Oct 30 2008
Raising Christmas Trees
If you own just a few small acres, raising Christmas trees may be a fun and profitable small farm project. All you need is a few acres to plant the trees on. You can plant up to 1,000 trees per acre, which obviously will give you plenty to work from. Since people buy different sizes of trees, you can plant a specific number each year to give you some variety when you harvest the trees.
You don’t have to haul your trees into town if you don’t want to. Many tree farmers either help or allow people to cut down their own trees on the property, making it easier for everyone. The tree doesn’t cut down trees that may not sell, and the buyer gets to pick exactly the right tree for them.
Planting the trees doesn’t require a lot of skill. Seedlings may be purchased from tree nurseries that sell them in bulk. The seeds can then be sown by hand after the area for the trees has been tilled (this is much easier than digging holes in the hard ground for each seedling).
This type of business requires long-term vision. The trees can take 7-15 years before they’re ready to be harvested.
If you’re interested in learning more about this type of farm, the following resources may help:
