Oklahoma growers want their trees to be a part of your holiday season.

Oklahoma growers want
their trees to be a part of
your holiday season.
By Mike Nichols
8 • Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008
While you may not have started your Christmas shopping and other
preparations, a small group of Oklahomans has been busy since last
year’s Yuletide with its efforts directed toward December 25, 2008.
The 27 member-growers of the Oklahoma Christmas Tree
Association (OCTA) hope a tree from one of their “choose and cut”
farms will be the centerpiece of your holiday decorations.
Those producers should have more than 6,500 fresh, Oklahomagrown trees available for this year’s Christmas season.
Sequoyah County Farm Bureau member Matt Jarvis serves as vice
president of the OCTA, and this Christmas season will be the second he
and his family will have trees ready for harvest.
“OCTA is working hard to promote Oklahoma-grown Christmas
trees,” said Matt, whose operation is located near Muldrow about 5 1/2
miles north of Interstate 40 on state Highway 64-B.
“We’re all so spread out that we’re not really competitors. We help each
other by sharing information and learning from each others’ mistakes.”
Julie and Matt,
who reside north
of Muldrow, are
members of
Sequoyah County
Farm Bureau.
The Christmas
tree growers can
be reached by
telephone at
918-427-5913.
Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008 • 9
Matt’s tree plot occupies only a small portion of his 10 acres, but
contains hundreds of pines and cypresses in perfectly straight rows
stretching from the east to the west.
“We only had 100 trees ready last year, and we sold every one of
them. We’ll have 250 ready this year.”
Matt is a native of Rush Springs, and toiled in the watermelon
patches there as a young man. He relocated to the Fort Smith, Ark.,
area after graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1996 with a
degree in management information systems.
He is employed by ABF Freight in Fort Smith and writes
computer programs to support the freight transportation business.
“That’s my day job,” said Matt. “It allows me to come out here.”
Matt and his wife, Julie, who is a nurse, and their three sons,
Justin, 12, Jonathan, 11, and Jacob, 9, moved to the Sequoyah
THINK YOU MIGHT LIKE to become a Christmas tree grower?
Members of the Oklahoma Christmas Tree Association (OCTA)
welcome new growers into their fold.
“There is room for more growers in Oklahoma. We’re trying to promote
the growing of trees,” said Matt Jarvis, OCTA vice president. “We’re
working with OSU.”
You can visit the association at okchristmastree.com and find
information about becoming a member and starting your own farm.
Craig McKinley, a professor and Extension Forestry specialist at
Oklahoma State University, works closely with the association and will
host a seminar for growers and potential growers Nov. 8 in Stillwater.
He said the seminar will begin at 9 a.m. and finish at 3 p.m. on campus
in Ag Hall, Room 014.
Some of the topics to be discussed include the history of the industry,
species selection, site preparation, planting and spacing, early care, site
maintenance, irrigation, pests and pesticide applications, shearing,
coloring, sales management, marketing, liability and insurance and
record keeping.
“Obviously, we can’t cover all topics in detail but I do plan to introduce
each of these topics to attendees,” said McKinley.
To register for the seminar or to obtain further information, call
McKinley at 405-744-8065.
Matt reviews information from the OSU Extension Service on growing
Christmas trees. He put in his first crop of seedling trees in 2004 and became
active in the Oklahoma Christmas Tree Association. Matt now serves as vice
president of the association.
10 • Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008
County countryside about five years ago after living in urban Fort Smith
for about seven years.
“We decided to move to the country. It’s better for the boys to
grow up in the country,” he said.
The Jarvis family always had real Christmas trees for the
holidays, and when Matt noticed an announcement for a meeting
of the state tree association he decided to attend.
After attending the meeting, he remembers that “we decided to go
ahead and try it.”
The family put in its first trees in February 2004. Their bareroot,
6- to 8-inch-tall Virginia and Scotch Pines were purchased from the
Oklahoma Forestry Department nursery near Golsby. Leyland Cypress
trees now in the lot are purchased in containers from a grower near
Little Rock, Ark.
Gophers almost doomed that first planting, gobbling up the trees
from their underground burrows and forcing Matt to become a trapper
to save his trees.
“I learned real quick how to trap gophers,” he remembers.
Admitting that “we didn’t know anything about it,” Matt and his
family learned quickly by trial and error plus lots of reading OCTA
manuals, visiting with other growers and attending Oklahoma State
University seminars.
One thing Matt learned was to abandon the Scotch Pines. They take
about eight years to mature, while the Virginia Pines and Leyland
Cypress are ready to harvest in four or five years.
The two-acre tree plot is a family affair. Matt does most of the
shearing of the trees with a saje – a motorized, backpack tool with a
6- to 7-foot-long bar used to shape and mold them into perfect
Christmas trees. Trees are sheared twice a year – the end of May and
early August – but if it’s really wet they’ll also get a “half shear” to keep
them in shape.
Everyone pitches in to help plant new trees and work during the
holiday season, and the boys keep the plot mowed. “The boys are a lot
Bottom: Evergreen Acres Tree Farm, located outside of
Muldrow, has about two acres of pine and cypress trees
planted. As many as 250 trees are expected to be
harvested this Christmas season.
Matt and Julie pose in front of the building that serves as
their holiday office. They also sell tree stands, wreaths,
decorations and candles made by Matt’s mother.
Shoppers also are treated to free hot chocolate and apple
cider while all children receive free candy canes.
Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008 • 11
IF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY PLAN to visit a Christmas tree farm to
select your holiday tree, the Oklahoma Christmas Tree Association
(OCTA) and the National Christmas Tree Association offer these hints for
selecting your tree.
• Measure the ceiling height in the room where the tree will be
displayed. Trees in a field tend to look small when the sky is the ceiling.
• Measure the width of the area of the room where the tree will be
displayed. Many trees on tree farms are trimmed to an 80 percent taper,
so a tree that’s 10 feet tall could be 8 feet wide at the bottom.
• Consider the decorating theme you plan to use. Some species have
more open foliage, stiffer branches or longer needles. Research the
characteristics of the different species on sites like
realchristmastrees.org.
• Find a farm near you that has the species you’re looking for.
When you get your new tree home, follow these tips:
• Place your tree in a bucket of water or your tree stand when you
arrive home. If you purchase your tree from a retail lot, make a fresh,
straight cut across the trunk about an inch up from the original cut
before placing it in water. Never let the container holding your tree dry
out or a seal will form and a new cut will be necessary. Fresh trees are
thirsty and may drink from a
pint to a gallon or more of
water each day, so water daily.
• Don’t add anything to the
tree’s water. Research has
shown that plain tap water is
by far the best. Some additives
and home concoctions can
actually be detrimental to a
tree’s moisture retention and
increase needle loss.
• Keep the tree well away
from heat registers, space
heaters, fireplaces, wood
stoves, televisions, computer
monitors and other heat
sources. These will speed up
evaporation and moisture loss
of the tree.
“A real tree will burn, but
no more than anything else,”
said OCTA Vice President Matt
Jarvis. “We stress to keep them
watered, and there won’t be
any problems. A fresh tree will
stay fresh through Christmas,
but if they run out of water
they will dry out.”
Matt stands next to a Leyland
Cypress tree that likely will find
its way into someone’s home for
Christmas 2008.
12 • Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008
of help,” says Matt. “That’s the main reason we’re doing this, the boys. I
wanted the boys to know how to work.
“We plant in February and March. When the grass starts growing you
need to keep up with mowing and spraying. That time is really busy, but
for the most part growing trees is not an everyday job.”
The area generally receives ample rainfall so they don’t irrigate, and
the fertile soil has yet to require any fertilizer. But there are herbicides
and pesticides that must be applied; however, Matt has a bunch of freerange chickens that help keep pesticide applications to a minimum.
“They grow pretty fast,” said Matt, “about a foot per year. You don’t
want them to grow too fast, so you have to restrict the top growth and
shape them. They just don’t grow on their own. I wish it was that easy.”
But, he is quick to add that “it’s relaxing to get out there after sitting
all day in front of a computer.”
One of the last chores he’ll do before the Christmas season is to
spray the pines with a green pigment in late September or early
October. The pines naturally begin to turn a bit yellow as fall
approaches, and the pigment keeps the trees at their natural deep
green color.
When the Christmas season gets close, Matt and his family will
measure each tree and affix a price tag. Trees sell for $6 per foot
when customers come calling.
They open their Evergreen Acres Christmas Tree Farm two
weekends prior to Thanksgiving for pre-tagging. That allows customers
to come and select their tree, pay for it and continue with their other
holiday activities.
The lot then opens on weekends from Nov. 23 to Dec. 23 plus
corresponding Friday afternoons. Friday hours are between 1 and 6
p.m. It is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays.
“It is,” says Matt, “a choose and cut farm that provides your family
with the experience of visiting a Christmas tree farm and selecting your
own tree.”
“Families like the experience of going to cut a tree,” says Julie. “It
was exciting to open last year. A lot of families and a lot of kids came
out. We knew a lot of the people that came out and a lot of our friends
came out.
“It was,” she said, “a nice surprise. The word is getting around.”
“You can go anywhere and get a tree,” agrees Matt. “But you can
Pine and cypress trees
of varying sizes stretch
in straight lines on
Evergreen Acres Tree
Farm near Muldrow.
About 250 trees at the
“choose and cut”
operation will be
available this holiday
season.
Matt makes sure this
Christmas-tree-to-be is
secured to a stake,
assuring the tree will
grow straight and be
someone’s pick of the lot
in a few years.
Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008 • 13
WANT A FRESH, OKLAHOMA-GROWN CHRISTMAS TREE?
The following farms are the members of the Oklahoma Christmas Tree
Association. They offer you and your family the opportunity for a holiday
outing and a freshly-cut tree for your home.
The farms, their location and telephone contacts for information are:
• All Pine Products, Yukon, 405-324-1010.
• CAL2HOMA Christmas Tree Farm, Gore, 918-489-2876.
• Canadian Valley Tree Farm, Lexington, 405-872-8255.
• 7 C’s Christmas Trees, Mounds, 918-366-3330.
• Coffee Creek Christmas Tree Farm, Arcadia, 405-396-2282.
• D&H Christmas Tree and Wreaths, Fletcher, 580-549-6994.
• Evergreen Acres Christmas Tree Farm, Muldrow, 918-427-5931.
• Forest Ridge Christmas Tree Farm, Broken Arrow, 918-266-6001.
• Four Daughters Tree Farm, Norman, 405-329-7152.
• Goddard Tree Farm, Norman, 405-364-0320.
• Grandpa’s Christmas Tree Farm, Claremore, 918-341-6034.
• Hideaway Christmas Tree Farm, Bristow, 918-352-2162.
• Holiday Valley Farm, Perry, 580-336-2350.
• JANDA Bend Christmas Tree Farm, Stilwell, 918-458-0834.
• Martinbird Tree Farm, Tuttle, 405-381-2910.
• Owasso Christmas Tree and Berry Farm, Owasso, 918-272-9445.
• Pleasant Valley Farms, Sand Springs, 918-248-5647.
• Red Barn Christmas Tree Farm, McAlester, 918-548-3347.
• Rose Rock Enterprises, Norman, 405-321-1863.
• Sandy Hills Christmas Tree Farm, Blair, 580-563-2017.
• Santa’s Forest, Ponca City, 580-765-9441.
• Sorghum Mill Christmas Tree Farm, Edmond, 405-340-5488.
• The Christmas Tree Farm, Purcell, 405-527-5873.
• Double T Christmas Tree Farm, Glencoe, 918-454-2252.
• W6 Pines Christmas Tree Farm, Choctaw, 405-390-8635.
• White’s Christmas Tree Farm, Noble, 405-364-6751.
• Woodland Tree Farm, Skiatook, 918-396-0215.
Matt and Julie have had many signs like this one manufactured in anticipation
of this year’s Christmas season. They plan on advertising more this year, which
is their second to harvest trees.
14 • Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008
come out here and get a fresh tree and be doing something the family
can do together. People enjoy it.”
Many of their customers last year came from Fort Smith, Sallisaw
and Roland, but the bulk came from nearby Muldrow.
Evergreen Acres allows customers to cut their own trees, or a
member of the Jarvis family will gladly wield the saw. Each tree goes on
a mechanized shaker to rid it of any loose needles and dust before
being baled in a protective mess wrap for transportation. They even
provide a tie-down for the trunk if the buyer comes in a car.
“A trunk can hold a 6-foot tree,” said Matt. “You don’t have to have a
big truck or SUV.”
“It’s a tradition,” says Julie of the family outing to select a tree. “It’s a
family trip. Families seem to like the experience of going to cut a tree.”
Naturally, Matt implores everyone to put up a real tree at Christmas
instead of an artificial one. His motives aren’t entirely selfish.
The bulk of the artificial trees come from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong
or China and are made of plastics and metals that aren’t biodegradable.
When disposed of – and everyone eventually will have to dispose of
their artificial trees – they will never deteriorate, with effects on the
environment remaining for generations.
“Those fake trees are made of petroleum products and have a high lead
content,” said Matt. “I try to encourage everyone to put up a real tree.”
He also takes issue with the many video stories airing during the
Christmas season about the extreme fire dangers of real trees. They will
burn, but so will an artificial tree. Many artificial varieties emit
These pines were sheared to the ideal shape for a Christmas tree in August, and still
exhibited a few brown tips as a result of their shaping. The brown tips were
completely gone by mid September.
dangerous toxins in a fire.
“A real tree will burn, but no more than anything else. We stress to
keep them watered and there won’t be any problems. A fresh
tree will,” declared Matt, “stay fresh through Christmas if
they keep them watered.”
Matt said a tree obtained at nearby “choose and cut” farm
is better than other real trees purchased at stores or lots.
Most of those trees come from big farms in Oregon, Michigan
or North Carolina and are cut two to four weeks before finding a retail
home, and have never been in water after harvest.
“If you have a choice, cut a fresh tree,” he concluded. “They last the
longest. Those that have been cut for up to a month give people a
bad impression.”
Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008 • 15
16 • Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008
Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008 • 17
All Around
Oklahoma
Flatbed owners get
insurance premium break
klahoma Farm Bureau Insurance now
offers a money-saving break on pickups
and trucks by exempting the premium
for the first $4,000 of coverage for flatbeds
that are listed as additional equipment.
“The change is for both new business and
existing policies,” said Jeff Gaughan, vice
president of underwriting for the
largest Oklahoma-based
property and casualty
insurance
company. “It will
be a nice break.”
Gaughan said he
believes Oklahoma
Farm Bureau
Insurance is the
only company in the
state to offer this policy feature.
“The first $4,000 of coverage on the
flatbed will be provided at no premium
charge,” he explained. “The premium charge
will only apply to any amount in excess of that
O
amount, and would be rated at the standard
additional equipment rate.
“Any premium amount showing on the
policy declaration page will only be for the
amount over $4,000,” he added.
Gaughan said Farm Bureau has over 3,200
policies in force with flatbeds listed as
additional equipment.
All members of the
statewide Farm Bureau
Insurance agency force
have been notified of the change and will be
reviewing their members’ policies to make
adjustments for those that qualify for the
allowance.
Policyholders also can contact their agent
for information.
“Insureds should list the flatbeds as
additional equipment if they are not already
listed,” Gaughan said.
Toolboxes, feeders, hoists, bale spikes or
other additional accessories that have been
added to flatbeds need to be listed separately
and are not included in the
premium exemption.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance clients who
have flatbeds on their tucks now receive a
money-saving break on their policies. The first
$4,000 on those vehicles listed as additional
equipment is excluded and will be provided at no premium
charge. The change came as a result of delegates to the
Oklahoma Farm Bureau convention asking the insurance
company to exclude flatbeds as additional equipment on
trucks and pickups.
Matt,
Representative lauds Claims
response to storm damages
Editor’s Note: The unsolicited letter at
right was sent to Oklahoma Farm Bureau
Executive Director Matt Wilson Aug. 18.
The letter’s author is the Minority Leader of
the Oklahoma House of Representatives
Danny Morgan, who represents district 32.
Danny Morgan
18 • Oklahoma Country • Fall 2008
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