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Baby Canaan firs in the Northern Pines Nursery greenhouse in Michigan.
Toward the end of July, we traveled to Michigan for the National Christmas Tree Association meeting just south of Cadillac. The meeting brought Christmas tree producers from across North America to Northern Pines Nursery and Dutchman Tree Farms for sessions on tree production, irrigation, marketing, and more.
A few attendees from the UK were familiar with grazing Shropshire sheep in trees, and we gained some new ideas from them. There were competitions for National Grand Champion Christmas Tree (the winner presents the official White House Christmas Tree!) and wreath decorating, and the trade show featured machinery rarely seen in our part of the world, specialty equipment used for spraying trees or planting.
One of the tours took us through the nursery’s greenhouse. More than two million baby pine, spruce, and fir grew in large plastic trays under two acres of glass.
The greenhouse at Northern Pines Nursery.
It was neat to see the type of environment where our Canaan firs and concolor firs began their journey to becoming Christmas trees.
After one growing season in the greenhouse, these tiny trees will be moved into planting beds. These trees are usually planted by several people riding on a specialized wagon. Our tour exhibited a newly developed automation system for the planting process. A hydraulic transplanter attachment on a tractor plants entire trays of trees from the greenhouse quickly, efficiently, and effortlessly.
A TTS transplanter imported from the Netherlands attached to a New Holland tractor. Only one operator is required to load and operate the unit, in addition to the driver.
This video shows the transplanter in action:
Once the trees have been planted and they’ve grown a bit, here’s what they look like. There are tens of thousands of trees stretched across this field.
A planting bed packed with trees almost ready to be lifted and shipped.
The trees will remain in their planting beds for a year or two. Once they reach a foot or more in size, they will be lifted from the ground and prepped for shipment to farms, stores, and landscapers across the country.
It was amazing to step away from our trees for a bit and see tree farms on an entirely different scale, as well as the process for starting our own trees’ journeys.
Thanks for Reading!
And I hope you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead with this moment preserved in picture and prose. Consider:
What is your favorite kind of tree?
Share your answer and this newsletter with someone who puts up a real Christmas tree for the holidays.
If Sylvan Sundays was forwarded to you, welcome! To learn more about our farmers, check out “A New Year’s Introduction,” and to learn more about our name, visit “Being Sylvan.” Also, make sure to check out “This Week on the Farm” and “Farm Shop” below!
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This Week on the Farm
Ground prep for next year’s Christmas tree planting was delayed by strong winds—we weren’t able to spray in the field. We’ve also been putting up new paddocks for the SGL and new occupants expected to arrive today!
Farm Shop
Stickers were a hit last week! In case you missed it, we’re featuring Light in Winter artist, Lydia! She has opened a sticker shop showcasing characters from her own storytelling. Light in Winter characters Snacking Llama and Gandalf the Ram are also featured!
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