I totally agree, a blessing and a curse! It's way more time and effort then I ever imaged, but I wouldn't trade it if I could. We started our farm 21 years ago and I agree with everything you said. We also, didn't think ahead and under planted and now we are short sellable trees. I now live by the moto "you can't put to many trees in the ground". Because of one of your video's, we now put a seedling next to every 4' tree. They are always sellable or useful for Christmas trees, wreath material etc. Thanks for the video's, it's good to know that other tree farmers have the same experiences and challenges that we have had. Snow Valley Christmas Tree Farm, Duvall, WA
Same number of years we have been running our farm and you are in western Washington. Very much a similar story. I spent my first three years teaching in you neighborhood. I was at Snoqualmie Middle School. Glad you find some ideas in my videos. Be blessed in your farming.
You were my inspiration and know how, Ive now got 625 trees in the ground with 425 more on the way for spring, exciting for my young family in southwest missouri. we are growing scots pine, norway spruce, white pine, carolina sapphire cypress, and multiple different juniper species! Plan for the junipers and cypress to be harvestable in 4 years, and the others in 7-8 years. we have 40 acres of pasture, and previously rented it out to cattle but i now have a 4 day week job, so lots more time to play! We have a 7 and 9 year old, and I like you, see this will be an excellent business to teach them botany, hard work ethic, economics, and even some fun thrown in. bless you sir, and thank you for imparting wisdom! I'll be continuing to watch ya! I plan on growing 600 year to start for the first 4-5 years, and then ramp up like you, to around 1000 trees if demand is there. Jesse
Love to hear your story. You are off to a good start. Developing my farm with the help of my boys was great for the family. They learned so much about trees, hard work and customer service. I hope to hear stories of your success in the future.
I watched the goat basics video and just subscribed. My grandparents were Christmas tree farmers, grew in Michigan and then set up lots in Florida they made a very good living.
On point Rob. I didn't realize our farms are about the same size in terms of plantings and goals for annual sales. I thought yours was bigger for some reason.
I realized I hadn’t talked about the size of my farm much in the past. Trying to make sure I get a clear picture out there. We hope to expand a couple more acres depending on what the extended family wants to do with the land.
SUPER interested in starting a tree farm but wondering if there's some education out there on the need to knows or is it sort of a...find out what you can and learn as you go thing? I'm so nervous to not have a total base knowledge lol
I have a lot of videos to help. It can be a learn as you go thing. If nervous start small. Plant, raise and start shearing. Then have a larger crop follow ping years and apply what you learned on the first trees.
@FlanaganHomestead thank you so much for the advice! Definitely working my way through youtube videos of the few Christmas tree farmers that post them. :)
Would you be willing to make a video on how to treat your trees with chemicals? I'm potentially moving next door to a Christmas tree farm and would love to know more about how they use pesticides and stuff.
hey,Rob i have a question. i have an extra space for growing a "living fence" its really popular out here and people buy long distance of it. my question is how would you dig out or maybe you have information how farmers dig out 1m tall trees in a faster way? is there any hand took for that?
I assume you mean 1 meter( 3 feet tall tree). Different varieties handle this transplanting well others don’t. I have dug this size tree to move. It is very hard by hand. I had a friend bring in a tree spade attachment on a tractor. Very helpful if doing a large quantity of trees. A nursery out here that has a nice sandy loam soil will put a carbide tipped chain on their saw. They plunge it into the ground and cut a circle around the tree to cut the roots. Then a tractor or excavator bucket scoops it out.
@@FlanaganHomestead thank you for the answer. i assume if i dont have heavy machinery specially for that it is not worth growing living fence to sell it.
@@maisetas In ground growing for nursery stock really requires a tree spade for harvesting. Its just not worth doing otherwise unless there is enough demand to have a U-dig option but the client base will be limited. The other option is to grow in pots - either pot in pot in ground or above ground pots. Both options generally work well for most areas as long as the proper setup is done. Potted trees can be grown a lot more dense than most in ground plantings for nurseries as a bonus.
@@popandbob thank you, i havent yet consider that option, but that sounds really great. as i think now you invest into pots and just either add to the price or re-use it again after selling a tree. thank you :)
How about propagating your own seedlings? and what do you do for DEER CONTROL for your trees and other plants? Nice Video. Im starting and Fruit tree Orchard a Vineyard and a Blueberry farm in Maryland.
We have propagated some of our own trees. It creates a whole new farm which we don’t have time to maintain. It is more time/cost effective to buy from the pros. Deer are an issue. Letting the dogs out is the best we can do, plus hoping for success during hunting season. I have started many blueberries on my own. Good luck with all your fruit.
We tried for years to cut the grass and weeds. You really have to stay consistent until the dry season around here. That is months of mowing. We finally gave up and spray herbicide to keep as much weeds and grass out as we can.
One option you can look at is Sheep. Some breeds will avoid spruce/fir as they are not as desirable to eat as are the weeds/grass. The fencing costs (or labour if using electric fence) can add up quick though.
Hey! Quick question! We are thinking about starting a Christmas tree farm and have been watching a lot of your videos! We have a piece of property that has a high water table so it has very wet soil! Is it worth starting to plant trees there, or what would you recommend due to wetness?
Thorntons tree farm. Biggest ucut in our area did field drain tiling to lower the water table. He said it helped. How wet is the soil? If it constantly is soggy or puddling you will have a problem.
We do not have an LLC. We definitely should and are planning to get that done. We have been planning to get it done for years. We do have extra insurance on the farm.
Hey Rob, I’m back. Yes I want to start a farm. I’m in Kansas and want to my first order to be 3000 trees for delivery in about a year. What kind of tree(s) do you think I should order (gets really hot out here. Will have to water)? Who would you order from? Any help on this would be 100% appreciated. Thanks brother!
I would love to give you advice on which trees to plant. But even within our state you would want to plant different trees based on where you live. I think the best advice I can give you is find the two closest tree farms to where you are at and find out what trees they are planting and at what percentage. For example I am 70% noble 20 grand fir and 10 doug
The tightes you should plant trees is 5 feet by 5 feet apart. You can get 1700 trees to an acre at that spacing For ease of care and getting through rows 5 and a half feet or 6 feet apart is better. I would not plant wider than 6 feet apart, if you do you will be wasting field space. at 6 feet by 6 feet spacing you can get 1200 trees per acre.
Off topic here, but Looking for anyones opinion here,,, im thinking of not spraying round up between my tree rows next spring/summer and replanting grass seed... I feel bare dirt causes more weeds to sneek through.. but if i plant new grass seed and let grass grow, it will chokeout the weeds, and i will only need to spray a herbicide/round up circle around each tree only... Does my theroy sound right? Is anybody out there doing it this way?? I feel i make more weed work formyself by killing ALL the grass in my tree rows,,, my walkways are grass though.... anybody else doing it this way?? Indiana,USA
Many people do this. Grow grass and just do band spaying. We considered it ourself. We’re going to do a grass that stays shorter so we wouldn’t have to mow as much.
@@greenfin7516 the tree will grow faster if the grass and all the weeds around it’s root system are gone. The tree gets more moisture and nutrient longer. If you have a strip of grass in the middle of the row it does help keep weeds from getting established. Also nice for ucut customers on a wet weekend.
Curious ive been considering wood chips arpund my new transplants n smaller trees to help with weed control. Any experience with that? I know labor intense but i feel like im loosing trees and bottom growth from grass/weeds choking them out.
It's rewarding supporting local community economics and being productive. This is the way-thanks for posting.
100% agreement. Thank you.
I totally agree, a blessing and a curse! It's way more time and effort then I ever imaged, but I wouldn't trade it if I could. We started our farm 21 years ago and I agree with everything you said. We also, didn't think ahead and under planted and now we are short sellable trees. I now live by the moto "you can't put to many trees in the ground". Because of one of your video's, we now put a seedling next to every 4' tree. They are always sellable or useful for Christmas trees, wreath material etc.
Thanks for the video's, it's good to know that other tree farmers have the same experiences and challenges that we have had. Snow Valley Christmas Tree Farm, Duvall, WA
Same number of years we have been running our farm and you are in western Washington. Very much a similar story. I spent my first three years teaching in you neighborhood. I was at Snoqualmie Middle School. Glad you find some ideas in my videos. Be blessed in your farming.
You were my inspiration and know how, Ive now got 625 trees in the ground with 425 more on the way for spring, exciting for my young family in southwest missouri. we are growing scots pine, norway spruce, white pine, carolina sapphire cypress, and multiple different juniper species! Plan for the junipers and cypress to be harvestable in 4 years, and the others in 7-8 years. we have 40 acres of pasture, and previously rented it out to cattle but i now have a 4 day week job, so lots more time to play! We have a 7 and 9 year old, and I like you, see this will be an excellent business to teach them botany, hard work ethic, economics, and even some fun thrown in. bless you sir, and thank you for imparting wisdom! I'll be continuing to watch ya!
I plan on growing 600 year to start for the first 4-5 years, and then ramp up like you, to around 1000 trees if demand is there.
Jesse
Love to hear your story. You are off to a good start. Developing my farm with the help of my boys was great for the family. They learned so much about trees, hard work and customer service. I hope to hear stories of your success in the future.
I watched the goat basics video and just subscribed. My grandparents were Christmas tree farmers, grew in Michigan and then set up lots in Florida they made a very good living.
@@marleigh9194 thanks for subscribing. Good story about grandparents. What species of trees did they grow.
On point Rob. I didn't realize our farms are about the same size in terms of plantings and goals for annual sales. I thought yours was bigger for some reason.
I realized I hadn’t talked about the size of my farm much in the past. Trying to make sure I get a clear picture out there. We hope to expand a couple more acres depending on what the extended family wants to do with the land.
Thanks friend.
You are welcome
SUPER interested in starting a tree farm but wondering if there's some education out there on the need to knows or is it sort of a...find out what you can and learn as you go thing? I'm so nervous to not have a total base knowledge lol
I have a lot of videos to help. It can be a learn as you go thing. If nervous start small. Plant, raise and start shearing. Then have a larger crop follow ping years and apply what you learned on the first trees.
@FlanaganHomestead thank you so much for the advice! Definitely working my way through youtube videos of the few Christmas tree farmers that post them. :)
Look for a document called "Growing Christmas Trees in the Pacific Northwest". It's full of really useful information.
Would you be willing to make a video on how to treat your trees with chemicals? I'm potentially moving next door to a Christmas tree farm and would love to know more about how they use pesticides and stuff.
hey,Rob i have a question. i have an extra space for growing a "living fence" its really popular out here and people buy long distance of it. my question is how would you dig out or maybe you have information how farmers dig out 1m tall trees in a faster way? is there any hand took for that?
I assume you mean 1 meter( 3 feet tall tree). Different varieties handle this transplanting well others don’t. I have dug this size tree to move. It is very hard by hand. I had a friend bring in a tree spade attachment on a tractor. Very helpful if doing a large quantity of trees. A nursery out here that has a nice sandy loam soil will put a carbide tipped chain on their saw. They plunge it into the ground and cut a circle around the tree to cut the roots. Then a tractor or excavator bucket scoops it out.
@@FlanaganHomestead thank you for the answer. i assume if i dont have heavy machinery specially for that it is not worth growing living fence to sell it.
@@maisetas In ground growing for nursery stock really requires a tree spade for harvesting. Its just not worth doing otherwise unless there is enough demand to have a U-dig option but the client base will be limited. The other option is to grow in pots - either pot in pot in ground or above ground pots. Both options generally work well for most areas as long as the proper setup is done. Potted trees can be grown a lot more dense than most in ground plantings for nurseries as a bonus.
@@popandbob thank you, i havent yet consider that option, but that sounds really great. as i think now you invest into pots and just either add to the price or re-use it again after selling a tree. thank you :)
How about propagating your own seedlings? and what do you do for DEER CONTROL for your trees and other plants? Nice Video. Im starting and Fruit tree Orchard a Vineyard and a Blueberry farm in Maryland.
We have propagated some of our own trees. It creates a whole new farm which we don’t have time to maintain. It is more time/cost effective to buy from the pros. Deer are an issue. Letting the dogs out is the best we can do, plus hoping for success during hunting season. I have started many blueberries on my own. Good luck with all your fruit.
I have to ask as started out with 400 trees last year. What is the best advice for keeping weeds/grass cut.
We tried for years to cut the grass and weeds. You really have to stay consistent until the dry season around here. That is months of mowing. We finally gave up and spray herbicide to keep as much weeds and grass out as we can.
One option you can look at is Sheep. Some breeds will avoid spruce/fir as they are not as desirable to eat as are the weeds/grass. The fencing costs (or labour if using electric fence) can add up quick though.
Hey! Quick question! We are thinking about starting a Christmas tree farm and have been watching a lot of your videos! We have a piece of property that has a high water table so it has very wet soil! Is it worth starting to plant trees there, or what would you recommend due to wetness?
Thorntons tree farm. Biggest ucut in our area did field drain tiling to lower the water table. He said it helped. How wet is the soil? If it constantly is soggy or puddling you will have a problem.
@@FlanaganHomestead Tiling is very expensive and may be illegal if the property is deemed to be wetlands.
I’m interested in doing this! With having a business do you have to have your LLC? Special insurance if someone gets injured or hurt on your property?
We do not have an LLC. We definitely should and are planning to get that done. We have been planning to get it done for years. We do have extra insurance on the farm.
If you ever have time for a call let me know! I’d love to pick your brain! I’m in Oregon.
Hey Rob, I’m back. Yes I want to start a farm. I’m in Kansas and want to my first order to be 3000 trees for delivery in about a year. What kind of tree(s) do you think I should order (gets really hot out here. Will have to water)? Who would you order from? Any help on this would be 100% appreciated. Thanks brother!
I would love to give you advice on which trees to plant. But even within our state you would want to plant different trees based on where you live. I think the best advice I can give you is find the two closest tree farms to where you are at and find out what trees they are planting and at what percentage. For example I am 70% noble 20 grand fir and 10 doug
How many trees canyon plant on one acre? Why is the spacing? Thank you for your video
The tightes you should plant trees is 5 feet by 5 feet apart. You can get 1700 trees to an acre at that spacing For ease of care and getting through rows 5 and a half feet or 6 feet apart is better. I would not plant wider than 6 feet apart, if you do you will be wasting field space. at 6 feet by 6 feet spacing you can get 1200 trees per acre.
How many acres do you have?
My brain is block 🧠
Off topic here, but Looking for anyones opinion here,,, im thinking of not spraying round up between my tree rows next spring/summer and replanting grass seed... I feel bare dirt causes more weeds to sneek through.. but if i plant new grass seed and let grass grow, it will chokeout the weeds, and i will only need to spray a herbicide/round up circle around each tree only... Does my theroy sound right? Is anybody out there doing it this way?? I feel i make more weed work formyself by killing ALL the grass in my tree rows,,, my walkways are grass though.... anybody else doing it this way?? Indiana,USA
Many people do this. Grow grass and just do band spaying. We considered it ourself. We’re going to do a grass that stays shorter so we wouldn’t have to mow as much.
If I recall they kill the grass because the tree will grow faster. It has nothing todo with weed control.
@@greenfin7516 the tree will grow faster if the grass and all the weeds around it’s root system are gone. The tree gets more moisture and nutrient longer. If you have a strip of grass in the middle of the row it does help keep weeds from getting established. Also nice for ucut customers on a wet weekend.
Curious ive been considering wood chips arpund my new transplants n smaller trees to help with weed control. Any experience with that? I know labor intense but i feel like im loosing trees and bottom growth from grass/weeds choking them out.