Starting out as a Christmas Tree grower?

conorm89

Hi all,

Final year Horticulture student, looking to this as a possible job on the side. I've pretty much indulged myself in information on the topic in the past few months, but I'm still lacking in bits and pieces.

I would be very grateful if anyone who knows anything about this topic to post here - any help whatsoever is greatly appreciated! Is there any grants available for someone who wishes to establish such a plantation?

Thanks in advance

*PS - I know there is a grant for people under 35 who wish to establish a nursery, but I don't know if this idea would qualify

Ellis Dee

It's a while since I had any involvement with trees, but then they didn't give grants for Christmas trees. I suppose the rationale was that they will start yielding revenue in six or seven years time, unlike other kinds that will have to grow for many decades. But make a few phone calls and see if anything has changed.

One piece of advice that I can give, though, is make sure you will be able to protect the trees once they are big enough, or nearly big enough to be sold. There have been several examples in recent years of biggish plantations in this part of the world being cut down and stolen overnight.

My own trees (sitka spruce and douglas fir) had a lucky escape a few years ago when they were about two metres tall. Fortunately, a vigilant neighbour of mine spotted a Hiace van and a couple of fellows acting suspiciously on my land. They beat it when he drove over towards them.

Good luck with the tree growing, and don't let some greedy swine reap the benefits of your years of work.

conorm89

Thanks for the prompt response and advice Ellis, much appreciated. Shotgun at the ready!

oats 2

this a tough game to be involved.have 3acres planted in 2006/07.better off
with 30 acres because you need the machinery etc for 3 acres same as 30.
as you are prob well aware chemicals are continusely being taken off the
market so weed control is becoming a major problem.some large scale growers are starting to invest in small machines for cutting the weeds manually.this [weeds] has being the constant thorn in our sides since we started so you must research this well.have you joined the irish x mass 3 growers association.imo you should def contact them an come to field days next summer to experience the industry.
all i can say is if you are considering this as a job on the side think again.
they are a constant an difficult task from planting to selling.need a major
amount of time to get the top grade tree.if you dont get the quaility it will
be a fruit less exercise.
if i was back in 2006 again would i plant trees?
definatly would of investigated the business a lot more.time is the hardest to
find.any other technical questions i would be happy to try help you.the quality an gradient of your site is most important.