A Michigan Christmas Tree Farm Reports on Earth Day:

Planting the Little Rascals

‘Really Green and No Carbon Footprint’

 Have you wondered about all the talk about green jobs, green cars, green buildings green this and green that?  Have you noticed all the people joining the cause, thinking it is just the greatest?  Well, bless them but they are almost all late comers.  We folks growing Christmas trees on our farms were green before people knew what green was.  Oh, do not forget the other big buzz, the ‘carbon footprint.’  On a Christmas tree farm, the trees make oxygen and consume CO2, so the carbon footprint is as small as it gets. 

 Even better, on Earth Day, we planted several hundred trees.  Do you know of anybody who can top that?  Read on to learn more about planting day and what is like to be real ‘green.’

 Warren Homestead Christmas Tree Farm is a family operation.  We decided to grow and sell Christmas trees because the sandy land could not be used profitably for anything else.  The glamour of a Christmas tree farm stops at the driveway.  However, there is an occasional copycat grower who tries his hand at growing.  If they passed 5^th grade math they can quickly calculate the years of spending money before earning even one dollar makes it a bad business investment.  Hay, potatoes, almost anything is more profitable.  But, we will start our story at the beginning, planting the little rascals, Earth Day, 2009.

 The planters, high school and college aged, are to arrive at the farm today at 4pm.  They are my Cousin Kent’s kids Ember Eddy and her brother Stephen, neighbors Brad and Mike Milkowski with one of their nearby cousin Jim Campbell.  Together we will plant the almost 2000 seedling I purchased from a Michigan nursery.  With luck, the weather will hold and we will get all the seedlings into the ground before the forecast rains come and make soup out of the cool but still dry earth.

 Preparation for planting consists of marking the rows with a homemade marker.  The field was marked days ago in anticipation of arrival of seedlings and the planter crew.  Once in the field, Brad takes the earth auger and begins drilling holes.   The first few go quickly but he soon begins to slow, sweating heavily.  When he stops to cool, I already have the planters with trees in their buckets planting right behind him.  He takes a quick drink of water from the cooler and fires up the auger. It is clear it will be a hard day for Brad.

 I give the planters a 1, 2, 3 planting lesson and cut them loose.  I plan to let them plant a few before I do a repeat lesson.  It is something they have to do before they really understand the instructions.  I will continue to coach throughout the planting campaign.

 Ember is always ahead of the boys, consistent, and does it all with ease.  Is there a lesson here?  I think so but am not sure what it is.  My daughter Whitney would be quick to repeat her statement, “If you want it done right and done quickly, hire a girl.”  Her brother Chris would be a quick to take another view.  However, they both know this is a labor-intensive activity; just a lot of hard work.  A surprise to me, our best workers have been strait A students, College Professors, Physicists, and the like.  Back to the work at hand of the planters, CLICK HERE to get Ember’s inside view from one of the planting crew.

 By dark, we have made good headway.  The muddy planters are happy to toss their muddy gloves in the bucket and log their time on the pay sheet.  I thank them and offer encouragement.  “We only have 800 to do tomorrow and the weather is forecast to be sunny and warm.”

 The next afternoon, the weather is indeed sunny and too warm, 81°F.  Brad, running the earth auger, is sweating a lot and the planters are keeping him going at almost full speed.  Time grinds on and a few of the newly hatching insects start to pester the sweaty planters.  Fortunately, we finish a little early just as my wife Jennifer arrives in the field with some very chocolaty brownies.  Now, how is one to eat a sticky brownies with muddy hands?  We find a way; the brownies are great.

 As the crew leaves, I begin the clean up of the buckets and package all the trash.  Another planting is finished.  Now I get to pour time and money into those trees for another 7 years.  However, the trees are making oxygen and consuming CO2.  Is this what being green is all about?  OK, but I am not overly excited.  However, I am thankful we finished before the rains came.  We received almost 2” in an overnight downpour.  Yes, I am very thankful.