It’s a Wrap!

It’s the end of another season and thousands of Hart-T-Tree Farms trees have graced the home of Americans across the country.  It takes a lot of work to harvest and sell our trees, but we love what we do.  We love knowing that our hard work means that families everywhere will enjoy a beautiful, fragrant Christmas tree during the holiday season.

What is it about a Christmas tree that is so joyful?  So reminiscent of home and hearth, hope and health?  They transform any room, grand or modest, into a magical wonderland, full of beauty, possibility, and merriment.  When the tree is trimmed and the lights are lit, everything seems right with the world.  And as we sit there, bathed in it’s ethereal glow, the ugliness of the world seems to melt away and we remember that peace and joy can and do abound.

From our family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years and we hope that the spirit of Christmas remains with you throughout the year.

Fraser Fir Collection: More Fragrance for Floridians

New for this holiday season — Fraser Fir scented aromatic candles, votives, decorative sachets, and triple-milled soap by Thymes.  We discovered this amazing collection at our sister store in the city, Gethsemane Garden Center, and thought we would bring it to Florida.  After all, who more than Floridians could use an extra dose of evergreen during the holidays?

“There’s no doubt our sense of smell is one of our most powerful and persuasive senses, intimately inked to our memories and moods.  The Thymes Home Fraser Fir Fragrance collection lets you conjure forth those pleasing times and vibrant emotions from the very air around you–any time you like.  More than just pretty scents, our nature-inspired fragrances are carefully formulated using the hightest quality ingredients. They use food grade paraffin so fragrances remail truer, bloom more brilliantly and burn cleaner.  All this caring and quality allow you to find the ideal scent to heighten any occasion, enhance any decor, and make your home a more welcoming place for all who join you there.”   – Thymes

Purchase a Fraser Fir candle or soap at any Hart-T-Tree Farms retail location.  Perfect as stocking stuffers or hostess gifts, this collection will fill your home with Christmas cheer!

Find a Hart-T-Tree Farms retail location!

Pelotas: A Merry and Mindful Christmas

In December of 2009, my husband and I were interning at a church in Olympia, WA. We met a man, Chuck Marchand, who had recently been on a missions trip to the western mountains of Guatemala. He told us about the Mayan families that live there and the hardships they faced. Then he showed us the beautiful, handmade pelotas crafted by the women in these small mountain villages.

Chuck told us that many of the women in these villages were abandoned by their husbands or widowed and were raising their children alone. Others had husbands who could not find work or could not earn enough money. They started making these ornaments as a way to work at home and support their families. It took them all day to make one pelota and the sale of it here in the United States provided enough food for two days.

Very excited, I told Chuck that my parents had a retail Christmas tree business in southeast Florida and that these beautiful and festive pelotas would be a perfect fit. Within the week, Chuck shipped a box of pelotas to Florida and we sold every single one of them. In 2010, Chuck shipped even more and the money raised from the sale of the pelotas through Hart-T-Tree Farms paid for 42,000 lbs of food to be shipped to the Mayan villages in Guatemala.

If you’re on one of our retail lots, take a close look at the pelotas. They are exquisite. Hand-beaded, not glued. And each one comes with a story about the woman who made it. A story like this one from Ana Aju de Sac:

Hola! I am Ana Aju de Sac. My daughter Lesby and I make colorful beaded balls. We are 8 family members living in a small tin home 5,000-ft in the volcanic mountains of western Guatemala. Our Mayan family has hard workers. Our two oldest sons and their father look for work in the fields. There is just not a lot of work and it is hard to buy food, clothe my children & get medical care. I have to squint to make them because of poor vision but, the income is important for our family so I endure the pain. I dream of my children having a good education and a profession. My desire is to have a piece of land for my family & I work for that dream. Know we are praying for you during the year. My favorite verse is Matthew 4:22. Ana

As Chuck likes to say (via writer and theologian Frederick Buechner), “Your calling is where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep needs.” Enjoy the Christmas holiday. It is a wonderful time to celebrate family, friends, and the blessings in our life. However, don’t forget those that are not as fortunate as we are. Even in the midst of an economic depression, we have far more resources than many others across the world. Be merry and mindful this Christmas season!

For more information about this grassroots ministry (formerly known as Mercy Tree), visit Faith Harvest Helpers.  You can also watch this informative video on You Tube.

What’s with the tags?

Each year, people ask us — what’s with the different color tags?  What do they mean?

It’s a very good question.  And they do mean something.

Each summer, the trees that will be harvested in November and December are tagged in the field according to height and quality.  We trudge up and down the mountainside with long poles and a tagging pouch filled with 10-15 different colored tags.  We use the poles to measure height — which is fairly straightforward.  But then, we have to step back and look at the tree as a whole.  Is it “perfect” enough to be a Premium or #1?  Or does it have a few flaws and should be considered a #2?  Some don’t make the “grade” at all and are tagged to be used as wreath material.

What’s the difference between a Premium or #1 and a #2?  Premiums/#1s are perfect trees (or very close to perfect).  Seconds are wonderful trees as well (and just as fresh).  They just might be less dense or have a hole on one side.  Nothing too awful, just not premium.

Budget Tip:  If you want a farm fresh Christmas tree this holiday season, but need to watch your wallet, try a second (#2).  Great trees at a value price!

Christmas on a Budget

For those of us that need to watch our pennies, Christmas can be a daunting time.  But the holiday doesn’t need to be a budget-buster.  Here’s a few simple ideas for a budget-friendly Christmas.

1.  Homemade Gifts:  Generally, food is always appreciated.  Go to the dollar store and buy some cheap holiday tins or boxes and fill them with homemade cookies, brownies or some other yummy treat.  If you want to do something more healthy, make homemade trail mix or granola.  A little can go a long way.  Another favorite idea: Melt chocolate in the microwave or in a double-boiler and dip the end of a plastic spoon in the chocolate.  Then dip it in crushed peppermint candy.  Let dry.  Put a couple of spoons in a dollar-store mug with a packet of hot chocolate mix.  Shrink wrap or bag and add a bow.

2.  Simple Decorating:  Fill vases, trays, or bowls with cheap ornaments, cranberries, or Christmas candy.  You can also use pinecones, twigs or greenery from your yard.  Float candles in water dyed with food coloring.  Tie pillows or towels with ribbon.  Frame and hang squares of wrapping paper.  Display Christmas cards.

3.  Easy Homemade Ornaments:  Wrap wire ribbon around a pencil, remove the pencil and hang on the tree with ornament hangers.  Use ribbon to hang paper doilies, Christmas cookie cutters, foil covered chocolate coins, nickel frames filled with wrapping paper scraps, or spray-painted pinecones.  Hanging long strands of cheap ribbon from the top of the tree can make a big splash with hardly any expensive.

4.  Christmas Cards:  Use electronic cards.  Or make your own using last year’s Christmas cards or card stock and a simple stamp.  Thoughtful notes are more important than the card itself.

Another cost-effective idea?  Consider decreasing your gift giving.  How many of us need another knick-knack lying around the house anyway?  Trim your gift list or lower your spending limit.  It’s the thought that counts, not the gift!

Christmas Tree = A Crop with a Purpose

In this day and age, it can be very difficult to imagine chopping down a tree — for any reason.  It seems wrong and wasteful.  And so sad.

Today, I watched our crew harvest a field near my house.  At first, the sight of so many fallen trees tugged at my heartstrings and I had to look away.  It was difficult to see these trees, trees that I had watched grow for many years, littered across the now barren field.

But then something occured to me.  These trees were planted, years ago, to become Christmas trees.  By being harvested, these trees were fulfilling their purpose.  They were living into their calling.  And what better calling?  How wonderful is it to be a Christmas tree?  To be the centerpiece of someone’s Christmas season?  To be lovingly decorated and to bring a sense of joy and warmth and home and hearth?

Not too shabby an ending!

So I was reminded that a Christmas tree is a crop.  Planted to be harvested.  But….a special crop with a very special and even noble purpose.

There’s a lesson in that somewhere……something about death bringing life?  Like a catepillar turning into a butterfly or a forest fire paving the way for new growth?  I’ll let ya’ll chew on it…..

Just remember to recycle your Christmas tree after the holidays.  That way, it remains a part of the circle of life!

Check out Earth911.com to find a Christmas tree recycling center near you.

A Pre-Christmas Controversy: Christmas Tree Tax

Yesterday and today, various media sites have been chattering about the “Christmas Tree Tax”.  A few people have e-mailed me with questions about it, so here’s the 411 from the perspective of a Christmas tree grower.

The “Christmas Tree Tax” is not an actual tax, but a commodity “checkoff” program stipulated under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 and overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The commodity checkoff program collects funds from producers of a particular agricultural commodity and uses these funds to promote and do research on the commodity.  Organizations must promote their commodity in a generic way, without reference to a particular producer.  Commodity checkoff programs include: “Got Milk?”, “Beef, It’s what’s for dinner”, “Pork: The Other White Meat”, and “The Incredible, Edible Egg”.

There is controversy surrounding commodity checkoff programs and the way they influence the American diet and how food products are produced (for example), but they are also an attempt to help farmers come together and market their goods.

In the last few years, Christmas tree farmers have faced tremendous competition from the artificial tree industry.  Since there are a considerably smaller number of artificial tree manufacturers, it has been easier for the artificial tree industry to unite and promote their product.  The real Christmas tree industry, on the other hand, is made up of hundreds of small farmers and it has been difficult for these farmers to come together to create an adequately-funded, consistent national marketing effort.

Christmas tree growers believe that the artificial tree industry has been able to spread false information, leading the American public to believe that artificial trees are safer, greener, and better for the American economy.  Since 2009, growers have been working to find a way to spread their own message, that they believe it is the exact opposite:  real trees are safer, greener and better for the American economy (see my article discussing real vs. artifical trees for more information).  They believe the commodity checkoff program will give them an opportunity to do just that.

More than 70% of the growers that submitted comments to the USDA and 90% of the state and multi-state associations that represent the Christmas tree industry were in favor of the program.  The program will be funded by growers (who sell 500+ trees) and administered by an independent 12-member board of small business owners who grow and sell farm-grown Christmas trees.  The program is not expected to have any impact on the final price consumers pay for their Christmas tree.

Betty Malone, a Christmas tree farmer in Oregon, wrote a thoughtful post on the National Christmas Tree Association’s blog, Tree Talk, about the Christmas tree checkoff program that is well worth reading as well.

For more information, see the following:

• National Christmas Tree Association Statement on New Christmas Tree Checkoff Program (November 9, 2011)
• “Christmas tree tax to promote the real thing” in the Chicago Tribune (November 9, 2011).
• “Christmas tree farmers hope ads will stem growth of artificial trees” by Michael Doyle in the Miami Herald (November 8, 2011)

For more information about the USDA Commodity Checkoff Program, you can visit the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service website.