You Cut Christmas Tree Farms
Establishing a “You Cut Christmas Tree Farm” on your property is one way to make money from your home. There are some principles for making a success of this venture. Of course you need to have enough space to grow high quality trees and keep them healthy. It is best if this space is relatively level ground and not littered with rocks or debris from other trees.
For these reasons, you will start the business with clearing the land. Hardwood trees are nuisance weeds around young conifers and have to be cut out when they sprout. They often come back, so cutting out the sprouts is an ongoing part of maintaining a Christmas tree lot.
Your you cut Christmas tree farm can be more profitable if you are able to have a shop on the premises in which you sell related items. For instance, you could offer hand-crafted ornaments or other holiday decorations. You could offer tree stands or chemicals for keeping the tree fresh. Gourmet hot cocoa mixes, gift baskets, and fragrant fireplace firestarters would also be good things to offer.
Many of these could be hand-crafted to keep down investment costs. In fact, these items could be crafted from materials grown and harvested in your own woodlot! For example, firestarters can be made from pine-cones, and so can attractive decorations.
Cutting a Christmas tree is a popular family outing and a wonderful time to make memories. A successful you cut farm will keep this in mind. Would it be possible to have a horse-drawn sleigh, complete with jingling bells, to carry people to the trees? Many families would pay well for an experience like this. Even offering hot cocoa or mulled hot apple cider would enhance the experience.
There are a number of practical considerations with a you cut farm. For instance, will you provide saws? Will you provide advice on safety in cutting and hauling the tree? Can you get liability insurance so you are covered in the event of an accident?
Finally, location is an important factor in operating a Christmas tree farm or lot in which you expect customers to come to you. The farther you are located from a city of considerable size, the less business you will probably do. Studies have shown that most people do not want to drive more than three or four miles to get their Christmas tree. If you provide a charming shop, wagon rides, or other perks, they may be willing to drive farther.
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