall Number one you’ve got to be really Patient you’re gonna plant trees And you’re gonna wait for seven or eight Years before you get a dime back you’re Going to be working And you’re going to be investing money Into it and it’s going to take some time
It’s worth it though but you need to be Willing to grind is the first thing i Wanted to say The next thing is know that bad things Are going to happen to your trees Over if you think you’re going to put Trees in the ground in over seven or Eight years Nothing bad is going to happen you’re Crazy okay Now don’t panic when it happens i know The first time we started having Problems What’s going on okay so You’re going to lose a certain Percentage of your trees it happens Just keep the rest going keep them Getting better you know if you follow The channel you know that this spring We had an incredibly hot and dry april Which just does not happen here in Western washington And we were all concerned about you know Where all of our trees that we You know we planted 2 000 trees this Year were they all going to die off but Fortunately it’s It appears that uh they hadn’t really Started Putting that much foliage out yet and so There wasn’t that much to die off And so now that the more foliage is out We’ve had some rain There’s moisture in the ground so we’re
Doing pretty good but even after 20 Years like oh Are we going to lose a lot but then same Thing We had that really hot dry spring and we Think that just brought on more aphids And so the aphids came earlier and Strong and so we had to attack the Aphids who were Really getting after our trees so thing What i’m trying to say is things are Going to happen to your trees but we Were willing We kept our eye on the trees we saw the Aphids are after it So we rushed to get our chemicals out And do What we needed to to take care of the Aphids the deer are going to rub their Antlers on your trees at least around Here You know get out there with your bow and Take some shots at it or do so you know Get your dogs out there to chase them Away But different things are going to do Harm to your tree whether it’s Predators or it’s just the weather Doesn’t cooperate because They’re not going to just put this nice Rain on every night for you and then the Right amount of sunshine Weather’s going to be doing tricks so Anyway
Stay the course grind have a growth Mindset When we started years and years ago we Went to some of the bigger growers and Counties we had a Friendship with one of them already and Then we started talking other And they’re saying you’re doing the Right thing ask questions you know ask Questions Do the best you can to follow what we Say but he said You’re going to make mistakes i don’t Care how much you learn you’re going to Make mistakes They said just keep learning and these Guys that have been doing it for many Years before us said We keep making mistakes and we keep Learning so just You know just keep an open mind evaluate What’s going on Learn and keep going so that’s the other Thing that you need to do is have a Growth mindset Keep grinding and you’re going to get There And again i’m going to say don’t panic When you lose a few trees now you don’t Want to lose too many But you can overcome it even in shearing Sometimes we create you know You’re trying to get that 40 degree Angle tree around here and then you cut
In too tight And now you got this big hole in the Tree because you you know you hired your Nephew that didn’t know what he’s doing That’s okay they’ll put new buds out the Next year It’ll grow it’ll start filling in and It’ll become a nice treat that tree Might take another year or two But just keep giving it the nutrients it Needs giving it the care it needs and It’s going to get to where It’ll be harvestable so And in the end i can tell you you know You you work you invest time you invest Money for seven eight years before you Get anything back and then it starts Coming back in And then your business grows and you get More and more people and i can tell you Now With the amount of hours that we put in The field and the amount of money that We bring in it’s It’s a pretty good financial reward it’s Worth it but it You’re as a christmas tree farmer if you Really want to do it You got to be patient you got to be Willing to grind And you got to be willing to learn bad Things are going to happen Get up keep going and you can do it And i’m here to cheer you on and i wish
You the best And once again thank you for joining me On the flanigan homestead where Christmas trees are my business Teaching including horticulture is my Job and outdoor projects are my passion
