Vaughn: A visit to a Christmas tree farm in Augusta
Richmond County isn’t overloaded with farmers like a lot of our neighboring counties, especially for traditional agriculture like row crops and dairy farms. We do have a few large producers, but for the most part we could stereotype agriculture in Augusta as lots of trees and landscapes.
A farmer I visited this week was somewhat unique because he only has 8 acres under production, but his crop is highly sought after this time of year. Mr. Gay is in his 21st year of growing Christmas trees right here in the middle of Augusta.
I have piddled with Christmas trees over the years in capacities other than purchasing and hanging ornaments on them. My buddy Scott Smith’s dad had a Christmas tree farm that Dr. Smith and his three sons operated for a while and sold trees over at Walton’s Corner for years for some extra cash. Scott and I loved to mess around on the farm hunting, camping and running beagles. Another time, I actually spent part of a morning (that was supposed to be a couple of days) helping trim Christmas trees for Mason’s Tree Farm until I tried to cut my finger off with this samurai sword they used to prune their Christmas bounty. A trip to the emergency room for stiches got me out of the rest of that hot August day’s work.
Gay’s Christmas Tree Farm is a unique experience. I wasn’t there this time to buy a tree, but to talk to Mr. Gay about what it really takes to run a working Christmas tree farm. And I had about 500 questions for him. We spent about 45 minutes walking around and him sharing his experiences of growing this holiday staple. I knew it was hard work and Mr. Gay agreed that it was time consuming, but he obviously loves what he does.
I want to share some of what it takes to operate a working Christmas tree farm. Obviously, you need land. Gay has 8 acres in production. Next you need trees. They don’t just go into the ground by themselves. Mr. Gay prepped the land by running a subsoiler, added tons and tons of lime (because he listens and takes soil samples), graded the planting area, staked the placement of the trees in a strategic row, hired kids from a local FFA and planted the trees. The trees come in one-gallon pots and have to be planted in just the right way being careful not to leave air pockets. Air pockets will dry the tree and they will croak. Spacing is about 7 feet by 7 feet which means about 900-950 trees per acre. Getting plants into the ground is hard enough work, but you also get to take care of the trees for four years before you can even harvest one. And in between, you have to take intimate care of each one of these potential December only living room pleasers.
Gay’s grows two kinds of trees, the Matthews cypress and the Carolina Sapphire cypress (also orders other types of trees yearly from out of state to satisfy some other demands). They are usually pretty fast growers, but they have to be trimmed. Twice a year, Mr. Gay puts on this backpack trimmer that looks like you could fly with and whirls around every tree on the farm. The math says 950 trees per acres at 8 acres times two yearly pruning’s equals 15,200 trims a year. He does this all by himself. You also have to do weed control under the trees so you don’t risk your mower hitting the trunks and damaging the plant. You have to regularly apply fungicides to keep the leaf blights from attacking. Ever want to buy a Christmas tree with some brown leaves on it? Add in fertilizers, removing stumps from previous year’s harvest and daily irrigation, you have what most would refer to as work.
Mr. Gay’s Christmas tree farm is agriculture and I am proud that he is operating in my hometown. He has local kids working for him seasonally and operates his place like a farm but also makes it is tourist destination. Buying your annual Christmas tree locally is hard to beat when you get to add Gay’s free popcorn, hot chocolate, bonfires and Christmas music on the loudspeaker. So, to Mr. Gay and his family, thanks for this week’s experience.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Campbell Vaughn: A visit to a Christmas tree farm in Augusta
