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> Features > Pg 2 Feature Stories > Tree farms survive wild 2011 weather
Tree farms survive wild 2011 weather |
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While the Radebaugh’s Christmas Tree Farm property in Wilbraham is surrounded by trees felled by this summer’s tornado and microburst, the farm’s Christmas tree harvest is expected to be strong.
Reminder Publications photo by Chris Maza
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Dec. 5, 2011
By Chris Maza
Reminder Assistant Editor
GREATER SPRINGFIELD — For many in the farming industry, 2011 was a rough year.
A tornado, microbursts, extreme heat, Tropical Storm Irene and a freak October snowstorm have all posed a risk to farmers who rely on successful yields during the harvesting months.
Count Christmas tree farms among those fortunate enough to make it through one of the toughest years weather-wise in recent memory. Most Christmas tree farms opened for business as usual on the day after Thanksgiving and owners told Reminder Publications they were as busy as ever.
But that doesn’t mean they haven’t faced their share of challenges.
For folks like Joseph Radebaugh, owner of Radebaugh’s Christmas Tree Farms, this year’s extreme weather has been prominent in his mind.
“One of our farms was right in tornado alley,” Radebaugh said.
Radebaugh owns two farms — one on Route 181 in Belchertown and another on Stony Hill Road in Wilbraham, dangerously close to the June 1 tornado’s path and directly in the area where one of the July 26 microbursts struck.
“We had some damage, but all-in-all, I think we were pretty lucky,” he said.
The Wilbraham location was able to open on schedule the day after Thanksgiving along with the Belchertown farm and despite the damage, he said he anticipates a strong season, thanks to a decision he recently made.
“The Wilbraham farm used to be open through the entire week, but recently we decided to only open that one on weekends and keep [the Belchertown location] open all week,” he said. “It was a decision we were putting off and putting off, but we finally did it. We actually have a bigger farm here, so even with the damage, we’re probably going to have a better year.”
Radebaugh, who is the president of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association (MCTA), said that he and others in the association have been concerned about many aspects of this year’s weather, starting early in January.
“It goes back to that really heavy snow we had at the beginning of the year,” he said. “Especially with younger trees, if there is a fork in the branches, it can snap pretty easily. Especially if you’re trying to train a tree to grow straight, then something snaps, it takes a while to train it a different way, otherwise you end up with a crooked tree.”
However, for most established trees, whether it falls in January or in October as it did recently, snow is not a major issue, according to Susan Lopes, owner of Chicopee’s Paul Bunyan’s Farm and Nursery, another MCTA member.
“The way the trees are shaped and the fact that they don’t have leaves make them perfectly prepared for that kind of weather,” Lopes explained. “We specialize in Fraser firs, which also have very rigid branches, so they can withstand a decent amount of weight. People like them because they can hang their heavier ornaments on them.”
Between the tornado and the microbursts this summer, there was a period of time when temperatures soared into the high-90s and even touched the low 100s.
“That kind of weather can stress trees and stunt their growth,” Lopes said. “These trees don’t grow as full as they are naturally. We have to train them and a lot of times the younger growth that helps fill in the tree can lose its needles, so it was something we had to keep an eye on.”
Some farms were more affected by the heat than others. For Coward Farms in Southwick, also an MCTA farm, the heat was not nearly the issue it was at other locations.
“We are fortunate because we have our own irrigation system, so we were able to make sure the younger trees stayed watered,” Theresa Coward, who owns the farm with her husband John, said. “We only had to irrigate the young ones because the big ones were able to retain enough moisture until it rained again.”
Heat has also been a bit of a challenge for farmers recently as unseasonably warm weather has continued into December.
“It can be a problem because we also make our own wreaths,” Coward said. “People want their wreaths as fresh as possible, but with the heat we’ve had lately, it’s been hard to keep them from drying out too quickly.”
While the Christmas tree season lasts only a few short weeks, Coward cautioned against people thinking that the month of December is the only important one to tree farmers.
“People don’t realize what goes into growing a tree. You can’t just put a tree in the ground and expect it to grow on its own,” she said, explaining the process starts in March with the removal of stumps from the previous harvest and continues with planting, mowing and trimming throughout the rest of the year. Dealing with the weather associated with the seasons is all part of the process.
“When there were those 100-degree days, we were out there working,” she said.
Radebaugh, Lopes and Coward all pointed to the Fraser fir as the most popular Christmas tree available, due to its shape, its strong branches and soft needles.
“It’s also the one that keeps its needles the longest,” Radebaugh said. “People rave about it and tell me their trees still had all their needles when they put them out by the road [after the holidays].”
The blue spruce is a favorite among animal owners because its prickly needles deter pets from playing with the tree, while the balsam fir remains a traditional favorite and in some places, the concolor fir has recently become more popular, according to Coward. She added the Douglas fir is a very nice, unique tree with a citrus scent, but it is prone to disease and tend to be small.
For more information on Christmas tree farms in Massachusetts, including directions and hours of operation, visit the MCTA website at www.christmas-trees.org.
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