The business of Christmas is year-round for tree farmers

"I just have fond memories as a child lying underneath the tree, even with the lights on, and just sort of drifting away," said Andy Brown about his love for Christmas trees. He's a Christmas tree farmer who runs Creag Creek Farm with his family. While the holiday means a lot on our own plates at home — ham, potatoes, pie — Christmas tree farmers' plates stay stacked when the season wraps up. "People see us in November and December, but there's a lot of work that takes place from January on until November," said Brown. Leland Salyer opened a notebook where he had a list of tasks to begin for Emma B's Christmas Trees in Blountville. He runs the farm alongside his wife, Wanda. "After you asked what we do after the season, (Wanda and I) looked at each other and go, 'A lot,'" said Leland. The same goes for Steve Ayer, who runs Roan Valley Farms in Johnson City. He's set his roadmap for the months ahead. "I do have some plans laid out, you know, a planner, and pretty well know off the top of my head what I've got laid out to do," Ayer said. When households start to take down their Christmas lights and figure out what to do with their tree, farmers like Brown, Salyer and Ayer are preparing to have plenty ready for the next season. Preparing for next season Planting, fertilizing, weeding, mowing and more are all part of the preparation for Christmas season year-round. For Ayer's business, which supplied the White House's Christmas tree in 1993, the run-up to next Christmas will involve tree shearing, hand-clipping, and preparing fields for planting. Ayer is still recovering from some of last year's flood damage, too. The first three months of the year includes "a lot of work" for Brown, including spraying and planting. Brown applies insecticidal soap to keep insects away and makes sure to fertilize before "bud break" in March, when the winter dormancy period ends and growing season begins. All of the preparation is to make sure there's plenty of Fraser firs — trees native to the Southern Appalachian mountains — ready for those who want them. At Emma B's Christmas Trees, about 1,000 to 1,500 new different trees were hand-planted this year. Salyer said the farm now has about 4,000 to 5,000 in the ground, work that's accumulated since 2018. This upcoming season will be the first "choose and cut" operation for them, where customers choose their tree, and they cut. Nowadays Roan Valley Farms has about 100,000 trees at a time. They run choose-and-cut operations, where people can acquire a tree fresh from the farm. They also sell precut trees, which they cut on a weekly basis to try and keep them fresh. "We always sort of went the extra mile with a lot of things, and that always being what was keeping a fresh tree," Ayer said of his family-run operation. The farm, founded by his father, Wayne, has been in business for 60 years. Leftover, pre-cut trees have "never been an issue." "More times than not, we sell down to zero," he said. "That issue really never comes into play hardly for us, with just a few trees, and that's a good thing." Keeping more roots in the ground can allow for trees to grow another year, for the next holiday season, too, lowering the chance for it to head to the landfill. "I try to minimize how many I cut," said Brown. "I would rather that tree be left alive in the farm, in the field for next year, because a 6-foot tree will turn into an 8-foot tree next year." Ways to repurpose a tree Ten million Christmas trees end up in landfills every year, according to the Nature Conservancy. About 2,000 trees — this year, about 5 to 9 feet tall — grow at a time at Creag Creek Farm. At the end of this holiday season, the Browns had three pre-cut trees that they didn't sell. Instead of tossing them in the landfill, this year's leftover trees became decorations in their yard. When the needles browned and began to drop, the tree became kindling for their fireplaces. There are other avenues for repurposing a Christmas tree once the season is done. Kindling isn't the only option — trees can have their new home in lakes and creeks, where dropping a tree in would be permitted. "It can be a really good habitat," said Brown. "I would pay attention to where you do it. If you have a creek on your property, it's probably okay to do it in your own pond." Emma B's has sold pre-cut Christmas trees from North Carolina farmers. This year, there was none left. When there are leftovers, they become feed for neighboring goats. "If you have friends with goats, take (the trees) to them, because goats love that," said Salyer, who does just that. Trees are also compostable and can be mulched with a woodchipper. "That's the great thing about these trees. Everything is reusable," Brown said.